The National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. (NTTC) announced the availability of its Tank Truck Industry Market Analysis publication authored by American Trucking Associations’ Chief Economist Bob Costello and his team.
The NTTC commissioned the study at the request of its carrier membership to create an economic model to gauge the size and scope of the varied service segments within the tank truck industry.
The publication marks the first time that the industry has taken the initiative to create a systematic approach to calculate the amount of freight moved by tank trucks. The study also quantifies the market by commodity type based on government commodity flow survey information and the input of an advisory committee comprised of several NTTC carrier members.
“This new study offers first-rate economic market intelligence that never before existed leaving most to rely on anecdotal guesstimates about our unique industry at best,” said NTTC President Daniel R. Furth. “Now industry players can really gauge the varied service segments and their respective market shares and apply this intelligence to planning and operations. Moreover, the study gives us a solid baseline to track market trends by commodity types over time as new commodity flow information becomes available.”
Key findings of the study include the following metrics on tank truck tonnage, capacity, and revenue in 2013:
- In 2013, the tank truck industry hauled 2.48 billion tons of freight, which equaled 25.6% of all truck freight (9.68 billion tons).
- The largest commodity group for all tank truck freight was petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel), which equaled 1.22 billion tons or 49.2% of all tank truck tonnage, followed by sands at 419.9 million tons (15.2%), and chemicals excluding fertilizers and cryogenics at 240.9 million tons (9.5%).
- In 2013, the tank truck industry generated $34.5 billion in revenue, which equaled 5.1% of all truck revenue ($681.7 billion).
- The commodity group that generated the most revenue for for-hire carriers in 2013 was chemicals, excluding fertilizers and cryogenics, at just under $7 billion, or 28.3% of all for-hire tank truck revenue. Closely following chemicals was petroleum products, which brought in $6.8 billion in revenue in 2013, or 27.5% of all for-hire tank truck revenue. Cements were a distant third at $2.3 billion, or 9.5% of the total.
- In 2013, the tank truck industry operated 163,670 tractors, or 10.9% of the roughly 1.5 million of all over-the-road tractors in the US.