For Alabama’s trucking industry, celebrating Truck Driver Appreciation Week is less about slogans and more about sustained action and results. 

Trucking’s Role in Alabama and Beyond

Every day, millions of Americans get behind the wheel and head out on the highways to get to work. But for more than 3.6 million Americans, the highways are their workplace. They are the professional truck drivers who deliver the goods that keep our country fed, clothed and supplied for everyday life.

Collectively, American truckers haul nearly 11.5 billion tons of freight each year — more than 70 percent of all the freight moved in this country. More than 80 percent of American communities depend entirely on trucks to receive their goods. This week, September 13–19, we celebrate National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, and every one of those miles is worth celebrating.

Here in Alabama, the numbers hit even closer to home. A staggering 86 percent of our state’s communities rely entirely on trucking to receive essential goods, and the vast majority of Alabama’s manufactured goods move by truck. More than 125,000 Alabamians — one in every 13 workers in this state — build their livelihoods in this industry.

Gratitude Matched With Action

But at the Alabama Trucking Association, we believe gratitude has to be matched with action.

Celebrating our drivers one week a year means little if we’re not also doing real work, every other week, to protect their profession — their safety, their earning power, and the public trust they’ve earned through decades of showing up and doing the job at a higher level.

That’s why we’re fighting to eliminate the bad actors who make our jobs tougher, less lucrative, and who erode public confidence in our professionalism, training and experience.

We’re doing that on several fronts. We were instrumental in developing a safety initiative called The Trucking Resurgence: The Fight for Safety and Fairness, which seeks to eliminate those who cut corners or game the system through illegal operations and low standards.

We’re a founding supporter of Alabamians for Legal Reform, a coalition of everyday Alabamians, small business owners, grassroots organizations, and trade groups working to reform Alabama’s legal climate. Fraudulent accident claims and so-called “nuclear verdicts” don’t just hurt the carriers targeted by them — they drive up insurance costs and shipping rates for every consumer in this state, and they punish the drivers and companies who are doing things the right way. ALR exists to study, educate, and advocate for a fairer legal system that reflects that reality.

We’re also working directly with federal and state agency partners to make sure truckers operate safely and professionally, and to push the chameleon carriers and unqualified operators — the ones with no real stake in this profession — out of the industry entirely. Every driver who cuts corners on hours-of-service rules or safety standards pulls down wages and opportunities for the professionals doing it right.

Investing in the Next Generation of Alabama Truckers

And we’re investing in the next generation. Through initiatives like My Trucking Future, we’re introducing younger Alabamians to the career opportunities this industry offers, so the drivers of tomorrow have a clear path in and a long career with growth and opportunity.

Celebrating the Profession, All Year Long

Finally, we’re having some fun with it. This Sunday, September 13, our Heroes of the Highway crew released a new single called “Get Miles” on all major streaming platforms, right in step with the start of this year’s Truck Driver Appreciation Week. It’s a stylistic shift from last year’s “Highway Dreaming” — trading that song’s harmony-rich tribute for early-2000s post-grunge, driving guitars and soaring vocals. The song picks up the story of the trucker from “Highway Dreaming” as he transitions into a seasoned pro, fully locked in, finally getting the miles — and the money — he’s earned, and loving every minute of it. “Get Miles” is stripped-down and full-volume, a straightforward salute to the men and women keeping this industry’s wheels turning.

All of this work continues long after National Truck Driver Appreciation Week ends.

We’re not just thanking the Great American Truck Driver this week, printing T-shirts and swag, or buying your lunch. We’re building an industry that protects, supports and celebrates them all year long.

So when you see a truck driver this week, or any week, take a moment to say thank you. And know that behind that “thank you,” an entire industry is working to make sure it’s well deserved and sustainable.

Scott Smith is president of PS Logistics of Birmingham, Ala., and current Chairman of the Alabama Trucking Association.