Mario Pawlowski  CEO at  iTrucker

Truckers appreciation week is a good time to remind the nation how important the truck drivers are.

There are more than 3.6 million truck drivers in the US, according to the American Trucking Association (ATA). Out of those, there are more than 1.7 million tractor-trailer drivers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There are about 600,000 over the road (OTR), long-haul truck drivers, according to various sources.

While all truck drivers are very hard-working people, long haul truckers are the ones who are sacrificing the most for this country and our well being.

Long-Haul truckers drive across the country, facing many obstacles and sometimes even danger as driving 80,000 pounds tractor-trailers is very difficult. Additionally, truckers also face other risks like weather conditions and much more.

It is relatively simple to get a Commercial Driver Licence, but it takes years on the road to gain experience and become a real trucker.

Truckers sacrifice a lot, more than most people think, especially long-haul drivers. They usually work and live in a constant rush, they eat in a hurry, and they don’t get enough sleep. That way of living is not very healthy.

They are leaving their families behind, sometimes for weeks at a time to deliver goods, food, and almost everything we can find in the stores or what we need for living.

In reality, they feed their families and ours by doing what they do best, driving trucks. Because they do their job, we can live in peace, knowing that someone will deliver everything we need.

Truck driving, especially Over-The-Road (OTR), is not only a job but also a way of living for most of the truckers. They love their job, they work hard, and we believe that appreciation for what they do for all of us, is well deserved.

As truckers themselves like to say that “we are the backbone of this country,” and we believe that they are, and even more than that. The trucking industry is an “engine,” which is running the country, if it stops, the whole country will stop!

Next time you go to the store or order something online, remember that everything at some point was delivered to you by a trucker. So let’s give them appreciation this week as they deserve it!

Here are some incredible facts about the trucking industry in the US:

According to the American Trucking Associations, trucking revenues were $796.7 billion in 2018. That year, trucks moved almost 11.49 billion tons of freight.

$42.6 billion paid by commercial trucks in federal and state highway-user taxes in 2017

3.68 million Class 8 trucks (including tractors and straight trucks) in operation in 2018.

You can read more and see numbers behind the American Trucking Industry HERE