Why Trucking Matters
- TRUCKING DRIVES THE ECONOMY
Careers
102,150
Trucking industry jobs in Arkansas
1 in 11 jobs in the state
SMALL BUSINESS EMPHASIS
9,680
Trucking companies located in
Arkansas.
Primarily small, locally owned businesses, these companies are served by a wide range of supporting businesses.
COMPETITIVE WAGES
Total trucking industry wages paid in Arkansas in 2023 exceeded $5.6 billion, with an average annual trucking industry salary of $54,658
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers held 34,460 jobs in Arkansas in 2023. The national average annual salary of an over-the-road truck driver is $75,144.
TRANSPORTING THE ESSENTIALS
86.8% of communities in the state depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods.
- SAFETY MATTERS
SAFETY FIRST
- Improved driver training
- Investment in advanced safety technologies
- Active participation in industry safety initiatives at the local, state and national levels
ATRI research shows the success of their efforts. Members of State Trucking Associations are involved in fewer crashes and receive fewer violations at roadside inspections than their industry peers.
COMMITMENT TO SHARING THE ROAD
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.
- TRUCKING PAYS THE FREIGHT
THE INDUSTRY
$490 million
in federal and state roadway taxes
The industry paid 44% of all taxes owed by Arkansas motorist…
…despite trucks representing only 15% of vehicle miles traveled in the state.
INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES
As of January 2025, a typical five-axle tractor-semitrailer
combination paid highway user fees and taxes of…
ROADWAY USE
Miles driven on public roads:
- All Motorists: 38.5 billion
- Trucks: 5.8 billion
Traffic congestion in Arkansas cost the trucking industry $1.2 billion in 2022.
- DELIVERING A CLEANER TOMORROW
EMISSIONS
- 50% of Arkansas commercial trucks are now powered by the newest-generation, near-zero emissions diesel technology.
- Medium- and heavy-duty trucks contribute just 23% of all transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. and represent only 7% of total U.S. GHG emissions.
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.
FUEL CONSUMPTION
The trucking industry continues to improve energy and environmental efficiency even while increasing the number of miles driven. In 2022:
Combination trucks accounted for just 16% of the total highway transportation fuel consumed.
Combination trucks consumed nearly 116 billion fewer gallons of fuel than passenger vehicles in the U.S.
The following data sources were utilized for the Fast Facts: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023); Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: Analysis & Information (2024); American Trucking Associations Driver Compensation Study (2024); Commodity Flow Survey Public Use Microdataset (2017); American Transportation Research Institute: Membership Counts – Associations with Safety (2023); National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (2022); Federal Highway Administration: Highway Statistics Series (2022); Energy Information Administration: Fuel Taxes (2024); International Fuel Tax Association: Fuel Tax Rates (Q4 2024); International Registration Plan, Inc.: Jurisdiction Data (2025); American Transportation Research Institute: Cost of Congestion to the Trucking Industry (2024); Diesel Technology Forum Clean Diesel Powers in Your State (2023); Environmental Protection Agency Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2022).
Patrons
Supporters
