Fact #358: February 7, 2005
Trucks by Weight Class, 1997 and 2002

Trucks are often categorized by eight different weight classes, which are assigned by the truck manufacturer as the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). The recently released 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) data show increases in the four lightest truck weight classes and decreases in the four heaviest truck classes from the 1997 VIUS data. Class 2 trucks (6,001–10,000 lb GVWR), which make up one third of all trucks, increased by 25% from 1997 to 2002.

Supporting Information

Number of Trucks by Weight Class

Manufacturer's GVWR	Number of Trucks, 1997	Share, 1997	Number of Trucks, 2002	Share, 2002	Difference, 1997–2002
6,000 lb and less	45,240,632	62.1%	51,941,389	61.0%	15%
6,001–10,000 lb	22,373,167	30.7%	28,041,234	32.9%	25%
10,001–14,000 lb	510,476	0.7%	691,342	0.8%	35%
14,001–16,000 lb	194,951	0.3%	290,980	0.3%	49%
16,001– 9,500 lb	178,111	0.2%	166,472	0.2%	-7%
19,501–26,000 lb	1,884,246	2.6%	1,709,574	2.0%	-9%
26,001–33,000 lb	207,386	0.3%	179,790	0.2%	-13%
33,000 lb and up	2,211,283	3.0%	2,153,996	2.5%	-3%
Total	72,800,252	100.0%	85,174,777	100.0%	17%
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1997 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey, Microdata File on CD, 2000. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey, Microdata File on CD, 2004.

 

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