HOW TRUCKING IMPACTS YOUR WORLD

We’ve all been following a semi-truck and felt annoyed at its sheer size and lack of speed. Let’s face it, we most likely A) experienced road rage and cursed the trucks existence, B) got in the other lane and sped past them or C) paid no attention to it. In fact, this weekend I was in a golf tournament when one of our fellow golfers said, “no offense, but I hate those damn trucks when I’m traveling.” No matter your reaction, what we don’t realize is that every truck is carrying goods that will most likely impact your life in multiple ways. Take a look around you. From the food on your table to the clothes on your back to the medicine in the cabinet, almost everything around you was on a truck at some point in time.

The food industry is hugely impacted by frequent fresh deliveries from trucks. According to the ATA if trucking stopped, “significant shortages will occur in as little as three days, especially for perishable items.” Millions of American families, just like yours and mine, go to the grocery store regularly to pick up essential, perishable items. Without trucks replenishing the store’s stock, these items will become more difficult to purchase. The fruits and vegetables displayed on store shelves would be less fresh and the items on the store shelves would ultimately dwindle until stores were unable to keep up. Lack of truck deliveries impacts the food on our dinner table.

The healthcare industry is another area where frequent deliveries are vital to the industry’s success. With deliveries made to hospitals, pharmacies, doctor’s offices and retirement homes, trucking is crucial for these places to run. Trucks deliver medications, medical equipment and other healthcare supplies to ensure the health of Americans and their families. Basic supplies and medications would diminish and the healthcare facilities would be unable to provide satisfactory patient care. In addition, “Hospitals and nursing homes receive daily truck deliveries of food for patients,” expressed the ATA. Our families and loved ones would not receive the care they needed to get back to full health without the assistance from healthcare facilities and the trucks that deliver their necessary supplies.

Trucking also impacts the transportation industry as a whole. Trucks deliver multiple shipments of fuel to gas stations every day – trucks are responsible for “80 percent of the fuel deliveries to the nation’s airports,” states the ATA. Without deliveries from trucks, the cars we drive and buses we take to work would not receive the fuel they needed to run. If trucks didn’t deliver fuel to our airports, we could neither use commercial flights as a means of travel, nor use air transport as a way to ship goods either. Trucks impact the transportation industry as a whole. They deliver shipments to airports, railroad stations and shipping ports for cross country or worldly transport.

Have you ever bought food from the store? Gone to the doctor or the hospital? Driven in a car? Or had a package delivered to your house? If you answer yes (and I’m fairly certain you have), trucks have benefited your life. No matter how you spin it, trucks deliver shipments of items that are used every day by Americans all over the country. They are crucial to the U.S. economy and to the health and safety of everyone. Next time you’re getting frustrated driving behind a semi-truck, try to remember their crucial role in bettering our lives.

All the best,

Jeff Beckham