Join Us in Celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Sept. 13-19!

Each year in the United States, one week in September is set aside to recognize and show respect for one group of dedicated, often under-appreciated, hardworking Americans. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week may sound like an obscure, unimportant event, but for trucking services in Minnesota and around the country, this week is an opportunity to educate others about our work, and receive the recognition we don’t usually get during the rest of the year.

If you are wondering why National Truck Driver Appreciation Week exists, it might help to take the time to read the following information. You might end up with a newfound respect for the truck drivers who drive in the lane next to you, deliver your packages and sit next to you at rest stops:

• Difficult work: If you think truck driving is a cushy job, think again. On average, truck drivers travel about 500 miles each day they are on the road. That translates into about eight hours of driving, merging and waiting in traffic each day, which most of us only have to deal with on occasional road trips. In addition to driving, truck drivers must lift heavy loads and make sure their cargo is protected in the event of an accident. In other words, it’s difficult work being a truck driver.
• Commitment: Being a truck driver requires more than the appropriate license and the ability to drive for hours at a time. Being a truck driver involves spending long days and weeks away from your loved ones, sleeping in a different place each night and often working odd hours to get a shipment delivered in time. That level of dedication to providing a crucial public service deserves a week of recognition.
• Important services: Think about all the things you own that you probably would not have if it weren’t for a truck driver. This includes not only all the things you have bought online, but also produce you bought at a store, dry goods and electronics, entire buildings made out of raw materials and so much more. Without truck drivers, our world would not be the global village it is today.

Now that you understand the important work that truck drivers do for all of us, here are a few facts about truck drivers, and the truck driving industry, that might be of interest:

• There are currently about 3.5 million working truck drivers in the United States.
• Truck drivers travel a combined distance of about 420 billion miles each year.
• The average age for a truck driver in this country is 55 years old.
• About 80 percent of U.S. towns and cities rely almost completely on goods delivered by truck drivers.

If you would like to show your appreciation for trucking services in Minnesota and beyond, get in touch with K-Way Express, Inc. anytime and ask about our different services. We are proud to be a crucial part of the United States’ workforce, and happy to serve our customers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week and throughout the year.