The Importance of Trucking Companies in America

At some point, almost every good that is consumed in the United States is transported by a truck. In fact, trucking companies are responsible for transporting over 70% of all of the nation’s annual freight totaling $700.4 billion and 10 billion tons of goods. Trucking companies provide these goods for several industries that you may not be aware of including healthcare, waste removal, and food. Truck drivers are a vital piece of our economy’s backbone, and without trucking companies, manufacturing plants can’t get their raw materials, distribution points can’t get their finished materials, and we as consumers can’t get our two-day Amazon Prime deliveries.

To keep our economy going, America’s truck drivers make extreme sacrifices. Truck drivers have to spend long periods of time on the road which can take a significant toll on both a person’s physical and mental health. Some common trucking injuries include knee, ankle, and foot injuries, joint problems, neck and back pain, and repetitive stress disorders. They have to lift heavy cargo, endure prolonged sitting due to time-sensitive hauls, and run the risk of getting into highway accidents.

Oftentimes, when driving behind a truck on the highway, people don’t think of all the sacrifices that truck drivers are making or what the consequences would be if trucking companies didn’t exist or for some reason truckers stopped driving.

The American Trucking Association put together a report to emphasize just how important trucking companies are and what would happen across the nation if trucks came to a screeching halt. In this report, they identified seven major industries that would be affected if trucking were to be restricted or delayed due to things such as a national or regional emergency, elevated threat level, terrorist attack, or pandemic. Below is an in-depth look at a few of these affected industries.

Every day, trucking companies are responsible for bringing billions of dollars worth of groceries to market for Americans. Should these trucks stop, significant shortages, especially for perishable goods, will occur in as little as three days. Fear and panic by consumers can exacerbate and speed up the deterioration of food supplies. After two weeks, the clean water supply will begin to run dry and be completely exhausted after four weeks.

Within the first 24 hours of trucks being delayed, delivery of medical supplies to the affected area will cease and hospitals will run out of basic supplies such as syringes and catheters within hours. Trucking companies also transport radiopharmaceutical supplies that only have an effective life of a few hours, and therefore will become ineffective and unusable.

After two or three days without trucks, garbage will begin to pile up in urban and suburban areas. Without trucks clearing the garbage, insects and vermin will flock to the garbage and the lack of removal of hazardous or medical wastes will emit toxins and diseases into the living environment. In addition to the physical health risks, the build-up of garbage will create pollution, block drains and run-offs leading to pooling and flooding, and those toxins will be released into the air, water, and soil.

Based on the information given in the report, it is clear that America needs truck drivers to deliver both essential and non-essential goods, remove waste, and keep our economy going and growing. In order to do so, truckers must keep themselves safe on the job as well as educate themselves on what to do if they happen to get hurt on the job. We can’t have a healthy trucking industry without safe and healthy truck drivers!

We are lawyers that represent truck drivers with personal injury and workers’ compensation cases. Injured truckers deserve respect and support, so we offer all injured truck drivers a free consultation to discuss their rights and legal options. We offer trucker injury resources, and invite all injured truckers to contact us with any questions.

Have a question or need legal representation? Visit our contact page, give us a call at (855)-448-7887, send us a text, write us an email, or submit a form directly on our site!