Americans are gaining a special sense of gratitude and appreciation for those commercial trucks they pass on the freeways and byways of our country. With the massive shortages and disruptions that have resulted from the pandemic, stocked retail shelves are no longer taken for granted. The role trucks play in the resupply of essential goods makes them an irreplaceable national asset.
From Beans to Band-Aids, From Fuel to Fast Food
It is very common in our modern lifestyle to take for granted the many hard-working people whose daily efforts make that standard of living possible. These individuals work around the clock to produce and prepare products that end up on the shelves of grocery stores, hardware retailers, and in the storage tanks at our service stations. There is also an army of workers who stock those shelves and ensure we have access to the products delivered to their doors.
However, all those important employees would have no ability to do their job without the world’s most efficient distribution system. Today, more than 70 percent of all goods and freight in the United States get from the point of creation or manufacture to the end-user via trucks. The commercial trucking industry is the vital link that keeps the steady stream of goods flowing. It takes a dependable army of more than 3.5 million truckers who drive night and day so that we can simply walk into a store, pick up an item, and walk out without a thought.
The recent pandemic has highlighted the fact that without truckers on the road:
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Farmers must pour milk down the drain as it sits with no way to get to the consumer.
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Hospitals are unable to provide basic services without resupplies of everything from bedsheets to bedpans to basic medical supplies.
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Manufacturers cannot function without a steady resupply of raw materials.
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Gas stations quickly run dry without frequent resupply.
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Construction of all types stops without the material needed to complete projects.
Even the recent frigid temperatures provided an important lesson. It underlined the immediate impact on our supplies and resources when trucks are forced off the roadways for even a day or two. Of course, this is not just about losing access to food and other necessities. Life-threatening shortages result nationally, locally or in the smallest of communities when their lifeline of commercial trucking is severed or interrupted.
A Career of Service
Like so many important careers, the life of truckers is often demanding. However, this story is about far more than those who spend their lives on the road. To keep America supplied the trucking industry:
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In addition to the 3.5 million truck drivers, employs another 5.4 million people in trucking-related occupations.
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Utilizes more than 15 million trucks, of which more than 2 million are 18-wheelers.
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Logs more than 450 billion miles of on-the-road driving a year.
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Moves more than $1.2 trillion dollars of goods a year in the United States and between Canadian and Mexican companies.
It is well known what they say about not missing the water until the well runs dry. Americans now have new insights into what it is like when our trucking lanes are shut down. It is time to show a new appreciation for those stalwart road warriors who keep America working.
If you have what it takes to join our army of drivers who are on the front line each day keeping American running, apply today.
