Throughout the course of recent years, the transportation industry in the United States has grown quite considerably indeed, to say the very least. In fact, there are a number of different ways in which this growth can be seen and measured. For one thing, the overall value of freight has been consistently on the rise, a trend that is expected to continue into the future (and for quite some time, for that matter). After all, a ton of cargo was worth just over $880 back in the year of 2013, now nearly seven years in the past. But by the time that we reach the year of 2040, now closer than it seems, this value per ton is expected to increase to the point of exceeding $1,300 – and it’s certainly only upwards from that point on as well.
In addition to this, the actual amount of cargo being transported from place to place is climbing as well. Back in that same year of 2013, the amount of cargo being transported throughout a 12 month span was only around 15 billion tons. But by the time that we are approaching the year of 2040, this value is expected to climb to an impressive more than 18.5 billion tons, which is certainly a considerable amount of growth seen in this area.
And still, there are more areas of growth that the transportation industry has been able to experience and is projected to continue to experience in the upcoming future as truckload freight services continue to expand. For instance, the sheer number of vehicles being used is undoubtedly something that has grown. Already, there are up to 12 million of them, including locomotives and trucks as well as other methods of transportation, being used all throughout the United States alone, all within the scope and scale of the transportation industry. And this, as you might have already guessed, has driven up the number of people who are employed in this industry by quite the considerable amount as well. Currently, there are about five and a half million people filling roles within the transportation industry of the United States, something that has brought considerable job security to the lives of many.
Of course, it is very important indeed to talk about why such changes are taking place. For one thing, the growth of e-commerce has had a tremendous impact on the transportation industry of the United States, as more and more people are looking for the goods that they purchase online to be shipped – and shipped quickly – right to their front doors. Less than truckload freight services have become popular for this reason, with the market of LTL shipping already worth around $35 billion on its own. This type of truckload freight shipping is also a part of the typical expedited shipping service, which makes it easier than ever to get goods and products more quickly than ever before in history. And with the market for e-commerce already worth, in revenue, about $420 billion on a yearly basis – and only growing from that point – such less than truckload freight services and LTL shipping services are certainly going to also be on the rise.
Truckload freight services can also be seen in other aspects of the transportation industry, not just in relation to e-commerce and the rising online shopping rates it has led to. For instance, truckload freight services are ideal for trade show shipments. As the popularity of trade shows has grown, trade show logistics and truckload freight services providing trade show freight shipping has become more and more essential as a result. After all, the overall value of trade shows is impressive, with more and more marketing professionals holding them up as important.
At the end of the day, there is no denying that the industry of transportation here in the United States is a hugely important one. After all, so much about it is changing and adapting, on a consistent basis, to the world around it. Without this industry, life would look much different for us indeed, of this there is no doubt. Ultimately, there are many ways that we benefit from the American transportation industry.
