Our economy increasingly depends on bringing goods directly to customers’ doorsteps or utilizing on-time delivery to ensure businesses have the exact supplies they need, when they need it.

This reality of modern life is incredibly convenient and efficient. Yet it would be impossible without an often-overlooked industry: trucking. 

Over-the-road freight transportation is still the backbone of the complex logistics network that allows us to move goods and services from coast-to-coast, then around the globe. In 2025, it still requires the heart and hands of skilled operators from diverse backgrounds to succeed. 

Professional truck drivers’ critical role might briefly cross our minds as we pass them on the interstate or notice a big-rig conveying a shipment to a favorite local retailer or restaurant, but the truth is they deserve much more acknowledgment. Nationwide, over 3 million Americans are among those whose offices are the roadways. They rack up more than 330 billion miles every year transporting daily necessities and other consumer goods around the country.

As we learned amid the Covid-19 pandemic, their efforts directly maintain our supply chain as well as ensure access to items vital to public health including medical supplies. They also help maintain national security through the transport of military equipment and personnel. Trucking literally touches most facets of life in one form or fashion.

Times of crisis particularly showcase their service and sacrifice. 

These men and women spend hours or days apart from families and obligations to aid communities, hauling emergency staples such as food, clothing and shelter materials in the immediate aftermath of a disaster before enabling long-term recovery efforts through the delivery of the supplies needed to rebuild. In just one recent instance, an Arkansas transportation company voluntarily dispatched trucks and drivers to carry donations to the victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and those affected by the Guadalupe River flooding in Texas. 

That exemplifies the trucking workforce’s commitment and compassion. They are, as my former coach Frank Broyles used to say, the “givers” who thrive in serving others.

Arkansas is proud to be the home of a vibrant trucking industry that supports good-paying jobs. In our state, tens of thousands of truck drivers work for themselves, for small locally-owned businesses, or for Fortune 500 companies in the retail and logistics sectors. Their impact is undeniable with over 80 percent of Natural State communities exclusively depending on trucks to move their goods.

That is why I am proud to lead a bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate to recognize and applaud truck drivers in The Natural State and throughout America. My colleague Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and I have authored a resolution to celebrate their unique skill and diligence that keeps everything moving. Our measure designates September 14-20 as National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

Another way to show them our gratitude is to enact policies that help increase safety and effectiveness. As a member of the Senate Appropriations and Environment and Public Works Committees, I take great pride in advocating for key reforms like expanding truck parking capacity as well as reauthorizing the surface transportation legislation that ensures long-term funding for vital infrastructure projects. 

We owe our professional truckers a lot. Applauding their dedication and invaluable efforts this week is just one small way to highlight what they do. Let’s all take special care to notice it and express the thanks they deserve more frequently.

Click here to read the full piece on Talk Business and Politics' website.