A truck driver is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, which is commonly defined as a large goods vehicle (LGV) or heavy goods vehicle (HGV).
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation that regulates the trucking industry in the United States. The primary mission of the FMCSA is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.
The Motor Carrier Regulatory Reform and Modernization Act, more commonly known as the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 (MCA) is a United States federal law which deregulated the trucking industry.
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is a publicly traded, American motor carrier holding company based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the fifth largest trucking company in the United States. The company's primary subsidiaries are truckload carriers Knight Transportation, Swift Transportation, Midnite Express and, since July 2021, less than truckload (LTL) carrier AAA Cooper. In January 2022, the company expanded its LTL footprint with the acquisition of Midwest Motor Express. In July, 2023 Knight-Swift acquired truckload carrier US Xpress.
The Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) is a non-profit organization that provides certification of training courses for drivers of commercial motor vehicles. It was formed in 1986 during the standardization of commercial driver's licensing by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in the United States. Its management was taken over by the TCA in 1996. PTDI is the first nonprofit organization to develop uniform skill performance, curriculum, and certification standards for the trucking industry and to award course certification to entry-level truck driver training courses and motor carrier driver-finishing programs.
P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. is an irregular route over-the-road trucking company that is based in Tontitown, Arkansas. Founded in April 1980, P.A.M's current service area covers the lower continental 48 states as well as the southern parts of Ontario, Canada. In the early 1990s, P.A.M. began providing transportation services to Mexico under agreements with several Mexican trucking carriers. P.A.M. Transport serves clients primarily in the automotive, manufacturing, and retail industries and its primary freight consists of general commodities, automotive parts, and heating and air conditioning units. According to the Hoovers financial data on this company, P.A.M.’s company name stands for Pretty Awesome Mileage, yet according to the company's own FAQ on their website, P.A.M. is short for the company founder's initials, Paul Allen Maestri.
Hours of Service (HOS) regulations are issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and govern the working hours of anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in the United States. These regulations apply to truck drivers, commercial and intercity bus drivers, and school bus drivers who operate CMVs. These rules limit the number of daily and weekly hours spent driving and working, and regulate the minimum amount of time drivers must spend resting between driving shifts. For intrastate commerce, the respective state's regulations apply.
The trucking industry serves the American economy by transporting large quantities of raw materials, works in process, and finished goods over land—typically from manufacturing plants to retail distribution centers. Trucks are also used in the construction industry, two of which require dump trucks and portable concrete mixers to move the large amounts of rocks, dirt, concrete, and other building materials used in construction. Trucks in America are responsible for the majority of freight movement over land and are tools in the manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing industries.
A specialized set of jargon describe the tools, equipment, and employment sectors used in the trucking industry in the United States. Some terms may be used within other English-speaking countries, or within the freight industry in general. For example, shore power is a term borrowed from shipping terminology, in which electrical power is transferred from shore to ship, instead of the ship relying upon idling its engines. Drawing power from land lines is more efficient than engine idling and eliminates localized air pollution. Another borrowed term is "landing gear", which refers to the legs which support the front end of a semi-trailer when it is not connected to a semi-truck. Some nicknames are obvious wordplay, such as "portable parking lot", in reference to a truck that carries automobiles.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA), founded in 1933, is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations. Former Governor of Kansas Bill Graves was replaced by Chris Spear as the ATA's president and CEO in July 2016.
The American Moving & Storage Association (AMSA) was the non-profit trade association representing members of the professional moving industry based primarily in the United States. Its approximately 4,000 members consisted of van lines, their agents, independent movers, forwarders, industry suppliers, and certain individuals and organizations.
The trucking industry in the United States has affected the political and economic history of the United States in the 20th century. Before the invention of automobiles, most freight was moved by train or horse-drawn vehicle.
Michael H. Belzer is an American academic and former truck driver, known as an internationally recognized expert on the trucking industry, especially the institutional and economic impact of deregulation. He is a professor in the economics department at Wayne State University. He is the author of Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation. Along with Gregory M. Saltzman, he coauthored Truck Driver Occupational Safety and Health: 2003 Conference Report and Selective Literature Review, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2007. He has written many peer-reviewed articles on trucking industry economics, labor, occupational safety and health, infrastructure, and operational issues.
An auto transport broker is a type of cargo broker that specializes in the shipping and transportation of vehicles. Most vehicles shipped in the U.S. are cars and trucks, but many brokers handle boats, RVs, motorcycles and other types of vehicles as well. Auto transport is classified as "specialized freight trucking" under NAICS code 484230.
People who are driving as part of their work duties are an important road user category. First, workers themselves are at risk of road traffic injury. Contributing factors include fatigue and long work hours, delivery pressures, distractions from mobile phones and other devices, lack of training to operate the assigned vehicle, vehicle defects, use of prescription and non-prescription medications, medical conditions, and poor journey planning. Death, disability, or injury of a family wage earner due to road traffic injury, in addition to causing emotional pain and suffering, creates economic hardship for the injured worker and family members that may persist well beyond the event itself.
Public Law 113-45 is a U.S. federal law that requires that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration go through the standard rulemaking proceeding, allowing comment from the public and the trucking industry, before it sets any requirements for truck drivers related to sleep apnea. It was introduced in the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama in October 2013.
Daseke, Inc. is the largest owner and a leading consolidator of flatbed and specialized transportation in North America, comprising 16 operating companies with over 5,200 trucks and over 11,000 flatbed and specialized trailers.
WTI Transport, Inc. is a for-hire carrier based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with terminals in Birmingham, Mobile and Whites Creek, TN. A flatbed company of approximately 370 tractors, WTI hauls freight throughout the Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and East Coast. WTI’s fleet is a mixture of company drivers and owner-operators. Shipments consist mainly of roofing, building materials, and all types of aluminum, iron and steel products. Currently, WTI is a subsidiary of Daseke
Women In Trucking Association, Inc.(WIT) is an American non-profit organization which focuses on the employment of women in the trucking industry and addresses obstacles that might keep women from entering or succeeding in the trucking industry. It was founded by Ellen Voie in 2007, who currently serves as the President and CEO. The organization focuses mainly on women who are already a part of the industry or have an interest in it and works as a support network with 5,500 members in which 600 are drivers and others are corporations. WIT headquarters are located in Plover, Wisconsin, United States.
GP Transco is an American trucking company known for providing transportation and logistics services in the United States and Canada.
United States