Trucking CEOs stay quiet on George Floyd's death as counterparts in nearly every other industry declare need for racial justice

Major names like Starbucks and H&M have come out to denounce racism in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
All but a few of America's largest trucking companies, which collectively employ more than 1.2 million people, have spoken publicly. None have announced donations benefiting organizations that focus on racial equality.
This contrasts with not only other name brands that are taking a public stance, but also with their own employees.
A post that went viral among truck drivers declared that they have the right to "run over" protesters on the highway.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

As the leaders in industries ranging from fast food to advertising to banking declare the need for racial justice following the police killing of George Floyd, and make commiserate donations, those who helm the largest companies in America's $800 billion trucking industry have largely remained silent.

Of the 10 largest for-hire trucking companies based in the US, only three have made a public statement about Floyd's death and the demonstrations that have followed it. None have announced donations to organizations focused on racial equality. These companies collectively employ nearly 1.2 million people.

Trucking is not a consumer-facing brand like, say, Bank of America or Warby Parker , both of whom have announced plans to donate big bucks to help support black-owned businesses. Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told The New York Times that companies mull how to align their corporate values and marketing with what they believe customers care about in what's called"values and identity-driven targeted marketing."

"(T)hey're taking a stand, hopefully, because it's moral, but also because they understand the long-term economic game," Reed told The Times .

Companies in the trucking space generally lack that branding strength, and have less of an economic imperative to publicly support racial justice.

In that vacuum, though, many of those companies' employees have made their opinions known about the protests themselves. One viral Facebook post from a truck driver earlier this week declared the right to "run over" protesters in the case that they are approaching a demonstration on the highway.

Meanwhile, truck driver John Adair, who is Black, says he's not surprised that the big names in trucking have remained tight-lipped on this topic.

"I've read articles about the trucking industry taking greater stridesto employ a wider variety of employees POC, women, people from the LGBTQ community," Adair told Business Insider. "However, I can't help but believethis was done notout of a desire to increase diversity, but because the trucking industry is dwindling withfewer young, white people coming in and more seasoned truckers retiring. It was not because they wanted to but because they had to."

Here are the trucking companies that have, or haven't, spoken publicly about racial equality in light of George Floyd's death

Ranked according to Transportation Topics' 2019 list of the US' largest for-hire trucking companies:

UPS, has made a statement
FedEx, has made a statement
XPO Logistics, has made a statement
J.B. Hunt, no statement, representative did not respond to a request for comment
Knight-Swift, representative confirmed no statement
YRC, no statement, representative did not respond to a request for comment
Schneider, no statement, representative did not respond to a request for comment
Landstar, no statement, representative did not provide comment
Old Dominion Freight Line, no statement, representative did not respond to a request for comment
Ryder, no public statement, representative shared internal email