Truck transportation employment spans establishment payroll jobs, occupations across industries, and projected openings. The measures below focus on the United States and identify their population, period, classification, and whether they are estimates, observed wages, or forecasts.
Key Truck Transportation Employment Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- 1,563.6 thousand U.S. truck transportation payroll employees were estimated for January 2024, not seasonally adjusted.
- 1,560.8 thousand U.S. truck transportation payroll employees were estimated for April 2024, not seasonally adjusted.
- 1,559.4 thousand U.S. truck transportation payroll employees were estimated for July 2024, not seasonally adjusted.
- 1,113.9 thousand general freight trucking payroll employees were estimated in the United States in July 2024.
- 477.0 thousand specialized freight trucking payroll employees were estimated in the United States in July 2024.
- 814.0 thousand workers in long-distance general freight trucking were estimated in the United States in July 2024.
- 539.9 thousand workers in long-distance truckload trucking were estimated in the United States in July 2024.
- 263.4 thousand workers in long-distance less-than-truckload trucking were estimated in the United States in July 2024.
- 299.9 thousand workers in local general freight trucking were estimated in the United States in July 2024.
- 2,070,480 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers were estimated to be employed in the United States in May 2024.
- 3,482,310 driver/sales workers and truck drivers were estimated to be employed in the United States in May 2024.
- $58,640 was the May 2025 U.S. median annual wage for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
- $60,320 was the May 2025 median annual wage for heavy truck drivers in the truck transportation industry.
- 892,450 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers worked in the U.S. truck transportation industry in May 2024.
- 107,290 laborers and freight, stock, and material movers worked in U.S. truck transportation in May 2024.
- 214,500 heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver openings per year were projected on average for the United States from 2025 to 2035.
- 83,800 additional heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver jobs were projected in the United States from 2025 to 2035.
- 4% growth in heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver employment was projected in the United States from 2025 to 2035.
- 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour work period is the long-haul limit described by the BLS for U.S. drivers under federal hours-of-service rules.
Contents
- Industry payroll levels
- Freight-segment employment trends
- Truck driver employment and pay
- Occupations and support functions
- Employment projections and replacement demand
- Interpreting the statistics
Truck Transportation Employment Statistics: Industry Payroll Levels
The BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) tables classify truck transportation as NAICS 484. CES establishment payroll estimates count payroll employees reported by establishments and exclude self-employed workers.
| Measure | Period | U.S. employment | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truck transportation, NAICS 484 | January 2024 | 1,563.6 thousand | BLS CES Table B-1b |
| Truck transportation, NAICS 484 | April 2024 | 1,560.8 thousand | BLS CES Table B-1b |
| Truck transportation, NAICS 484 | July 2024 | 1,559.4 thousand | BLS CES Table B-1b |
| Truck transportation, seasonally adjusted | May 2024 | 1,550.1 thousand | BLS CES Table B-1a |
The January, April, and July figures are not seasonally adjusted. The May figure is seasonally adjusted, so it should not be treated as directly comparable with the unadjusted observations.
For context, the broader U.S. transportation and warehousing sector had 6,474.2 thousand seasonally adjusted payroll employees in May 2024 and 6,510.3 thousand not-seasonally-adjusted payroll employees in July 2024. That aggregate is broader than truck transportation and carries the same payroll-coverage limitation for the July estimate. BLS CES Table B-1a; BLS CES Table B-1b
Truck Transportation Employment Trends Across Freight Segments
The CES detail separates general freight trucking, specialized freight trucking, and more specific long-distance and local activities. These are industry employment estimates, not counts of truck drivers.
| Segment | January 2024 | April 2024 | July 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General freight trucking, NAICS 4841 | 1,117.8 thousand | 1,104.7 thousand | 1,113.9 thousand |
| Long-distance general freight, NAICS 48412 | 825.1 thousand | 811.6 thousand | 814.0 thousand |
| Long-distance truckload, NAICS 484121 | 547.2 thousand | 546.9 thousand | 539.9 thousand |
| Long-distance less-than-truckload, NAICS 484122 | 277.9 thousand | 264.7 thousand | 263.4 thousand |
| Local general freight, NAICS 48411 | 292.7 thousand | 293.1 thousand | 299.9 thousand |
| Specialized freight trucking, NAICS 4842 | 445.8 thousand | 456.1 thousand | 477.0 thousand |
The July 2024 comparison table also reports 1,079.3 thousand general freight trucking payroll employees in March 2024. That March value is a comparison-month observation in the July table, rather than a separate seasonally adjusted series. BLS CES Table B-1b
Within specialized freight trucking, 106.9 thousand payroll employees were in used household and office goods moving in July 2024, while 237.8 thousand were in local specialized freight trucking excluding used goods. Both are U.S. industry subsets and exclude self-employed workers. BLS CES Table B-1b
Truck Driver Employment Statistics and Occupational Pay
Occupational employment uses a different population from CES industry payroll employment. In May 2024, the BLS estimated 2,070,480 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in the United States, classified as SOC 53-3032, across industries; the broader driver/sales workers and truck drivers group contained 3,482,310 employed persons. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
| Wage measure | Period | Median or threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, all industries | May 2025 | $58,640 median annual wage |
| Heavy truck drivers, truck transportation | May 2025 | $60,320 median annual wage |
| Heavy truck drivers, wholesale trade | May 2025 | $58,550 median annual wage |
| Heavy truck drivers, manufacturing | May 2025 | $56,570 median annual wage |
| Heavy truck drivers, construction | May 2025 | $56,080 median annual wage |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, lowest-paid 10% | May 2025 | Less than $40,140 |
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, highest-paid 10% | May 2025 | More than $79,380 |
The median is the midpoint of the wage distribution, while the tenth- and ninetieth-percentile figures are thresholds rather than a minimum and maximum. The industry medians describe the occupation within each named industry, not all truck drivers. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
The BLS describes most tractor-trailer drivers as long-haul drivers operating trucks with a total weight exceeding 26,000 pounds, including the vehicle, passengers, and cargo. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers are classified as SOC 53-3032, but an occupational classification can include workers in multiple industries. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Truck Transportation Occupations and Support Functions
The BLS OEWS industry chart shows that truck transportation employment includes driving, freight handling, maintenance, dispatch, supervision, management, and office work. These May 2024 estimates are occupations within the truck transportation industry, not the total number of people in those occupations across the economy.
| Occupation in truck transportation | May 2024 employment |
|---|---|
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | 892,450 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers | 107,290 |
| Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists | 57,300 |
| Light truck drivers | 49,890 |
| Dispatchers | 41,300 |
| First-line transportation and material-moving supervisors | 40,830 |
| General and operations managers | 38,680 |
| Office clerks | 36,500 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | 20,500 |
| Transportation, storage, and distribution managers | 17,670 |
The dispatcher estimate excludes police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers. The occupation estimates and definitions are from the BLS OEWS chart for the largest occupations in truck transportation, May 2024.
A related industry, support activities for road transportation, employed 52,190 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in May 2024. This is not NAICS 484 truck transportation itself and should be kept separate from the industry table above. BLS OEWS data tables for industry charts
Truck Transportation Employment Projections and Replacement Demand
The newer BLS 2025–35 outlook projects 4% growth in heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver employment from 2025 to 2035. It also projects about 214,500 openings per year on average and an increase of 83,800 jobs over the decade.
The annual openings figure includes replacement needs as well as employment growth, so it is not a hiring guarantee and does not equal the projected net increase. These are forecasts, not observed outcomes. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
A separate BLS 2023–33 projection vintage estimated heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver employment at 2,211.3 thousand in 2023 and 2,313.4 thousand in 2033, a projected numeric increase of 102.0 thousand jobs and a 4.6% increase. The occupation ranked 337th of 832 occupations by projected percentage growth in that table.
Because the 2023–33 and 2025–35 outlooks are different projection vintages, their figures should be labeled separately rather than blended. The 2023–33 projection also placed transportation and material-moving occupations overall at 4.8% growth. BLS Monthly Labor Review, Industry and occupational employment projections overview and highlights, 2023–33
How to Interpret Truck Transportation Employment Statistics
The central distinction is between industry and occupation. CES asks how many payroll employees establishments report in an industry, while OEWS estimates employment in occupations and may include those occupations across several industries.
Three interpretation rules keep the measures aligned:
- Treat CES January, April, and July 2024 figures as not seasonally adjusted unless the table explicitly says otherwise.
- Keep the seasonally adjusted May 2024 truck transportation figure separate from the unadjusted figures.
- Treat the 2025–35 and 2023–33 BLS figures as forecasts from different vintages, not as measured historical changes.
Federal hours-of-service rules described by the BLS limit long-haul drivers to 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour work period. The rules also limit drivers to 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days; these are operating limits, not employment counts or average hours worked. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Finally, truck transportation employment statistics do not measure self-employed workers in the CES payroll series. They also should not be used to turn qualitative occupational descriptions into unsupported percentages or to compare unlike industry and occupation populations as if they were identical.