The Federal Highway Administration reported that in 2006 (the most recent year available) federal, state and local governments in the U.S spent $161 billioni to build and maintain highway infrastructure that supported some 3 trillion vehicle miles of travelii.

The U.S. highway system includes:

• 46,934 miles of Interstate highwayiii
• 116,813 miles of other National Highway System roadsiv
• 3,884,777 miles of other roadsv
• 599,766 bridges over 20 feet of spanvi
• 366 U.S. highway tunnels over 100 meters in lengthvii

Through 2007, total vehicles registered in the U.S. exceeded 254 millionviii, including 26.2 million trucks (Class 1-8)ix. Additionally, there are 9.0 million commercial trucks (with 6 or more tires and/or combination vehicles), 834,000 buses, 136 million passenger cars, 7.1 million motorcycles and 101 million other 2-axle vehiclesx on the highways. The motor carrier industry, which does not include intra-city or mass transit buses, consists of three primary stakeholder constituencies:

The U.S. Motor coach Industry:

• 3,137 bus companies (95% are small operators with fewer than 25 buses)xi
• 29,325 motor coach busesxii
• 118,000 jobs provided (56,000 full-time)xiii
• 750 million passengers annuallyxiv

The Pupil Transportation (School Bus) Industry:

• Largest fleet of public vehicles in the United States
• Serving 19,000 U.S. school districts
• 475,000 school busesxv
• Transports 25 million students dailyxvi
• 10 billion student trips per year (8.8B “to-and-from school,” 1.2B activity trips)xvii

The Motor Carrier Freight Industry:

• 703 thousand active U.S. motor carrier companiesxviii
• 4.7 million commercial vehicle drivers in the U.S.xix
• 9.0 million commercial trucks (over 26,000 lbs) operating in the U.S.xx
• 26.2 million trucks (all types) on U.S highwaysxxi
• 5.1 million commercial trailers registered in the U.S.xxii
• 61,000 HAZMAT trucking companiesxxiii
• Trucks carry over 2 billion tons of hazardous materials annuallyxxiv

1. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Funding for Highways and Disposition of Highway User Revenues, 2006
2. FHWA, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Vehicles – Miles, Table 1-32, 2007
3. FHWA, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Highway Statistics, 2007; Table HM-18
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, RITA, Condition of U.S. Bridges by State, 2007
7. FHWA, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Highway Tunnel Inventory, 2007
8. FHWA, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, RITA, National Transportation Statistics 2009; Table 1-11
9. American Trucking Association, Standard Trucking and Transportation Statistics, Vol.13, Issue 1
10. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, RITA, National Transportation Statistics 2009; Table 1-11
11. American Bus Association, Motorcoach Census Report, 2008
12. Ibid
13. Ibid
14. Ibid
15. National Association for Pupil Transportation, School Bus Fact Sheet, 2009
16. Ibid
17. Ibid
18. FHWA, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, NAFTA Safety Stats, Summary Statistics for U.S. DOT Active Motor Carriers, 2009
19. Ibid
20. FHWA, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, RITA, National Transportation Statistics 2009; Table 1-11
21. American Trucking Association, Standard Trucking and Transportation Statistics, Volume 13, Issue 1, 2004
22. Ibid
23. FHWA, FMCSA, Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) Database, 2009
24. Federal Highway Administration, Hazardous Materials Shipments by Hazard Class:2002, Freight Facts and Figures, Table 2-5, 2008