Hauling is a broad freight activity spanning domestic truck movements, international trade, related logistics work and the people who move goods. The latest figures below describe U.S. freight in 2023, workforce and safety measures from 2022–2024, and selected 2025 occupation data, while keeping modeled flows, surveys and forecasts distinct.
Key Hauling Statistics
The most broadly useful hauling statistics include:
- In 2023, 20.1 billion tons of freight moved through the United States in a BTS Freight Analysis Framework estimate.
- In 2023, U.S. freight was valued at about $18.7 trillion in constant 2017 dollars.
- In 2023, trucking moved 13.0 billion tons of U.S. cargo.
- In 2023, truck-hauling cargo was valued at more than $13.6 trillion in constant 2017 dollars.
- In 2023, trucking represented 64.5% of U.S. freight weight.
- In 2023, trucking represented 72.5% of U.S. freight value.
- In 2022, trucks carried 11,747 million tons of domestic freight in the United States.
- In 2022, trucks carried 448 million tons of exports from the United States.
- In 2022, trucks carried 446 million tons of imports into the United States.
- In 2023, U.S. freight flows with Canada and Mexico totaled $1.57 trillion.
- In 2023, cross-border freight with Canada and Mexico weighed 2,484.7 million tons.
- In 2023, trucking represented 72.2% of U.S.-Mexico freight flows by value.
- In June 2024, transportation and warehousing employed 6.6 million people in the United States.
- In 2023, truck transportation workers were 88.1% men and 11.9% women.
- In May 2024, truck transportation averaged 40.3 weekly hours in the United States.
- In May 2025, driver/sales workers and truck drivers numbered 3,482,310 in the United States.
- In May 2025, the mean annual wage for driver/sales workers and truck drivers was $53,170.
- In 2022, truck transportation recorded 704 fatal occupational injuries.
- From 2022 to 2032, truck transportation employment is projected to grow 2.1% in the United States.
Contents
- U.S. freight scale, weight and value
- Truck hauling trends by mode, distance and commodity flow
- Cross-border hauling with Canada and Mexico
- Hauling workforce and driver demographics
- Hauling pay, hours and occupational outcomes
- Hauling safety, crashes and employment outlook
U.S. Freight and Hauling Statistics: Scale, Weight and Value
The Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2024 estimates that the U.S. freight transportation system moved 20.1 billion tons in 2023, with a value of about $18.7 trillion in 2017 dollars. These BTS Freight Analysis Framework figures are modeled commodity-flow estimates, so they describe freight flows rather than individual trips or vehicles.
| Measure | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All U.S. freight | 19,932 million tons | 19,611 million tons | 20.1 billion tons |
| Truck freight | 12,852 million tons | 12,641 million tons | 13.0 billion tons |
Source: Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2024. The 2019 and 2022 figures are annual FAF estimates, while the 2023 figures are reported in billion tons.
Trucking carried 64.5% of total U.S. freight weight in 2023 and accounted for 72.5% of freight value. Truck cargo alone was valued at more than $13.6 trillion in constant 2017 dollars, showing why weight share and value share should be read as different measures.
Pipelines moved 4.0 billion tons, or 20% of total freight weight, in 2023. That is a comparison with another mode, not a truck-hauling measure.
Truck Hauling Trends by Mode, Distance and Commodity Flow
The 2022 truck total included 11,747 million tons of domestic freight, 448 million tons of exports and 446 million tons of imports. These are FAF components of truck flows, not counts of loads or trips.
Truck hauling was especially prominent for distances under 250 miles, where it had the greatest share of tons and ton-miles. BTS also found that trucks remained widely used for freight distances exceeding 2,000 miles; the distance comparison varies by measure and commodity.
Port activity provides useful logistics context but is not truck-only. Average vessel dwell time at the top 25 U.S. container ports was 28.5 hours in the first half of 2023, compared with 35.5 hours in the first half of 2022.
| Port or trade measure | Period | Reported amount |
|---|---|---|
| East Coast ports, containerized Asian trade | 2023 | 102.2 billion kilograms |
| West Coast ports, containerized Asian trade | 2023 | 86.3 billion kilograms |
| Top 25 ports, average vessel dwell | First half of 2023 | 28.5 hours |
| Top 25 ports, average vessel dwell | First half of 2022 | 35.5 hours |
The East Coast handled 102.2 billion kilograms of containerized Asian trade in 2023, while the West Coast handled 86.3 billion kilograms. These figures include containerized imports and exports and should not be interpreted as truck-only volumes.
Source: Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2024.
Cross-Border Hauling Statistics with Canada and Mexico
The TransBorder Freight Annual Report 2023 recorded $1.57 trillion in U.S. freight flows with Canada and Mexico and 2,484.7 million tons of cross-border freight weight. Weight increased 8.8% from 2022 to 2023, and the totals include multiple modes and commodity flows.
| Cross-border measure | 2023 result | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico freight value | $1.57 trillion | All included modes |
| U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico freight weight | 2,484.7 million tons | All included modes |
| Surface modes: truck plus rail | 80.3% of value | Combined share |
| U.S.-Canada trucking | 60.1% of value | Modal share |
| U.S.-Mexico trucking | 72.2% of value | Modal share |
Surface modes—truck plus rail—represented 80.3% of North American freight value in 2023. Trucking alone represented 60.1% of U.S.-Canada freight value and 72.2% of U.S.-Mexico freight value, so the combined surface figure should not be treated as a truck-only share.
Monthly U.S.-North American freight flows, including mail and other categories, ranged from $119,919 million in February 2023 to $141,472 million in March 2023.
- January 2023: $125,783 million.
- February 2023: $119,919 million.
- March 2023: $141,472 million.
- April 2023: $126,573 million.
- May 2023: $136,241 million.
- June 2023: $134,795 million.
The BTS report also describes U.S. land borders as facilitating more than $1 trillion in cross-border trade annually in its 2023 report context. Source: TransBorder Freight Annual Report 2023.
Hauling Workforce Statistics and Driver Demographics
Transportation and warehousing employed 6.6 million people in June 2024, equal to 5% of private-sector jobs. Truck transportation made up 23.5% of that industry’s employment, while warehousing and storage accounted for 26.9%; the latter is logistics context rather than hauling employment.
The 2023 Current Population Survey industry profile shows a predominantly male truck transportation workforce. Workers ages 25–54 represented 65.8%, workers age 55 and over represented 27.9%, and workers ages 16–24 represented 6.3%.
| Truck transportation workforce measure | 2023 share | Population or definition |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 88.1% | Truck transportation workers |
| Women | 11.9% | Truck transportation workers |
| Ages 16–24 | 6.3% | Truck transportation workers |
| Ages 25–54 | 65.8% | Truck transportation workers |
| Ages 55 and over | 27.9% | Truck transportation workers |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 14.9% | Workers age 25 and over |
| High-school diploma, no college | 46.1% | Workers age 25 and over |
Among truck transportation workers age 25 and over, 14.9% had a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 46.1% had no college but had a high-school diploma. These education figures cover the industry workforce, not truck drivers only.
Source: Keeping America Moving: Employment in Transportation and Warehousing Industries. BLS workforce measures use survey and industry classifications that differ from occupation-based wage data.
Hauling Pay, Hours and Occupational Outcomes
Truck transportation averaged 40.3 weekly hours in May 2024. This is an average-hours measure, not the maximum legal driving time.
The referenced 2024 BLS earnings table reported $29.84 per hour for production and nonsupervisory employees in truck transportation. General freight trucking long-distance averaged $30.51 per hour, compared with $28.83 per hour for general freight trucking local.
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Truck transportation average weekly hours | May 2024 | 40.3 hours |
| Truck transportation production and nonsupervisory employees | 2024 table | $29.84/hour |
| General freight trucking, long-distance | 2024 table | $30.51/hour |
| General freight trucking, local | 2024 table | $28.83/hour |
| Driver/sales workers and truck drivers employed | May 2025 | 3,482,310 people |
| Driver/sales workers and truck drivers mean hourly wage | May 2025 | $25.56/hour |
| Driver/sales workers and truck drivers mean annual wage | May 2025 | $53,170/year |
The May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimate counted 3,482,310 driver/sales workers and truck drivers, with a mean hourly wage of $25.56 and a mean annual wage of $53,170. The occupation combines driver/sales workers and truck drivers, and annualized wages assume year-round full-time hours where applicable.
Sources: Keeping America Moving: Employment in Transportation and Warehousing Industries and Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2025.
Hauling Safety Statistics and Employment Outlook
In 2022, transportation and warehousing recorded 4.8 nonfatal injury or illness cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, while truck transportation recorded 3.2 cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers. These are recordable nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses, not crash-frequency measures.
Truck transportation recorded 704 fatal occupational injuries in 2022, compared with 1,053 across transportation and warehousing. The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries counts exclude illness-related deaths.
| Employment area | 2022–2032 projected change | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Truck transportation | 2.1% | Truck hauling industry |
| Transportation and warehousing | 8.6% | Broad industry |
| Couriers and messengers | 17.9% | Related delivery industry |
| Warehousing and storage | 13.1% | Related logistics industry |
BLS projects truck transportation employment to grow 2.1% from 2022 to 2032. The broader transportation and warehousing industry is projected to grow 8.6%, while related projections are 17.9% for couriers and messengers and 13.1% for warehousing and storage.
These are forecasts, not realized changes. Source: Keeping America Moving: Employment in Transportation and Warehousing Industries.