Despite the fact that total vehicle miles traveled were down 2.1 percent in 2008, the trucking industry saw a 2.2 percent improvement in revenue over 2007
, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 Service Annual Survey.

For 2008, truck transportation raked in about $233.8 billion in revenue, up from about $228.8 billion in 2007 and about $221.7 billion in 2006. General freight trucking saw revenues of about $156 billion, a 2.5 percent year-over-year increase. Truckload's revenue was about $96 billion, while less-than-truckload was down 0.3 percent to $33.858 billion.

Meanwhile, estimated revenue by size of shipments, commodities handled, and origin and destination of shipments was about $52.9 billion for less-than-truckload and $165.5 billion for truckload.

Despite the improvements, the total distance traveled in highway miles was 91.5 billion in 2008, compared with 93.4 billion in 2007. The miles traveled by empty vehicles was up 0.5 percent, while the miles traveled by loaded or partially loaded vehicles was down 2.7 percent.

To view the entire census report, click here.