Trucks moved 11.27 billion tons of freight across the United States in 2024, according to data compiled by the American Trucking Associations. That volume generated $906 billion in gross freight revenue and accounted for 72.7% of all domestic freight tonnage carried across every transportation mode.

The workforce behind that freight remains substantial. The trucking industry employed 3.58 million professional drivers in 2024, supporting an industry that depends heavily on small operators. More than 577,000 active motor carriers were registered as of March 2024, and 95.8% of trucking companies run a fleet of 10 trucks or fewer.

Owner operators make up a meaningful share of the driver population as well, with roughly 1.7 million of the nation's 3.5 million truckers operating as independent, self employed drivers rather than company employees.

These figures illustrate an industry built on scale and fragmentation at the same time. A small number of large carriers such as UPS and FedEx generate outsized revenue, while the vast majority of registered motor carriers remain small operations running a handful of trucks. That structure shapes driver pay negotiations and how freight capacity responds when demand shifts.

Source: FleetNerd - https://fleetnerd.io/trucking-industry-statistics/