That’s because trucks and trains can boast a critical importance to the U.S. economy that is rooted in infrastructure investments. Last year, freight railroads invested more than $25.5bn in private dollars, in line with a decades-long trend of investing roughly 40 cents of every revenue dollar back into the nationwide rail network. The trucking industry in 2012 paid about $37.8bn in state and federal highway user fees, on top of millions of dollars on new, fuel-efficient tractors and trailers.
However, this hasn’t been enough. The nation’s highways need more investment to ensure trucks and trains can serve intermodal customers, keep powering our revitalized economy and link America to the global supply chain.
