62 Truck Driver Statistics

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These truck driver figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Truck Driver Statistics

The main findings are:

  • The trucking industry employed 3.58 million professional truck drivers in 2024 (United States trucking industry).
  • BLS counted 2,221,200 heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver jobs in 2025 (United States, SOC 53-3032).
  • Domestic truck tonnage was estimated at 11.27 billion tons in 2024 (United States primary truck shipments).
  • Large trucks were involved in 171,615 reportable crashes in 2021 (CY 2021; United States large trucks).
  • 69% of surveyed long-haul truck drivers had obesity defined as BMI of at least 30 (2010 survey; United States long-haul truck drivers).
  • FMCSA recorded 89,015 large-truck-and-bus crash injuries in 2022 (CY 2022; United States large trucks and buses).
  • Truck-driver employment decreased 0.8% from 2023 to 2024 (2023-2024; United States trucking industry).
  • BLS projects 2,305,000 heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver jobs in 2035 (2035 projection; United States, SOC 53-3032).
  • Domestic truck tonnage fell from 11.41 billion tons in 2023 to 11.27 billion tons in 2024 (2023-2024; United States primary truck shipments).
  • Large-truck crashes totaled 168,816 in 2022 (CY 2022; United States large trucks).
  • 17% of surveyed long-haul truck drivers had BMI of at least 40 (2010 survey; United States long-haul truck drivers).
  • FMCSA issued 31,430 federal and state warning letters in FY2022 (FY 2022; United States motor-carrier safety program).
  • Trucking-related jobs employed 8.4 million people in 2024, including jobs beyond driving (United States economy).
  • Heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver employment is projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035 (2025-2035; United States, SOC 53-3032).
  • Trucks moved roughly 72.7% of U.S. freight by weight in 2024.

Contents

Truck driver statistics: workforce size and industry reach

ATA industry estimate; not identical to the narrower BLS heavy-truck occupation.

ATA estimate for truck drivers; year-over-year change.

Includes industry-related jobs and excludes self-employed workers.

Measures trade value, not driver count or freight weight.

Vehicle registrations are not the same as active professional drivers.

Vehicle share, not freight share or employment share.

ATA estimate of gross freight revenues for primary shipments.

Truck driver employment, wages and job outlook statistics

BLS occupational estimate; excludes other truck-driver classifications.

Projection, not a realized count.

Rounded BLS projection.

Includes replacement openings as well as growth.

Median wage; excludes self-employment and does not describe total compensation.

BLS hourly equivalent; pay practices vary by employer and miles driven.

BLS 10th-percentile threshold, not an average.

BLS 90th-percentile threshold, not a guaranteed maximum.

Industry medians are separate populations and should not be averaged.

BLS definition for the occupation; not every truck driver works in this category.

Truck freight, mileage and carrier-scale statistics

ATA estimate; primary shipments only.

Comparable ATA estimates; not a driver productivity measure.

Industry estimate; differs from truck share by value or ton-miles.

Mileage covers trucks, not individual driver miles.

Mileage covers combination trucks, not individual driver miles.

Carrier count is not a count of drivers or trucking firms of every type.

Carrier-size classification based on trucks operated.

Power-unit threshold is not a driver-count threshold.

ATA gross-freight-revenue estimates; not driver earnings.

Large-truck crash, fatality and injury statistics

The reported large-truck crash fatalities figures cover United States large trucks.

Measurement period Large-truck crash fatalities (fatalities)
CY 2021 5,824
CY 2022 5,417
CY 2023 4,807

Source: Motor Carrier Safety Progress Report — March 2024.

The reported large-truck crash injuries figures cover United States large trucks.

Measurement period Large-truck crash injuries (injuries)
CY 2021 80,959
CY 2022 76,550
CY 2023 74,001

Source: Motor Carrier Safety Progress Report — March 2024.

FMCSA MCMIS outcome count; states report within 45 days and data remain preliminary for 22 months.

FMCSA MCMIS count; crash subtotals can involve double counting across truck/bus categories.

FMCSA MCMIS count; crash data are subject to later updates.

FMCSA MCMIS outcome count, not fatalities of truck drivers alone.

Includes all people killed in qualifying large-truck crashes.

Injuries are not limited to drivers.

Combined category; can include overlapping truck and bus involvement.

Combined category and all road users, not drivers alone.

Truck-driver health, sleep and lifestyle statistics

Self-reported survey population with BMI definition; not a current prevalence estimate.

BMI threshold is a population measure, not a clinical diagnosis.

Comparison population and driver survey are not identical samples or collection periods.

Self-reported smoking status.

Comparison statistic from the source; not collected from the same driver sample.

Self-reported average sleep duration.

Comparison statistic; populations and survey timing differ.

Condition was based on having been told by a health professional; comparison populations differ.

Self-reported condition and non-identical comparison populations.

Self-reported medical history or medication use.

Self-reported activity; the measure does not quantify all movement or occupational exertion.

Composite threshold; risk factors are not diagnoses and the survey is not current.

Risk-factor prevalence, not disease prevalence; based on the NIOSH survey.

Truck-driver safety enforcement and inspection statistics

All injured road users in the combined category.

Program output, not a driver violation count.

Carrier-investigation violations, not necessarily driver-attributed violations.

FMCSA-reported program average; not a driver-level rate.

Carrier investigation outcome, not a roadside driver OOS rate.

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