Fleet trucks connect manufacturing, wholesale, construction, delivery and other operations to the wider freight system. The statistics below distinguish shipment tonnage, vehicle travel, large-truck crashes, commercial pickups, zero-emission deployments and truck-driving occupations because these measures describe different populations and are not interchangeable.
Key Fleet Truck Statistics
These are the most useful broad measures for understanding fleet trucks in the United States:
- In 2022, U.S. shipments totaled 12.2 billion tons across businesses covered by the Commodity Flow Survey.
- In 2022, truck as a single domestic mode hauled approximately 8.3 billion tons, or 68.1% of total tonnage, in the United States.
- In 2022, truck-mode shipments represented $13.2 trillion, or 73.5% of shipment value, in the United States.
- In 2022, 56.4% of all shipment tonnage traveled less than 50 miles in the United States Commodity Flow Survey.
- In 2022, combination trucks traveled 108,122 million vehicle-miles on all rural roads in the United States.
- In 2022, combination trucks traveled 49,710 million vehicle-miles on urban interstates in the United States.
- In 2022, approximately 503,000 police-reported crashes involved large trucks in the United States.
- In 2022, 5,279 fatal large-truck crashes occurred in the United States.
- In 2022, approximately 114,000 injury large-truck crashes occurred in the United States.
- In 2022, about 54% of fatal large-truck crashes occurred in rural areas of the United States.
- A 2024 report estimated that the United States had 3.8 million commercial pickups in Class 2B and above, excluding personal-use vehicles.
- In the commercial-pickup segment described in a 2024 report, most vehicles were driven less than 13,000 miles per year on average in the United States.
- As of December 2023, 1,162 heavy-duty battery-electric vehicles had been deployed in the cited United States market estimate.
- By December 2023, 44 fuel-cell electric vehicles had been deployed in the medium- and heavy-duty trucking segments tracked by CALSTART.
- In the cited 2020–2050 forecast, U.S. freight tonnage is projected to reach 28.7 billion tons by 2050, 50% above 2020.
- In May 2024, 3,482,310 driver/sales workers and truck drivers were employed in the United States occupation group.
- In May 2024, the occupation group’s mean annual wage was $53,170 in the United States.
- From 2025 to 2035, heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver employment is projected to grow 4% in the United States.
Contents
- Key Fleet Truck Statistics
- U.S. Fleet Truck Freight Statistics
- Fleet Truck Travel Trends by Road Type
- Large-Truck Fleet Safety and Crash Data
- Commercial Pickup Fleet Statistics
- Fleet Truck Energy and Zero-Emission Adoption
- Truck-Driver Workforce and Labor Outlook
U.S. Fleet Truck Freight Statistics
The Census Bureau’s 2022 Commodity Flow Survey measured shipments by businesses within its paid-employee survey scope. These figures describe goods shipped and their value, not a census of registered vehicles or fleet ownership.
The national scale was 12.2 billion tons and $18.0 trillion in shipment value in 2022. Truck as a single domestic mode accounted for approximately 8.3 billion tons, or 68.1% of tonnage, and $13.2 trillion, or 73.5% of value.
Source: Census Bureau Reports Shipment of U.S. Goods Reached 12.2 Billion Tons and $18.0 Trillion.
| 2022 CFS measure | Amount | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| All shipments | 12.2 billion tons | U.S. CFS in-scope businesses |
| All shipment value | $18.0 trillion | U.S. CFS in-scope businesses |
| Truck, single domestic mode | 8.3 billion tons; 68.1% | U.S. shipments |
| Truck-mode value | $13.2 trillion; 73.5% | U.S. shipments |
| Customer pickup | 1.4 billion tons; $1.0 trillion | Newly tabulated 2022 mode estimate |
Short-haul movement was prominent: 56.4% of all shipment tonnage traveled less than 50 miles. For shipments to Canada, trucks carried 49.6% of tonnage, while hazardous-material shipments totaled 2.6 billion tons valued at $2.1 trillion.
Manufacturing establishments shipped 4.9 billion tons worth $7.1 trillion, and wholesale establishments shipped 4.1 billion tons worth $8.1 trillion. By Census region, the South shipped 1.9 billion tons, representing 40.4% of U.S. goods shipped, while the Midwest shipped 3.4 billion tons, representing 28.1%.
The CFS labels several figures as estimates, and customer pickup was newly tabulated as a 2022 mode estimate. Shipment distance is not the same measure as truck-fleet vehicle miles.
Fleet Truck Travel Trends by Road Type
FHWA’s Highway Statistics 2022 measures vehicle distance traveled by vehicle category and highway type. Single-unit trucks and combination trucks are FHWA classifications; neither is identical to every fleet truck.
| Road category, 2022 | Single-unit trucks | Combination trucks |
|---|---|---|
| All rural roads | 50,899 million vehicle-miles | 108,122 million vehicle-miles |
| Rural interstates | 11,677 million vehicle-miles | 61,652 million vehicle-miles |
| Rural other arterials | 19,332 million vehicle-miles | 33,364 million vehicle-miles |
| Rural other roads | 19,890 million vehicle-miles | 13,106 million vehicle-miles |
| Urban interstates | 20,397 million vehicle-miles | 49,710 million vehicle-miles |
| Urban other arterials | 64,928 million vehicle-miles | 37,216 million vehicle-miles |
Source: Highway Statistics 2022, Table VM-1: Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data.
The rural comparison also provides a prior-year reference. In 2021, single-unit trucks traveled 48,665 million vehicle-miles on all rural roads, while combination trucks traveled 103,856 million vehicle-miles.
These are observed travel measures for the United States, not vehicle counts. Road-category totals should therefore be read as activity indicators rather than direct evidence of how many fleet trucks operate.
Large-Truck Fleet Safety and Crash Data
FMCSA’s Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2022 estimated approximately 503,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks in 2022. The compilation included 5,279 fatal crashes and approximately 114,000 injury crashes.
Source: Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2022.
| 2022 large-truck crash measure | Share or count |
|---|---|
| Police-reported crashes | Approximately 503,000 |
| Fatal crashes | 5,279 |
| Injury crashes | Approximately 114,000 |
| Fatal crashes in rural areas | Approximately 54% |
| Fatal crashes on interstate highways | 27% |
| Fatal crashes on rural interstates | 13% |
| Fatal crashes per million people | 15.8 |
Two-vehicle crashes were involved in 62% of fatal large-truck crashes. Collision with a vehicle in transport was the first harmful event in 73% of fatal large-truck crashes, while overturn was the first harmful event in 4%.
Single-vehicle crashes represented 21% of fatal large-truck crashes, 16% of injury crashes and 22% of property-damage-only crashes. FMCSA’s single-vehicle category includes crashes involving bicyclists, pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles, and the population-normalized rate is not a vehicle-mile rate.
FMCSA combines census and sample systems, and its estimates are rounded. Comparisons across the 2016 classification change require caution.
Commercial Pickup Fleet Statistics
The U.S. commercial pickup population is distinct from the large-truck and combination-truck measures above. A 2024 Department of Energy report estimated 3.8 million commercial pickups in Class 2B and above, excluding personal-use vehicles.
Source: An Action Plan for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Energy and Emissions Innovation.
Most commercial pickups in the report were driven less than 13,000 miles per year on average. The report also states that commercial pickups can tow loads of 12,000 pounds or more, although that is a segment capability statement rather than a specification for every vehicle.
Towing changes the operating picture for battery-electric pickups. An 11,000-pound towing load may reduce battery-electric pickup range by approximately half in examples cited by the report, but this is not a universal test result for every vehicle or route.
These figures are useful for separating commercial pickup utilization from freight tonnage and FHWA vehicle-miles. The commercial-pickup estimate excludes personal purposes and covers Class 2B and above.
Fleet Truck Energy and Zero-Emission Adoption
Zero-emission adoption figures cover several vehicle populations and measurement types. The Department of Energy report cites buses, heavy-duty battery-electric deployments, fuel-cell deployments and California vouchers; ordered, voucher-backed and deployed vehicles should not be treated as the same measure.
| Measure | Period | Figure | Population or geography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero-emission share | 2022 | Roughly 3% | Deployed Class 7–8 buses, United States |
| Zero-emission share | 2023 | Close to 9% | CALSTART-tracked Class 7–8 bus market |
| Battery-electric share | 2022–2023 figures | About 95% | Cited zero-emission bus totals |
| Heavy-duty BEV deployments | December 2023 | 1,162 vehicles | United States cited deployments |
| Fuel-cell electric deployments | December 2023 | 44 vehicles | Medium- and heavy-duty trucking segments |
| Unredeemed fuel-cell vouchers | June 2024 | 356 vouchers | California HVIP |
Source: An Action Plan for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Energy and Emissions Innovation.
The roughly 3% 2022 share refers to deployed Class 7–8 buses in the National Transit Database context. CALSTART’s close to 9% 2023 figure includes vehicles ordered but not delivered, so it is not directly comparable with the deployed share.
Early demonstrations put battery-electric transit buses at roughly 1.5 to 1.7 times the cost of conventional diesel buses. That is an early-market demonstration estimate, not a current purchase-price average for fleet trucks.
Longer-term freight demand is also a forecast rather than an observed adoption measure. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics and FHWA project freight tonnage to reach 28.7 billion tons by 2050, 50% above 2020, and freight value to reach $36.2 trillion in 2017 dollars, about double its 2020 value.
The cited FAF baseline says trucks currently carry 65% of U.S. freight tonnage and are expected to remain the predominant mode. This is not a forecast truck share for 2050, and FAF5.1 figures are model estimates based on economic-growth scenarios.
Source: Freight Activity in the U.S Expected to Grow Fifty Percent by 2050.
Truck-Driver Workforce and Labor Outlook
Fleet capacity depends on people as well as vehicles. BLS’s May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics counted 3,482,310 employed driver/sales workers and truck drivers in the United States occupation grouping.
Source: Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2024.
The same occupation group had a mean hourly wage of $25.56 and a mean annual wage of $53,170 in May 2024. These are occupational survey statistics and do not identify fleet size, vehicle make or employer fleet composition.
BLS’s Occupational Outlook Handbook projects heavy and tractor-trailer truck-driver employment to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035. It also projects about 237,600 openings per year on average from 2024 to 2034.
Source: Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers: Occupational Outlook Handbook.
The projected openings include replacement needs as well as growth, so they are not all net-new fleet jobs. The employment projection is a forecast, while the May 2024 workforce and wage figures are survey measurements.