Tennessee Fast Facts: Cumberland International Trucks

Tennessee Fast Facts – Originally published by the Tennessee Trucking Association

Employment: In 2015, the trucking industry in Tennessee provided 188,680 jobs or 1 out of 13 in the state. Total trucking industry wages paid in Tennessee in 2015 exceeded $8.3 billion, with an average annual trucking industry salary of $43,860. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported in May 2015 that heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers held 52,580 jobs with an average annual salary of $41,260.
Small Business Emphasis: As of April 2015, there were 9,790 trucking companies located in Tennessee, most of them small, locally owned businesses. These companies are served by a wide range of supporting businesses both large and small.
Transportation of Essential Products: Trucks transported 83% of total manufactured tonnage in the state in 2012 or 279,010 tons per day. 90.5% of Tennessee communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods.

As an Industry: In 2014, the trucking industry in Tennessee paid approximately $654 million in federal and state roadway taxes. The industry paid 37% of all taxes owed by Tennessee motorists, despite trucks representing only 10% of vehicle miles traveled in the state.
Individual Companies: As of January 2016, a typical five-axle tractor-semitrailer combination paid $4,385 in state highway user fees and taxes in addition to $8,906 in federal user fees and taxes. These taxes were over and above the typical taxes paid by businesses in Tennessee.
Roadway Use: In 2014, Tennessee had 95,561 miles of public roads over which all motorists traveled 72.3 billion miles. Trucking’s use of the public roads was 6.9 billion miles.

Continually Improving: In 2014 the U.S. large truck fatal crash rate was 1.23 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This rate has dropped by 73% since the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) began keeping these records in 1975. The 2014 fatal crash rate for the state of Tennessee was 1.35 per 100 million VMT.
Sharing the Road: The trucking industry is committed to sharing the road safely with all vehicles. The Share the Road program sends a team of professional truck drivers to communities around the country to teach car drivers about truck blind spots, stopping distances and how to merge safely around large trucks, all designed to reduce the number of car-truck accidents.
Safety First: Tennessee Trucking Association members put safety first through improved driver training, investment in advanced safety technologies and active participation in industry safety initiatives at the local, state and national levels.

Fuel Consumption: The trucking industry continues to improve energy and environmental efficiency even while increasing the number of miles driven. In 2014, trucks consumed 97 billion fewer gallons of fuel than passenger vehicles in the U.S. and accounted for just 17% of the total highway transportation fuel consumed.
Emissions: Through advancements in engine technology and fuel refinements, new diesel truck engines produce 98% fewer particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions than a similar engine manufactured prior to 1990. Sulfur emissions from diesel engines have also been reduced by 97% since 1999.
Partnerships: Through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership, the trucking industry is working with government and businesses to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and take steps to reduce them.

Updated November 2016 with most recent data available.

Tennessee Fast Facts