“Without trucks, America stops.” — American Trucking Association.

That quote precisely explains why no investor can ignore the trucking industry. With trucks moving 69% of total U.S. freight tonnage today, the industry often serves as a leading indicator of the state of the economy. So holding some trucking stocks could be a great way to play economic upturns (Basic facts surrounding the trucking industry can be found here).

In fact, according to recent industry statistics, this could be a good time to bet on trucking stocks. Here are three factors to consider:

• The U.S. trucking industry pulled in $700 billion in revenue last year, its highest ever.
• Trucking alone made up 80% of the nation’s total freight revenue in 2014, proving trucks remain the preferred mode of transportation.
• The ATA truck tonnage index hit an all-time high in January. While truck tonnage has softened over the past couple months, the index was still up 3.8% through April versus last year, indicating overall strength.

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