Work truck is an operating description, not one official statistical category. The figures below combine FMCSA large-truck measures, FHWA single-unit and combination-truck data, freight-flow models, safety records, EPA emissions accounting and BLS occupational estimates for the United States.
Key Work Truck Statistics
The most broadly useful work truck statistics span vehicle scale, use, freight, compliance, safety, emissions and labor:
- In 2022, 11,083,997 single-unit trucks were registered in the United States.
- In 2022, 3,249,824 combination trucks were registered in the United States.
- In 2022, large trucks traveled 331.3 billion vehicle miles in the United States.
- In 2022, large trucks represented 10.4% of all U.S. motor-vehicle travel.
- In 2022, single-unit trucks averaged 12,328 miles per registered vehicle in the United States.
- In 2022, combination trucks averaged 60,205 miles per registered vehicle in the United States.
- As of December 2023, FMCSA counted 787,189 active interstate or intrastate-hazardous-material carriers in the United States.
- In December 2023, FMCSA estimated approximately 9 million commercial motor-vehicle drivers operating in the United States.
- In 2017, trucks carried an estimated 65% of U.S. freight tonnage.
- FAF5 forecasts 28.7 billion tons of U.S. freight in 2050.
- In 2023, FMCSA recorded 2,909,709 driver inspections in the United States.
- In 2023, the vehicle-inspection out-of-service rate was 22.6% in the FMCSA inspection system.
- In 2022, 5,279 fatal crashes involved large trucks in the United States.
- In 2022, 5,264 vehicle occupants were killed in large-truck crashes.
- In 2022, large-truck and bus crash costs were estimated at $152 billion in the United States.
- In 2022, medium- and heavy-duty trucks produced 23% of U.S. transportation greenhouse-gas emissions.
- In May 2024, heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver employment was 2,070,480 jobs in the United States.
- BLS projects about 214,500 annual heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver openings from 2025 through 2035 in the United States.
Contents
- Work truck vehicle base, registrations and miles
- Work truck fleet scale and carrier structure
- Work truck freight movement and long-term trends
- Work truck inspections and out-of-service rates
- Work truck crashes, fatalities and costs
- Work truck emissions, labor and operating context
Work Truck Vehicle Base, Registrations and Miles
Because “work truck” is not a single official category, the clearest national baseline comes from FMCSA and FHWA classifications. FMCSA’s large-truck statistics generally apply to vehicles above 10,000 pounds GVWR, while FHWA separates single-unit and combination trucks.
| 2022 U.S. measure | Single-unit trucks | Combination trucks |
|---|---|---|
| Registered vehicles | 11,083,997 | 3,249,824 |
| FHWA vehicle-miles | 136,224 million | 195,049 million |
| Average miles per registered vehicle | 12,328 | 60,205 |
Source: 2024 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics and Table VM-1 – Highway Statistics 2022.
FHWA’s national 2022 total included 14,289,238 registered single-unit and combination trucks. Its mileage figures are estimates based on state and national inputs, and the averages are fleet-level averages rather than a typical individual truck’s annual use.
FMCSA reported 331.3 billion vehicle miles for large trucks in 2022, equal to 10.4% of all U.S. motor-vehicle travel. The all-vehicle denominator was 3,196.2 billion vehicle miles, and FMCSA’s large-truck measure excludes buses.
Work Truck Fleet Scale and Carrier Structure
Carrier counts show a large and varied operating population, but they do not represent every work-truck owner. FMCSA’s active-carrier series covers interstate or intrastate-hazardous-material carriers with recent activity as of December 2023.
- FMCSA counted 787,189 active regulated carriers in December 2023.
- For-hire carriers numbered 519,420, while private carriers numbered 197,563.
- The both-for-hire-and-private category numbered 67,667; it overlaps the single-status categories and should not be added to them without accounting for that overlap.
- Carriers with one power unit numbered 418,526 in 2023.
- Carriers with more than 100 power units numbered 5,062 in 2023.
FMCSA estimated approximately 9 million commercial motor-vehicle drivers in December 2023. About 5.6 million operated interstate, about 3.8 million interstate drivers held CDLs, and about 3.4 million operated intrastate; these are approximate regulated-driver estimates rather than a census of all work-truck drivers.
Source: 2024 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics.
Work Truck Freight Movement and Long-Term Trends
Trucks were responsible for an estimated 65% of U.S. freight tonnage in 2017, according to the Freight Analysis Framework version 5. FAF5’s long-range figures are modeled projections, not observed truck revenue, odometer readings or guaranteed future outcomes.
| FAF5 measure | Period or year | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. freight tonnage carried by trucks | 2017 | 65% of domestic tonnage |
| Projected freight tonnage | 2050 | 28.7 billion tons |
| Projected freight activity change | 2020–2050 | 50% growth |
| Projected freight value change | 2020–2050 | Double |
| Projected freight value | 2050 | $36.2 trillion in 2017 dollars |
Sources: Freight Activity in the U.S Expected to Grow Fifty Percent by 2050 and Freight Analysis Framework Version 5 (FAF5).
FAF5 provides freight weight in thousands of tons, value in millions of 2017 dollars and activity in millions of ton-miles. The FAF5.7.1 product includes annual estimates for 2018–2023, a preliminary estimate for 2024 and forecast years from 2030 through 2050.
The truck-network assignment dataset represents total-truck, single-unit and combination-unit flows for the 2017, 2022 and 2050 model years. It covers 42 commodity types, but network assignments are modeled flows rather than vehicle counts observed at every road link.
Work Truck Inspections and Out-of-Service Rates
FMCSA inspection statistics cover large trucks and buses in the federal and state inspection system, so they should not be read as a failure rate for every work truck. In 2023, the system recorded millions of inspections across driver, vehicle and hazardous-material categories.
| 2023 FMCSA measure | Inspections | Out-of-service rate or count |
|---|---|---|
| Driver inspections | 2,909,709 | 6.4% OOS rate |
| Vehicle inspections | 1,994,946 | 22.6% OOS rate |
| Hazardous-material inspections | 174,620 | 4.0% OOS rate |
| Full Level I inspections | 839,638 | 231,130 with an OOS violation |
| Walk-around Level II inspections | 1,057,511 | 290,081 with an OOS violation |
Source: 2024 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics.
The Level I and Level II counts describe inspection types rather than unique vehicles. A single inspection can contain multiple violations, and the FMCSA out-of-service definitions and inspection-level calculations govern these measures.
Work Truck Crashes, Fatalities and Costs
For safety analysis, FMCSA uses “large truck” in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System context for a vehicle with GVWR above 10,000 pounds. The 2022 crash totals combine observed FARS fatal-crash records with sample-based CRSS estimates for injury and property-damage-only crashes.
- There were 5,279 fatal crashes involving large trucks in the United States in 2022.
- Large trucks were involved in 503,000 total crashes in 2022, a rounded estimate combining fatal, injury and property-damage-only categories.
- Large trucks and buses together were involved in 553,000 total crashes in 2022, while all vehicle types were involved in 5,931,000.
- Vehicle occupants killed in large-truck crashes totaled 5,264 in 2022; large-truck occupants accounted for 1,097 of those fatalities.
- Nonmotorists killed in large-truck crashes totaled 672 in 2022, including 533 pedestrians.
Estimated large-truck and bus crash costs totaled $152 billion in 2022, reported in 2021-adjusted dollars. The modeled components were $83 billion for fatal crashes, $49 billion for injury crashes and $21 billion for property-damage-only crashes; component costs may not sum exactly because of rounding.
Source: 2024 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics.
These cost figures are modeled estimates using FARS, CRSS and FHWA, NHTSA and Volpe inputs. They are not recorded insurance claims, repair bills or government spending totals.
Work Truck Emissions, Labor and Operating Context
Work-truck activity connects vehicle use with emissions and labor demand, although the source definitions are not identical. EPA uses medium- and heavy-duty truck emissions categories, while BLS reports occupations rather than vehicle-registration classes.
EPA estimated that medium- and heavy-duty trucks produced 23% of U.S. transportation greenhouse-gas emissions in 2022. Transportation represented 29% of total U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions when direct and indirect emissions were considered, while direct transportation emissions represented 28%; transportation fossil-fuel-combustion emissions increased 19% from 1990 to 2022.
Source: Transportation Sector Emissions.
BLS estimated 2,070,480 heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver jobs and 994,410 light-truck-driver jobs in May 2024. These are Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, and the occupational definitions are broader than any one truck class.
The median annual wage for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers was $58,640 in May 2025. BLS projects employment in that occupation to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035 and projects about 214,500 average annual openings over that period, including replacement demand from worker transfers and labor-force exits.
Sources: Occupational Employment and Wages News Release – 2024 A01 Results and Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers: Occupational Outlook Handbook.
The 2022 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey is a complementary source for vehicle-use analysis, but its national sample excludes government-owned vehicles, ambulances, buses, motor homes, farm tractors, unpowered trailers and vehicles disposed of before the survey year. It should not be used to imply a complete census of all work trucks.