Drivers Keep America Moving
Many people think about trucking for about as long as it takes to pass a tractor-trailer on the interstate. For 3.6 million professional drivers, trucks are their day-to-day workplace.
Drivers are the often unsung heroes who move nearly everything this country grows, makes, sells, and builds. Each year during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, we have the chance to amplify our gratitude for drivers for all the incredible work they do.
The 2026 National Truck Driver Appreciation Week Theme
This year’s theme is fitting: “For the Miles You Drive and the Sacrifices You Make,” paying homage to drivers and acknowledging what they often give up to deliver freight across the nation safely, on time, every day.
The job of a driver is measured in miles, but it is lived in hours, and long ones at that. Drivers work through weather that closes schools and wait at docks for appointments that run hours past the promised time. They spend nights in a parking lot a thousand miles from home, and they miss birthdays, ball games, and holidays to do it. Not many jobs ask that much of a person’s time, and fewer ask it as often.
The Scale of Trucking In America
Altogether, U.S. drivers travel roughly 330 billion miles in a year. That’s nearly 1,800 round-trips to the sun, roughly 45 round trips from Earth to Pluto, or 13.2 million laps around the Earth’s equator.
Trucks moved about 11.27 billion tons of freight over the last year. That’s equivalent to about 3,000 times the weight of all living human beings on Earth combined, 1,878 Great Pyramids of Giza, or over 66 million fully grown blue whales. Per capita, that’s about 34 tons of goods moved by truck for each person living in the U.S.
All of this is to say that drivers are incredible and so very important, delivering over 70% of all freight in the U.S. and faithfully serving the more than 80% of communities that rely exclusively on trucks to receive goods.
Why Thank a Driver this National Truck Driver Appreciation Week?
Almost everything we touch has been delivered by a truck at some point, and nearly every aspect of daily life depends on truck drivers in some way. Without the trucking industry, the U.S. would come to a complete halt.
Not only do they deliver our way of life, but they are also some of the first to respond in times of need. During the global pandemic, drivers remained behind the wheel, continuing to deliver our critical PPE, impulse Amazon purchases, and 100% necessary sourdough baking supplies. When hurricanes cause flooding or wildfires cause sweeping devastation across a region, truck drivers are often the first to deliver food, water, and safety supplies
If you see a truck driver this week or any week, please take the time to say “thank you.” It goes a long way for drivers who travel a long way for us.
During this National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, we want to thank drivers for the miles and the nights away from home that make our way of life possible.
One of the best ways to thank your drivers? Lightening their load. Talk to our team about equipping your fleet with automatic battery protection today.