  PM2.5 produced by freight trucks has adverse impacts on human health.
However, it is unknown to what extent freight trucking affects communities of
color and the total public health burden arising from the sector. Based on
spatially resolved US federal government data, we explore the geographic
distribution of freight trucking emissions and demonstrate that Black and
Hispanic populations are more likely to be exposed to elevated emissions from
freight trucks. Our results indicate that freight trucks contribute ~10% of NOx
and ~12% of CO2 emissions from all sources in the continental US. The annual
costs to human health and the environment due to NOx, PM2.5, SO2, and CO2 from
freight trucking in the US are estimated respectively to be $11B, $5.5B, $110M,
and $30B. Overall, the sector is responsible for nearly two-fifths (~$47B out
of $120B) of all transportation-related public health damages.
