MISSOURI TRUCKING: MODERN CONVENIENCES FOR GROWING INDUSTRY

A sign on the back of a trailer advertises big pay incentives for truckers.

It's barely past midnight. Everything is quiet except for the hum of the powerful motor and tires of an 18-wheeler rolling down the "Double Nickel" and the radio voice of Willie Nelson blaring out "On the Road Again."

Occasionally, a car cuts through the darkness. A billboard ahead hawks diesel at good prices and breakfast at all hours. Suddenly, dropping off a small incline, there's a flood of lights, a parking lot stacked with 18-wheelers, an RV or two, cars and people.

It's the all-American truck stop, in this case, Rhodes 101 Travel Center just east of Mile 91 at Interstate 55 and Airport Road south of Cape Girardeau.

The truck stop is a haven for hungry truck drivers and weary travelers, and Rhodes Travel Center, the McStop Truck Stop near St. Louis, and many others like them are nerve centers for road transport across the continent.

Many offer sleeping rooms and parking spaces for drivers free with the purchase of fuel. There are chapels, showers, game rooms, communications rooms and comfortable driver lounges.

Some offer 24-hour road repair facilities and truck washes; others provide parts and supplies, tapes, boots and bumper stickers.

Modern new-look service stations and truck stops are a combination of service and efficiency. Not only can drivers get coffee and food, they can shower, get haircuts, shoeshines, truck service and sleeping quarters.

With thousands of truckers on the road, facilities like this can be a "break" for the travel-weary trucker.

"More than 6,000 trucks a month purchase diesel here," said F.E. "Gene" Rhodes, owner of the truck center near Cape Girardeau.

Many more truckers stop.

They don't all buy fuel. Some conduct truck business from communications facilities found at many major truck stops.

Truckers are not just drivers now, they are businessmen.

The trucking industry is in a growth pattern, says the U.S. Labor Department.

There are more than 50,000 trucking companies employing more than 2 million people. The labor department has estimated that over the next decade another 680,000 new jobs will be added by the trucking industry.

"Trucking companies are looking for better stops with more facilities to accommodate the drivers," said one trucker. "The companies are more concerned now that drivers are treated well." Truck stops offer more services and conveniences.

The local Rhodes Truck Center will open its drive-up communications system soon. For a fee, truckers can drive across a certain line and have access to Internet, telephone, cable television and other communications systems, without leaving their trucks.

More than 205,000 people in Missouri one out of every 11 workers are employed in trucking-related occupations.

Eighty-two percent of Missouri communities are served exclusively by trucks. Cape Girardeau is one of the lucky communities with access to all modes of transportation trucks, train, boat and air.

But, even here, trucking companies create several hundred jobs.

A number of trucking companies are located in Cape Girardeau, ranging from local owners to branch operations of national companies. The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce publication, "Industrial Profile," lists a number of trucking companies, including Day Transfer, a mover of household goods with seven employees, Genesis Transportation Inc., which provides hauling services in 48 states, with 30 employees, and Jerry Lipps Trucking, with more than 100 employees. Several national companies have branch offices here, including ABF Freight Systems, Roadway Express, USF Dugan, with several local employees.

A total of 32 transportation firms are listed in the chamber's profile list, which includes air, rail, river and road companies. A total of 14 trucking companies are included on the list.

Trucks transport freight for:

8,610 manufacturing companies.

31,110 retail stores.

15,260 wholesale trade companies.

2,000 agriculture businesses.

The annual payroll for the trucking industry in Missouri is more than $6.5 billion. The annual wage paid to trucking industry workers a year ago was $31,816.

The industry created 28,222 new jobs over the past six years. More than 14,000 family-owned and corporate trucking businesses with interstate operations are based in Missouri.

An operator of a typical five-axle tractor-trailer pays more than $11,000 in state and federal highway user taxes and vehicle property taxes. Of this amount, $5,443 is paid directly to Missouri. The state receives federal tax dollars from the Federal Highway Trust Fund. More than a third of individual truck earnings go for federal, state, and local taxes.

In 1988, medium and large trucks accounted for $268 million (30 percent) of Missouri highway user taxes collected and $352 million (41 percent) of the federal highway user taxes allocated to Missouri.

The trucking industry paid $620 million, or 35 percent, of all state an federal highway user taxes collected for Missouri.

Trucks were also vital to manufacturers as they transport more than 236 million tons of manufactured freight annually out of Missouri.

Daily, trucks move an average of 485,553 tons of inbound freight and 423,522 tons of outbound freights in the state.

The Missouri Motor Carriers Association, headquartered in Jefferson City, represents more than 800 trucking companies. In 1998, the state conducted more than 80,000 truck safety inspections under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. That program maintains an active Council of Safety Supervisors. Included in the safety projects are the annual Truck Driving Championships, Driver of the Month/Year, fleet safety contests, and other safety programs.