Life in America Without Trucking

While research­ing the trucking industry’s impact on American consumers, I found this piece prepared by the American Trucking Asso­ci­a­tions (ATA) (pdf). This article effec­tively describes “The potential con­se­quences of restrict­ing or halting truck traffic in response to a national or regional emergency.”

According to Forbes Custom, “Trucking is the driving force behind all companies’ worldwide supply chains, moving nearly every­thing consumed in this country. Nearly 80% of U.S. com­mu­ni­ties receive their goods exclu­sively by truck. Virtually all U.S. goods touch a truck during at least one leg of the supply chain. Trucking moves nearly 70% of all freight tonnage in this country. Even goods that have traveled by railroads even­tu­ally wind up on a truck for the ‘last mile’ of the delivery.”

What would happen if the trucking industry suddenly dis­ap­peared from our lives?

• Groceries, fuel, medical supplies, garbage removal, and clean water would all soon become scarce.
• In a week or two, garbage and waste would become more than a nuisance and an eye sore. It would become a potential health hazard.
• Grocers would run out of per­ish­ables in two or three days.
• Banks would run short of cash and ATM’s would be out of money in as little as a day.
• Hospitals and phar­ma­cies would begin running out of med­ica­tions. For example, some would be out of oxygen in only a day or two.
• The clean water supply would quickly be disrupted, as vital cargo would not be shipped to water purifi­ca­tion plants.
• Most gas stations would be out of fuel in less than a week, and some, in a day.

I believe many of us take the American trucking industry for granted. I know I have, but con­sid­er­ing the sta­tis­tics, it’s obvious how different our country would be without this vital industry, and the 10 million Americans it employs.