Trucking Growth: A New Report With Projections From The ATA

The American Trucking Association recently released a report showing industry growth, with some interesting projections for the upcoming years. Most notably, despite what we’ve been hearing about vacancies in the industry, there has been marked trucking growth with a projected increase in hauled goods over the next five years.

Trucking Growth In 2017

The ATA report predicts that trucking growth will increase by 2.8 percent by the end of 2017. This trend will not slow down, with a 3.4 percent increase each year until 2023. After 2023, the trucking growth rate will decrease a bit more, down to 2.3 percent until 2028. We can take from the that the trucking industry, as well as their customers, are going to experience continued economic growth for the next decade.

Trucking Remains On Top

While economic growth will cause an increase in the tonnage shipped across all transportation methods, the primary means of getting products from one point to another will be trucking. In terms of tonnage, the trucking industry is slated to see a decrease by 2023. Last year, the trucking industry moved 70 percent of the total tonnage moved withing the freight industry. Between population growth and consumer demands, trucking will remain the primary mode for shipping goods for the next decade.

Revenue For The Trucking Industry

With sizable trucking growth in the ATA’s forecast, many fleet owners and independent drivers are wondering how this will reflect in earnings. The answer is, in short, a lot. Revenue for carriers across the board is expected to rise to $719 billion by the end of 2017. This is nothing to sneeze at in the freight industry, which totals $900 billion. This gives trucking just shy of 80 percent of the entire industry. The ATA’s report predicts a slight decrease in the percentage of overall revenue for the trucking industry by 2028, while the total revenue for freight shipments across all modes of transportation will increase to roughly $1.25 trillion. So, while the percentage will go down, the actual amount of revenue generated for trucking alone will increase.

More Trucks On The Road

Trucking growth is not limited to tonnage and revenue. The report predicted a rise in the sales of Class 8 vehicles by 38 percent by 2028. The total number of trucks on the road in the United States is expected to grow from roughly 3.4 million by the end of 2017 to over 4 million by 2028.