Trucking Goods to Market
in Rural America

By William Amt, EDFS Manager, NADO Research Foundation

Trucks move more goods to market than any other form of conveyance. The trucking industry is integral to the US and rural economies, and it is critical that freight continues to move smoothly and safely to as much of the country as possible.

In 2002, according to the American Trucking Association (ATA), trucks shipped nine billion tons of freight, or 68 percent of the national total. Ten million people have trucking-related jobs, over three million of whom are drivers that are employed by 500,000 carriers. In addition to delivering goods and providing employment, this vast industry also gives back to communities by consuming billions of dollars in goods and services and paying business, fuel, road, and federal and state taxes. To illustrate the impact of trucking on the economy, an ATA study of Oklahoma’s first congressional district (Tulsa area) found that every million dollars in trucking revenue creates 22 new jobs and yields $250,000 in state and federal taxes.

As dominant as trucking is, it has had to adjust to economic changes. For instance, goods production processes have gotten increasingly efficient with just-in-time systems. For instance, the just-in-time production process reduces inventories by producing goods on an as-needed basis. According to a report by Joseph Cortright, just-in- time suppliers initially chose airfreight to ship their inputs because it was deemed more reliable. The trucking industry took back market share by guaranteeing day- or hour-definite delivery times at lower prices, and as a result, airfreight companies have expanded their trucking operations.

In keeping with this trend toward timeliness, Cortright reports that growth of the long-haul trucking market is slowing and being replaced by shorter runs of under 700 miles out of regional warehouses. In addition, companies that are increasing their Internet sales depend on trucks to deliver their goods to locations companies previously did not serve.

Trucking Goods Through The Mountains

ATA believes such efficiencies are particularly important because trucks exclusively serve 75 percent of communities, many of which are rural. An efficient and durable road network is essential for ensuring that inputs and goods are able to reach these communities on time. As the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) demonstrates, it is also essential for regional economic development. Historically, the Appalachian region had never been served by adequate roads because of the high cost of building highways through the region’s mountainous terrain. Instead, it was served by narrow, winding, two-lane roads, that were slow and unsafe especially for trucks. As a result, the region suffered from a weak economy.

Congress authorized construction of ADHS, a 3,025-mile highway network, in the Appalachian Development Act of 1965. It was designed to connect Appalachia to the Interstate system and link the region with the national economy, thereby generating economic development in previously isolated areas.

By 2002, 81 percent of the ADHS was open to traffic and has had a significant impact. A 1998 evaluation by Wilbur Smith Associates of the economic impact of ADHS revealed that most of the routes are shorter than the roadways they replaced; the system widened many two-lane roads to four- lane highways; and the average speed limit in ADHS corridors has increased from 47 mph to 57 mph. This has led to a savings in the number of miles trucks have to travel in the region each year by 26 million miles and the number of hours by almost 10 million hours. Goods are getting to their destinations faster and at less cost, whether they are goods moving around the region, goods imported into the region, or goods exported to markets outside the region.

Trucking Goods Through the Heartland

The Heartland Expressway is a federally designated, high priority north-south transportation corridor at the heart of the Great Plains International Trade Corridor (GPITC). The Interstate highway network in the country’s mid-section is predominantly comprised of east-west routes. I-25 is the only north-south four-lane highway in the 900 miles between Kansas City and Salt Lake City. As was the case with pre-ADHS Appalachia, the farm-dependent Great Plains region has suffered a lack of economic diversification, heavy out-migration, and low wages in part due to its lack of connectedness to the national and international economy. When finished, the Heartland Expressway will provide multi- lane, divided highway access between Rapid City, South Dakota, and Denver, Colorado. It will also help complete the GPITC, which will connect Great Plains rural and urban areas from Monterrey, Mexico to Saskatoon, Canada.

Moving Goods Across the Sunbelt

Increased congestion on the nation’s roadways threatens to thwart just-in-time production and delivery. In response to this, the National I-10 Freight Corridor Study was undertaken by the eight states along Interstate 10, which stretches 2,460 miles from Florida to California. In recent years, truck traffic has grown almost eight percent annually in some parts of the corridor. Traffic projections from the study indicate that in the future, congestion in rural areas will grow faster than congestion in urban portions of the corridor. In 2000, 154 rural miles and 244 urban miles had significant congestion problems; by 2025, 981 rural miles and 539 urban miles are expected to experience significant congestion. To ensure future reliability of the transportation system, the study identifies several strategic solutions specific to freight to ensure that growth in trade along the corridor is achieved efficiently, reliably and safely.

Resources:

American Trucking Association, www.trucking.org;

Transportation, Industrial Location and the New Economy by Joseph Cortright, Impressa, Inc., March 2001 available at www.intermodal.org/FIRE/cotrightpaper.PDF;

Appalachian Development Highway System, www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=1006;

Heartland Expressway, www.heartlandexpressway.com;

National I-10 Freight Corridor Study, www.i10freightsstudy.org.

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