Convoy Nation

• The 1978 Sam Peckinpah directed film "Convoy" elevated the long-haul truck driver's image to the mythic level of the western gunslinger riding across the land on a sturdy steed. The six-shooter became a handheld CB mouthpiece. The steed morphed into a monster, 18-wheel, tractor-trailer rig. The impact of trucking on American pop culture as a kind of romantic image of the cowboy riding high in the saddle may have waned since the 1970s, but, the trucking industry's domination of the business of distributing freight throughout this country continued to grow tremendously. Today, everything from fresh produce and frozen foods to cars and appliances depend on trucking to arrive at stores---especially in far flung corners of the nation. The reality of America's dependence on trucking for such comprehensive product distribution has both positive and negative implications.
  
  

The Foundation

• The effort to create a comprehensive U.S. highway system in the vein of today's interstate roadways can be traced as far back as the mid-1930s with President Franklin Roosevelt's appointment of a study commission. However, funding and implementation of such highways would not become viable until Congress, under the leadership of President Dwight Eisenhower, passed the Highway Revenue Act of 1956. The way was paved literally for trucking to garner the lion's share of the carrier business. Railroad's standing, not only in the freight carrier sector but also in passenger transport, plummeted seriously.
  
  

The Landscape

• Anyone who travels to West Memphis, Arkansas, can see how the trucking industry has changed America's landscape. Located at the interchange of Interstate 55 (north to St. Louis and south to New Orleans) and Interstate 40 (east coast to west coast), this community once was marked only by vast expanses of cropland interspersed with commercial and residential neighborhoods. The towering grain silos were the only significant landscape features. Nowadays, large truck stops dominate the view of West Memphis as the traveler cruises past on Interstate 40.
  
  

Jobs

• Another big impact of the trucking industry on American society would be in the area of job opportunities. While independent drivers of late may have suffered from high fuel costs, trucking companies are faring better. An American Trucking Associations State of the Industry webpage claims a current national driver shortage of 20,000, which is expected to grow to 111,000 by 2014. The upshot of this growing demand is the trucking industry continues positively to impact society in these difficult economic times with lucrative employment opportunities.
  
  

Regional Transformations

• ABF Freight System, Inc., and J.B. Hunt Transportation Services sprang from localized, humble origins in northwest Arkansas to become two of the largest freight carriers in North America. Both are publicly traded. The impact of the trucking industry to strengthen previously depressed local economies is as profound as that of any other corporate sector.
  
  

Congestion, Weight and Infrastructure

• The primary negative impacts of the trucking industry arguably are in the areas of traffic congestion, vehicle weight and infrastructure deterioration. On a heavily traveled roadway like Interstate 40, high numbers of closely bunched trucks can be quite intimidating even to drivers of large SUVs. Furthermore, the weight of these vehicles (generally about 80,000 lbs.) has contributed to significant and premature damage to American highways largely due to the insufficient depth of the roadbeds.
  
  

The Future

• The many positive characteristics of the trucking industry's impact on American society would seem, on the surface, to presage a bright future of continuing growth. But, there are observers who question this rosy forecast for a significant reason---uncertainty about the sufficiency of global oil supplies to sustain the industry long into the future. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan, in "Boiling Point," represents the viewpoint that trucking cannot long remain a viable means of freight transport because of dwindling oil supplies and the amount of the industry's carbon emissions, which subsequently aggravate global warming. On the other hand, Gelbspan and others believe the future lies with rail transport. They contend that trains can more easily be converted to run on electricity. At present, this conversion is not practical for large tractor-trailer rigs. Furthermore, it is cheaper to lay rail than to construct interstate highways. There is no small measure of irony in the idea that the answer to America's future transport needs may lie in the past.