The American Trucking Associations has released "American Trucking Trends 2009-2010," an annual state of the industry report.
This trucking industry almanac provides essential industry data that motor carriers need to make sound business decisions, especially in tough economic times.

The report indicates that trucking continues to play a major role in the U.S., hauling 68.8 percent, or 10.2 billion tons, of all freight transported in the U.S. in 2008. In 2008, it was a $660 billion industry.

In 2008, there were 7.3 million people employed in trucking-related jobs, excluding self-employed. This includes 3.39 million truck drivers. This data is from Employment and Wages Annual Averages, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor; Economics & Statistics Group, American Trucking Associations as cited in ATA American Trucking Trends 2009-2010.

The report highlights the implications of the fuel price spikes of summer 2008 when diesel hit an all-time high of $4.764 a gallon. The ATA estimates that the trucking industry spent about $75 billion on diesel fuel in 2009, down from a record $142.2 billion in 2008, based on data from the Energy Information Administration, as cited in ATA American Trucking Trends 2009-2010.

As a result of financial constraints, U.S. truck sales were down almost 25 percent from 2007 to 2008 and even further during the first nine months of 2009. Engine and trailer sales also fell during that time.

"American Trucking Trends 2009-2010" provides information on size of the industry, trucking performance, fleet demographics, retail sales and taxes. Topics explored also include safety, international trade, trucks and the environment, diesel fuel price trends and U.S. commercial truck configurations. Trends contains data from different sources; therefore, the most recent year available may vary.

The report can be purchased at ATABusinessSolutions.com.