Due to growing interstate commerce, Oregon taxes on commercial trucking rose more than 30% between 2002 and 2005, nearly reaching $250 million annually.
Due to growing interstate commerce, Oregon taxes on commercial trucking rose more than 30% between 2002 and 2005, nearly reaching $250 million annually. While the state collects no fuel taxes from truckers, its weight-distance tax is hefty enough that the American Trucking Association (ATA) ranks it No. 1 in state highway user taxes. A typical “five-axle tractor-semi-trailer combination” weighing 80,000 pounds would pay $11,037 annually here compared to $5,607 in Washington and $6,481 in California. Only 4.1% of U.S. interstate motor carriers — an industry dominated by small companies — are based in the Pacific Northwest, but for-hire truck drivers account for 1.3% of Oregon’s private workforce, slightly higher than the U.S. average. A 2005 report by research firm Global Insight found that long-haul trucking was short 20,000 drivers in 2004, and forecast even greater shortages in years to come. U.S. revenue-per-mile, as indexed by the ATA, has increased steadily over the last 10 years with a big 9% increase in 2004, yet it has not kept pace with general inflation.
| Trucking jobs in selected states, 2003 | ||
|---|---|---|
| For-hire trucking employees | % of total private employment | |
| United States | 1,223,800 | 1.1% |
| California | 97,200 | 0.8% |
| Washington | 18,400 | 0.9% |
| Oregon | 16,800 | 1.3% |
| Idaho | 7,900 | 1.7% |
| Nevada | 5,200 | 0.6% |
| Alaska | 2,000 | 0.9% |
Source: ATA, American Trucking Trends 2005-2006
