Trucking By the Numbers 2024: Trends, challenges, and opportunities in the industry

Along with economic concerns, the industry continues to focus on what can make it better, such as improved truck parking, lawsuit abuse reform, and figuring out how emerging power technologies could fit into operations this decade.

While for-hire carriers faced limited capacity and lower freight rates in 2024, private fleets—owned and operated by businesses to transport their goods—found opportunities in the evolving trucking landscape. Optimizing routes, implementing fuel-saving measures, and leveraging technology to improve efficiency can help private fleets control costs.

As we move into 2025, the industry is at a crossroads of challenges and opportunities. With rising operational costs and evolving market dynamics, carriers that adapt over the coming months could find themselves in a better place 12 months from now.

View the 2024 FleetOwner Trucking by the Numbers infographic gallery

Along with Trucking by the Numbers, FleetOwner publishes several popular annual features that garner attention throughout the trucking and transportation industries. These include our annual looks at the largest commercial transportation systems in the U.S., the FleetOwner 500: For-Hire and FleetOwner 500: Private Fleets. Our annual profiles of women in the industry, Women in Transportation 2024, was published this summer. Each year, FleetOwner recognizes the transportation operations of private fleets with the FleetOwner Private Fleet of the Year award. This fall, we expanded and rebranded our annual New Models to the 2025 FleetOwner vehicle guide, our largest-ever look at the next generation of heavy-duty, medium-duty, light-duty, and alternative-powered trucks and vans. To view what's ahead for FleetOwner in the new year, please checkout our 2025 Media Kit.