Rise of Trucking in North America

People have been using trucks to move goods around North America since there have been trucks. However, the use of trucks to haul goods and food across long distances of the continent is a relatively recent phenomena.

The rise of tricking was largely fueled by the implementation of the he Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways were constructed with both the intent of increasing interstate commerce and built with overpasses high enough to allow military vehicles to pass. Virtually all products of interstate commerce travel on interstate highways at some point in their journey.

Trains are actually more efficient and have enjoyed a resurgence since the mid-1990s due to double trailer loads that can be directly hooked up to a semi-tractor. These roads also deliver international goods that have additional air miles attached. Nearly all sectors of the economy have continually sourced their raw materials and services from further and further away since the gas crisis of the 1970s.