Trucks are essential.
 
Minnesota’s economy relies on the contributions of the trucking industry. As of the end of 2008, Minnesota has 32,839 trucking companies, most of which are small and locally-owned.[1] Just over 58,000 commercial trucks were registered in the seven-county Metropolitan area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington).[2]
 
Economic Impact.
 
By January 2009, trucking companies paid an average of $16,041 in total taxes and fees for each five-axle tractor-semitrailer combination in their possession.[3]
 
In 2008, the Minnesota trucking industry provided nearly 179,000 jobs, or one of every fifteen jobs statewide.[4] These are not only drivers, but also mechanics, safety specialists, accountants, and information-technology professionals.
 
Total industry wages exceeded $8.1 billion, equating to an average salary of just over $45,000 per year.[5]
 
We’re here for good.
 
In 2007, the Minnesota trucking industry paid nearly $693 million in federal and state roadway taxes and fees.[6] This accounted for more than one-third (37%) of all taxes and fees owed by in-state motorists, despite the fact that trucks traveled only about one-twentieth (6%) of all vehicle miles that year.[7]
 
In 2007, trucks carried 471,844 tons—or nearly eighty-six percent—of all manufactured goods headed into the state of Minnesota.[8] In fact, more than two-thirds of Minnesota’s communities depend exclusively on trucks to haul their goods.[9]

In 2008, the number of commercial driver’s licenses in Minnesota totaled 213,123.[10]





1 Id.
2 Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Registration Summary, Annual County Summary 2008.
3 American Transportation Research Institute, Annual State Highway User Taxes (Jan. 2009).
4 American Transportation Research Institute, Minnesota Fast Facts (June 2009).
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Id.
10 Department of Public Safety, Vehicle and Driver Services (Jan, 2010)