Ever wonder what it would be like if the trucking industry just stopped? What if every truck driver just woke up tomorrow morning and decided they didn’t feel like driving anymore? Could we survive?

Below we will walk through all the advantages truck drivers provide our world and what it might look like if they were gone. By the time you finish reading, you will have what you need to decide whether you think we could make it or not.

Economic Collapse

Trucking has a massive impact on the economy. In the U.S. alone, $700.4 billion worth of goods are transported by truck. If truck drivers were to just stop working one day, the following problems would arise:

Deplinished Goods. Retail stores and manufacturers would quickly run low on merchandise and supplies. These companies rely on just-in-time delivery. In the absence of truckers, products, equipment and supplies would be gone within hours.

Food Shortages. In as little as three days, the nation’s food supply would be depleted. Not only would food shortages lead to mass hunger, fear would exasperate the problem. People would begin hoarding food and purchasing essential items in mass quantities, resulting in civil unrest.

Dwindling Drinkable Water Supplies. Within two to four weeks, consumer drinking water would be completely drained. Trucks typically deliver chemicals to water treatment plants every 14 days. Without these chemicals, water supplies would be unsafe to drink.

Declining Health Conditions

The trucking industry also has a significant impact on our nation’s healthcare. Without trucks, the medical world would be drastically impacted.

Hospital Supplies Shortages. Medical professionals need regular medical supplies and medication to effectively treat patients. Medical supplies would be unavailable if truck drivers transporting goods weren’t available. Furthermore, many hospitals have moved to just-in-time delivery, in which they wait until essential items are gone before ordering more. Without trucks, doctors could not provide the proper medical treatment to patients.

Pharmaceutical Drugs Gone. All 55,000 pharmacies in the nation receive goods and drugs daily. Without trucks to deliver these products, pharmacy subscriptions would quickly run low.

Environmental Contamination

An estimated 236 million tons of waste are generated by Americans annually. With no trucks to remove waste, the environment would become toxic.

Buried in Trash. Americans go through 4.6 pounds of trash per person per day. It wouldn’t take long before we were all buried in a heap of trash because truck drivers wouldn’t be there to ship the waste to dump sites. In addition, many waste facilities would be unable to operate efficiently without proper equipment.

Hazardous Materials. With trash piling up everywhere, hazardous microorganisms, insects and other vermins would begin to breed. This would lead to toxins and infectious disease across the world.

So, could we survive? Probably not.

We Believe in Trucking

At M&W Logistics, we believe in trucking. We believe trucking makes the world a healthier, cleaner and better place to live. Without truck drivers, we wouldn’t enjoy all the modern conveniences we have today.

So, next time you see a truck driver, make sure to thank them; because just imagine what life would be like without him or her. If you would like to join the M&W family in making the world a better place, contact us today. We have many truck driver jobs available for experienced and dedicated drivers.