Spec On The Job Blog

The History of Trucking

February 04 2017

Nowadays, we just take trucking for granted! However, the history of trucking had to grow for quite a bit in the past few decades. You do have to wonder where trucking originated and why this is one of the most important means of item transportation all over the country.

A Strong Early Start

A thing to note here is that the trucking industry started to kick off during the 1910s. At that time, the engines were very powerful, and they were able to transport items without that much of a hassle. As you can imagine, it did take a little bit of time until people started using trucks to transport items, but this soon led to a very robust industry.

WWI Changes Things

In fact, trucking was very helpful during WWI, and it did help people deal with quite a lot of challenges when it came to sending goods from one place to another. As you can imagine, things did change quite a bit after the war, but it was clear that having a truck driver transport items was going to be a very good industry.

Trucking regulation started during the 30s, and it wasn’t too long until truck stops began to appear during the 40s as well. The roads became better and better for this type of transportation, which is why more and more companies began to appear in this industry as well. It was an industry peak at this time. However there were a few challenges in the 50s, mostly caused by the de-unionization of the truckers and the industry deregulation.

But since more and more people started to demand items sent from one place to another fast, the industry grew despite its growing pains. On top of that, more truck types started to emerge on the market too, and these did bring in a solid advantage as well. It was clear that the industry wasn’t going to disappear anytime soon, and that’s exactly why car manufacturers started to focus on delivering higher standard and more durable trucks.

Technology Changing the Game

Nowadays, technology is a big part of the industry. It clearly shows that there are plenty of attractive options here and if you are a fan of high-class trucking you will be quite impressed with the unique set of benefits delivered here. There is a major increase in productivity, and the efficiency is improving quite a bit too. Despite that, the issues come from a lack of people that want to work in the industry. It might seem a little strange, but there are plenty of people that find it hard to get a job in the industry. They don’t think that it’s a good long-term investment. However, the driver shortage contradicts this. There are more truck driving jobs than their are truck drivers. Obviously, they are wrong as people will always need package delivery around the world.

As you can see, trucking doesn’t have a very long history. However, it’s clear that more and more people are interested in it and what it has to offer. It’s safe to say that trucking is and will always be a part of our society from now on. Even if its history spans over only 100 years or so!