
Here’s a closer look at the trucking industry statistics highlighting the significance of the backbone of America – truckers.
The trucking industry statistics are truly remarkable. It’s an industry topping $726.4 billion in revenue for 2015 and responsible for six percent of all jobs in America.
If you bought it, they brought it. Truck drivers keep America rolling by driving countless and lonely hours delivering the cargo we desire. Without trucks to ship things, those shelves would be mighty bare and those same-day delivering services from your online shopping wouldn’t be possible without truckers.
Don’t believe us? Check out the trucking industry statistics.
Merge onto any highway and you’ll see countless semi trucks heading in either direction of the road. Seems like they’re endless amounts of them right? You would be correct, in fact 80 percent of all cargo in the USA!

There are 3.5 million truck drivers in the trucking industry who put their life at risk delivering an array of commodities and goods. Drivers operate heavy-duty trucks with a load weighing as much as 80,000 pounds. In 2015, 852 truck drivers lost their life while working, making truck driver the most dangerous job in the USA. So remember to give truck drivers space and don’t tailgate.

Truck drivers haul a variety of goods with machinery, electronic and motorized vehicles making up 27 percent of goods shipped by truck drivers in America. The most common thing trucks haul is machinery, followed by electronics and motorized vehicles. Additionally, mixed freight includes commodities such as food and restaurant supplies.

Let’s face it, without the trucking industry we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the things we have. Shelves would be empty and people would undoubtedly be in a state of panic if that happens. The trucking industry statistics don’t lie!




Trucker Spotlight - Natasha <em>The Trucker Spotlight series explores the lives of truckers and their journey to make a difference in their industry. We interview different truck drivers to understand some life lessons that make them who they are today. We also learn more about their motivations, and the problems that they encounter on the job. We also tackle how Trucker Path's solutions helped them with what they do. The information that they provide helps inform other people who are looking to delve into the trucking world.</em>
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Today we are putting the spotlight on <strong>Natasha</strong>, who's a 27 year-old trucker/Youtuber and was born and raised in Hawaii. She's been driving for 1.5 years as a team owner operator together with her husband. She likes to make people laugh and smile through her Youtube videos. She and her husband are team owner operators. Let's get to know more about Natasha and her trucking adventures.
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<h3><strong>What made you decide to be a trucker?</strong></h3>
From watching other Youtuber truckers on youtube actually! At that time, me and my husband had nothing to lose but sell everything we owned and join the trucking world.
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<h3><strong>In the years that you have been driving, what are the significant changes that you've
noticed in the trucking industry?</strong></h3>
Since I haven't been driving long enough, the one thing I have noticed is that the trucking industry is getting bigger by the day! Theres so many diverse truckers, you have to stay open minded dealing with everyone across the country on a daily basis.
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<h3><strong>What made you decide to put up your Youtube channel?</strong></h3>
I've always filmed random Youtube videos since I was 16 on old channels. I was bored one day trucking and uploaded one for fun, and slowly more people watched and asked me to post more. So thats how it snowballed into me uploading videos full time now! I wanted to post videos to help other truckers with owner operator questions I had when I first started.
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<h3><strong>Any times when you get lonely while driving? How do you deal with it?</strong></h3>
Since I'm always with my husband, I'd appreciate some alone time, but I'm always grateful that we have each other. Sometimes, i miss my family and friends since it can be hard to see them. Having my little toy fox terrier dog with me has really made trucking it best!
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<h3><strong>As a trucker, what are the current struggles in this COVID19 pandemic?</strong></h3>
The hardest thing so far for us during COVID is food. Most fast food places did and still are closing the lobby and only opening drive through which we definitely cant go through. Also many restaurants closed all together, in the beginning especially we ended up eating canned soups, ramen, TV dinners, etc a lot.
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<h3><strong>What's your favorite Truck Brand / Model?</strong></h3>
I like the newest Freightliner Cascadia's interior features the best, the outside is slick too, but my favorite thing is they made every tiny thing very user friendly and more livable. We had an older Freightliner before. It's WAY different in their new ones.
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<h3><strong>Aside from being a trucker, any other things you dream of doing?</strong></h3>
I started investing in real estate a few years ago. I only own 1 house so far, but plan on continuing to build my portfolio over the years to come. Also, I dream of being a mom one day to a lot of kids and dogs!
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<h3><strong>What's the best truck stop for you?</strong></h3>
Russells in NM is one of the coolest - it has a car museum inside. We like Quicktrips, and Mavericks, their fuel is usually the lowest in their area, and they're clean and have good food. Many Jack Flashes are brand new and have tons of food options and a shop inside. Of course we found all these stops on Trucker Path!
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<h3><strong>What are the common troubles or problems you encounter while trucking?</strong></h3>
For us it's learning the different trucking seasons of the year and how it affects our rates, each season we have to adjust the routes we do in order to do well. Also, since I drive night shift, finding a place to stop for a break or sleep is the most difficult thing sometimes, it's crowded out here for trucks! The other thing is finding a decent bathroom/shower or any at all, sometimes I have to just toughen up!
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<h3><strong>What are your pet peeves while driving/trucking?</strong></h3>
Regular car drivers! They're always chillin in your blind spots not paying attention, and of course they like to cut in front of trucks really fast which is always a dangerous situation. We have to drive and break so differently than regular cars, so driving around a lot of cars can be stressful.
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<h3><strong>What are your trucker essentials?</strong></h3>
My morning travel bag I found on Amazon, it's big and I need it 2x per day so it has everything I need when I first wake up to right before I go to sleep. Another trucker essential is having everything in the truck as mini sized as possible since our space is limited.
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<h3><strong>We're glad that you use the Trucker Path app on your day to day trucking. What features do you enjoy the most?</strong></h3>
As owner ops, we use the <a href="http://www.truckerpath.com">Trucker Path</a>'s fuel prices the most! Secondary to that would be the restaurant tab to see what food is at each stop. Then, the trip planner to find stops along your route is very cool, especially when going cross country twice a week like we usually do, its a long trip to plan!
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<h3><strongWhat are some tips that you would like to share for aspiring truckers?</strong></h3>
Be patient and stick with it, everything will be 200% harder at first, but eventually even the smallest things will get easier and better almost without trying. You will feel very rewarded after some time, and it all will be worth it!
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<h3><strong>Where can people watch your videos on Youtube?</strong></h3>
They can view my videos on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXtbBerWrhRFN7E-aJ-5M7g">Youtube Channel, Natasha Trucking</a>.
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Hope you guys enjoy!
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<h4>By Aldous Aldwin</h4>
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California Approves Fuel Tax Increase to Fund Road Improvements
[p]The California Senate approved a bill that will increase the price of gasoline and diesel in order to fund road repair projects and infrastructure improvements.[/p]
[p]The new bill passed by a 27–11 vote and only a signature by Gov. Jerry Brown is required before implementing the tax hike. This will be the first tax increase in California on gas in 23 years.[/p]
[p]The tax revenue is expected to generate $5.2 billion per year to help fund road projects.<strong> The new tax hikes will go into effect on Wednesday, November 1, 2017.</strong>[/p]
[ul]
[li]Gasoline Tax Hike – 12 cents per gallon increase[/li]
[li]Disesel Fuel Tax Hike – 20 cents per gallon increase[/li]
[/ul]
[p]The tax hike is not expected to be incorporated all at once. In addition, the bill includes a $100 annual fee for electric cars and an increase in license and registration fees for automobiles in California depending on value. The fee increase will go into effect on January 1, 2018.[/p]
[h2] Compare Diesel Prices with Trucker Path [/h2]
[p] We can't prevent the tax increase on diesel but we can help you find locations with the lowest diesel prices. Use Trucker Path so you can compare and find the cheapest diesel fuel prices near you. Whether it's at truck stops or fuel stations, we have thousands of locations with accurate pricing so you can save (well, what you can). [/p]
[button-green href="https://truckerpath.com/trucker-path-app/diesel-station-near-me/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cali_fueltax"]More About Trucker Path[/button-green]
[android-img src="/uploads/2017/04/Screenshot_20171029-074412-1.jpg" alt="deisel prices"]
