A new study says the trucking industry moved 10.93 billion tons of freight in 2021, generating $875.5 billion in revenue. The study, released by the American Trucking Associations Oct. 18, states that truck freight rebounded slightly last year after a 2020 that was marked by COVID-19-related disruptions.

“The overall truck freight market bounced back in 2021 after falling in 2020,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “Trends is a valuable resource to track changes in our industry, and this year’s edition is no different. This year’s report found that despite a challenging environment, trucking did experience growth and maintained its position as the dominant freight mode.”

Last-year trends found in the report include:

• Trucks moved 10.93 billion tons of freight – up from 10.23 billion tons the previous year.
• The industry collected 80.8% of the nation’s freight bill, up slightly from the previous year, while generating $875.5 billion.
• Trucking employed 7.99 million people in industry-related jobs, up 340,000 from the previous year, including 3.49 million professional truck drivers.
• Women made up 7.9% of the nation’s drivers — an all-time high — and minorities account for 46.1% of truck drivers.
• Trucking remains a small business industry: 95.7% of fleets operate ten or fewer trucks, and 99.7% operate less than 100.
• Trucks moved 66.1% of the value of surface trade between the U.S. and Canada and 82.7% of cross-border trade with Mexico, for a total of $828 billion worth of goods.