Truck transportation, couriers and messengers, and warehousing and storage revenues increased 3.5 percent to $325 billion in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

     The report, 2007 Service Annual Survey: Truck Transportation, Couriers and Messengers, and Warehousing and Storage, provides estimates of revenue, size of shipments, revenue by commodity shipped, and origin and destination of shipment and inventories of revenue-generating equipment for firms with paid employees.

     “As the trucking industry moves toward expanding its services to include warehousing and storage, the Service Annual Survey is an important vehicle for measuring these industry changes,” said Mark Wallace, Chief of the Census Bureau’s Service Sector Statistics Division.

     Truck transportation revenues saw a 3.2 percent increase from 2006, reaching $229 billion in 2007. General freight trucking contributed approximately two-thirds of all trucking revenue: $153 billion in 2007. The remaining $76 billion in revenue was from trucks transporting specialized freight that required equipment such as flatbeds, tankers or refrigerated trailers.

     Specialized freight trucking increased 4.7 percent in revenue in 2007. Local specialized freight (excluding used goods) accounted for $33 billion.

     U.S. commercial trucks traveled 94 billion miles in 2007. Long-distance general freight revenues increased 2.5 percent to $127 billion, while local general freight trucking revenues grew 2.1 percent to $26 billion.

     Trucking within U.S. borders accounted for 96 percent, or $205 billion, of motor carrier revenue in 2007. Revenue generated from truck transportation with origins in Canada, Mexico and all other destinations was $5 billion.

     Motor carrier revenues were up 3.1 percent to $214 billion in 2007. Local motor carrier revenue accounted for $73 billion, a 5.0 percent increase. New furniture and other manufactured products experienced a 6.6 percent decrease from 2006.

     Couriers and messengers revenue rose 4.3 percent to $75 billion in 2007. These industries provide intercity and/or local delivery of parcels handled by one person without special equipment and are restricted to small parcels, which distinguishes them from the general transportation industry.

     Warehousing and storage revenues increased 4.9 percent to $22 billion in 2007.

     Farm product warehousing and storage revenue increased to $836 million in 2007, a 9 percent rise in revenue over 2006 figures.

     The 2007 Service Annual Survey: Truck Transportation, Couriers and Messengers, and Warehousing and Storage, includes industries providing transportation of passengers and cargo, warehousing and storage of goods, scenic and sightseeing transportation, and support activities.

     Excluded from this sector are establishments primarily engaged in providing travel agent services that support transportation and related establishments, such as hotels. Warehousing establishments in this sector do not sell goods and thus are distinguished from merchant wholesaling.

     Establishments in these industries use transportation equipment or transportation related facilities as a productive asset. The type of equipment depends on the mode of transportation: air, rail, water, road and pipeline. The basic types of activities included in the sector are mode of transportation, warehousing and storage, and establishments providing support activities for transportation.

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The estimates provided in this release are based on data from the 2007 Service Annual Survey, which use the 2002 North American Industry Classification System and apply only to employer firms. Estimates contain sampling and nonsampling errors. To keep the identity of an individual firm confidential, some estimates may be suppressed. Users making their own estimates, based on the survey estimates, should cite the U.S. Census Bureau as the source of the original estimates only. See <http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/cv.html> for measures of sampling variability and other survey information.