Trucks Are Saving the American Economy

The U.S. economy is growing limply, as it has for years. If it weren't for trucks, we might scarcely be growing at all.

The average household spent $51,400 in the last year—about $800 more than the previous 12 months—and higher spending in one sector made up most of the difference. It wasn't our anxious health care industry, or our enormous housing market, or even necessities like food and clothing. It was higher spending on transportation—mostly on new and used vehicles—that accounted for 60 percent of all additional dollars spent by households over the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.