CloudTrucks, a leading technology and service provider for trucking entrepreneurs, today announced the findings from its latest survey on trucking sentiments, “How America Thinks and Talks Trucks.” The study revealed that Americans nationwide have a positive view of the trucking profession, and many have basic trucking industry knowledge. The study also identified regional differences in trucking terminology.
CloudTrucks surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults, including respondents from all 50 states. Their responses were analyzed by census region: Northeast, Midwest, South and West. The percentage of respondents from each census region approximates the population differences for each.
Key findings:
- Americans value and hold largely positive views of trucker drivers: Respondents overwhelmingly said “truck drivers play a crucial role in the economy” (80%) and sympathized with truck drivers for “frequently” having to “encounter aggressive or unsafe behaviors from other motorists” (43%). Nearly a third (33%) said truck drivers are not adequately compensated for their work. Most respondents described drivers as industrious, reliable, punctual, overworked and underpaid.
- Americans are familiar with the trucking industry, and Southerners are confident they understand trucking and truck drivers best: While 69% of southerners indicated a high degree of confidence in their understanding of the daily life and challenges faced by truck drivers, 65% of all respondents across regions also said they are “very familiar” (26%) or “somewhat familiar” (39%). Respondents nationwide also displayed a strong understanding of basic trucking industry facts, as indicated by their accurate responses on a short quiz included in the survey. Northeasterners outperformed southerners on the quiz.
- Regional terminology for trucks differs, but “18-wheeler” is the most popular term for trucks nationwide: Southerners (25%) indicated “18-wheeler” is the most popular term for trucks in their region, and it is also popular among westerners (17%), northeasterners (16%) and midwesterners (11%). For midwesterners, “semi” (28%) and “semi-truck” (27%) are the most common terms; northeasterners prefer “tractor trailer” (30%); and westerners prefer “semi-truck” (19%).
“It’s great to see that so many people value and feel positively about truck drivers and the work they do,” said Tobenna Arodiogbu, co-founder and CEO, CloudTrucks. “Most freight in the U.S. is moved by trucks so drivers and the trucking industry as a whole are absolutely essential to our daily existence. Perhaps positive perceptions will continue to grow as consumer activities like e-commerce become more popular and the general public interacts more with the trucking industry via experiences like package tracking. We have to keep working to ensure this value translates monetarily to drivers.”
Click here to read the full study: “2023 CloudTrucks Survey: How America Thinks and Talks Trucks.”
About CloudTrucks
CloudTrucks is a technology provider empowering trucking entrepreneurs to make the most of every run. CloudTrucks’ powerful yet simple solutions streamline administrative bottlenecks and make it easier for drivers to run their business and produce more revenue. Since the company was founded in 2019, CloudTrucks has raised investments from Craft Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Tiger Global and other top venture firms, and facilitated over $150 million in payments to truck drivers across the United States. To learn more and join CloudTrucks’ growing network of small trucking businesses and owner-operators, visit cloudtrucks.com.
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