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Calls to shift freight from trucks to rail are nothing new. But the idea that or that policymakers should favor one mode over the other simply doesn’t square with reality. Rail has its role, but trucking is what keeps America’s supply chains moving. 

Rail advocates often gloss over a critical fact: trucking and rail compete directly on less than 10 percent of U.S. freight. Rail excels at moving bulk commodities like coal, gravel, and grain. But when precision, speed, and reliability matter, rail falls short. Trains don’t deliver to hospitals, grocery stores, schools, or homes.  

Trucks do. 

America’s modern supply chain depends on immediacy. The massive growth of fulfillment centers and e-commerce, paired with consumer demand for overnight or even same-day delivery, makes a broad shift to rail impossible. A three- or four-day rail delivery window may work for bulk commodities, but not for life-saving medicines, perishable foods, or the countless products Americans rely on daily. 

Expanding rail to the point where it could even begin to replace trucking would require massive and frankly unrealistic infrastructure investments. We’re talking about thousands of miles of new track, new terminals, labor investments, and new connections to communities that don’t even have rail access today.  

The cost would be staggering, the disruption immense, and the payoff minimal, because trucks would still be needed to finish the job. The smarter path is investing in the roads and bridges we already depend on so that the mode moving nearly three-quarters of America’s freight can do so even more safely, efficiently, and sustainably. 

And let’s not forget: trucking has made remarkable strides in sustainability, proving that efficiency and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand. Modern trucks produce 99% fewer nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions than those on the road decades ago, and new trucks cut carbon emissions by over 40 percent compared to trucks manufactured in 2010.  

Thanks to cleaner diesel technology and investments in alternative fuels, 60 of today’s trucks emit what just one truck did in 1988. Fleets across the country continue to adopt low- and zero-emission technologies, setting the stage for even greater progress in the decades ahead. 

At the end of the day, it’s not about choosing one mode over the other. It’s about recognizing that without trucking, every link in the supply chain ultimately breaks. 

Rail will always have its place, and the two modes are much more complements, not substitutes. But, when it comes to keeping America moving, trucking is not optional. It’s indispensable.