After a 2018 that saw record-setting levels of freight-hauling demand and driver pay as tonnage levels reached a 20-year high, the trucking industry is expected to remain strong in 2019 but undergo a bit of a cool-down, economists say. Perry “[Last year,] of course, was as good a year as the truck market has ever had — it was a record year in a number of ways,” Transport Futures Principal and Economist Noel Perry said during an interview on Transport Topics Radio, which is heard on SiriusXM Radio. “The spot market started the year at extraordinarily tight levels, and the contract market has been tight all year. So, it was a great year.” He noted, however, that things trailed off as the year closed. “The fourth quarter was down enough in several categories to indicate we’re not going to sustain that peak performance in 2019.”

Much has been written in recent years about the challenges faced by truck drivers in the United States today. Driving an over-the-road truck can be lonely and isolating. Wages for many truckers have stagnated. There’s a growing number of government rules regulating what drivers can and can’t do on the job. Truck driving is tough work. It also remains a very important job. An overwhelming amount of statistics show that trucking may be the leading indicator of the country’s economic health. If trucks are moving more freight, that means Americans are more productive and earning more money. Below are seven reasons—backed by recent stats—explaining why trucking is America’s number one job today.

As a truck driver hauling everything from toilet paper to car parts you understand how important your job is. But do you really? Have you ever stopped to consider just how impressive America’s trucking industry is? We know the country could not continue operating without truck drivers hauling loads all across the nation. However, to drive this point home we’ve compiled eight of the most convincing statistics about the importance of the trucking industry.