Is a Career in Trucking Right for You?

Have you ever heard the phrase “if you bought it, a truck brought it?” Well, that’s because trucking is the main driving force behind America’s economy! 70% of everything you buy has traveled on a truck at some point. In the year 2006, trucks transported over 10 billion tons of freight, and the trucking industry was a 645 billion dollar business! Here are some things that you’re going to want to know if you intend to take on truck driving jobs as a career.

Truck drivers are generally excellent behind the wheel- they spend a lot of time there! They are involved in traffic collisions less than half as often as passenger car drivers are. However, truck driving jobs do present its own unique set of challenges: the hours are long and lead to fatigue, the profession can be very lonely, and there are significant health and safety challenges. Drivers are also subject to strict Federal regulations and must submit to random drug tests, as well.

Consider the following:

Truck drivers experience 10% of ALL the workplace fatalities in the US and 8% of all workplace musculoskeletal injuries. It has even been suggested (with strong empirical evidence to back it up) that a long-term career as a trucker can reduce the average person’s life span from 10 to 12 years! That may be why the industry experiences such a high rate of turnover- 136% in the 4^th quarter of 2005. That means that for every 100 people that took a trucking job during that time frame, 136 of them quit!

Knowing some of the industry rules may help you decide if you want to pursue a career in trucking or not. Legally, truckers can drive for 11 hours at a time, with a 10-hour break immediately afterwards. Also, truckers MUST take a 10 hour break after their 14^th hour of the day, independent of the number of miles driven. Truckers may drive up to 70 hours per week, but are not paid overtime after working the standard 40 hour week. A trucker has to be 21 years of age to drive cross-country and 18 years of age to drive a truck within their home state. Many carriers are hesitant to hire young drivers and will not hire you unless you are at least 23 years old- 25 years old, in some extreme cases.

Truckers are usually paid by the mile, so a trucker has to drive a lot to bring in a good paycheck. When a driver isn’t driving (if they are sitting waiting for freight to get loaded or in traffic, for example), they aren’t making any money- this leads some drivers to bend the federally mandated rules about drive times in order to ensure their pay is good. A trucker averages from between 19 to 44 cents a mile. It’s tough to narrow down “how much a trucker makes” because incomes from $300 a week to $1200 a week are frequently reported.

Trucking is keeping pace with the Internet, as now almost the entire industry is computerized. Most trucks are equipped with a Qualcomm Satellite System, which tracks where the truck is down to a three-block radius. In the past, truck drivers were tied to the telephone to know when and where to get their next load, but now, the trucking company’s dispatcher simply sends out a message over the Qualcomm- this message includes directions, location, distance- everything the trucker needs to handle the load.

Now that you’re armed with a little more knowledge, get out there and get yourself your CDL and your first truck driving jobs. You’ll be hauling freight in no time, and helping to keep our economy moving!

Truckin' Lingo

Everyday, I continue to learn something new about the online job search process.

Today, I learned that Truck Driving Jobs, is one of the most competitive niches in the job board business.

“Really?”, you say?

You bet. Here’s why…

When truck drivers finish delivering a local or long haul load, many times they have to head back home, or to another destination. It makes sense, that if they can pick up another load, on their way back, or to their next delivery, to keep the truck full, they can make more money.

Well… welcome to the Internet. Most truck stops are already Wifi enabled. Using online job boards, truck drivers can log into the Internet, find a delivery, that needs to be made, pick it up, and take off. It’s actually a pretty unique solution to creating great efficiencies.

So you want to be a trucker, eh? There are some terms you are going to need to know, and having the “lingo” down pat can’t ever hurt in a job interview, or during a networking opportunity. With that in mind, let’s review some of the industry’s common terms.

Motor Carrier- a person or company providing transport of people or goods using commercial vehicles

Shipper – The person “sending” goods using a freight service

Receiver- The person “receiving” goods using a freight service

Consignor- The person who transfers legal responsibility for a load to a carrier

Consignee- The person who takes legal responsibility for a load from a carrier

Freight- The cargo being hauled / handled

BOL (Bill of Lading)/Manifest- A paper document that states the content and nature of the cargo

Intermodal- a description referring to a single container that is transported via multiple means during shipment, i.e. from air to sea to rail to a truck

TSE/Shore Power- Truck Stop Electrification- external power “docks” that allow truckers to operate internal systems such as climate control or television without idling their engines

Deadheading- Operating a truck that isn’t hauling any cargo

OTR (over-the-road)- Any trip longer than the maximum per-day period of 14 hours where the driver doesn’t return to the home location

Terminal- A dock where trucks come and go and freight is sorted

Owner/Operator- a self-employed independent contractor that operates a privately owned or leased truck

Team Drivers- A team of 2 or more drivers that ride in the same truck and drive in shifts so that the truck is essentially always in motion. Usually used when a shipment is time-sensitive or perishable

Dedicated (regular) Route- a driver that transports cargo between 2 or more locations repetitively, usually keeping to a certain schedule.

Irregular Route- a driver who goes anywhere at any time without sticking to a scheduled route

Regional- a Driver who works in a limited geographical area within a certain radius. A regional driver may or may not maintain a regular schedule.

Truckload (TL)- A load of freight consisting mostly of one kind of cargo, usually handled by an Over-The-Road driver

Less-Than-Truckload (LTL)- a load of freight consisting of several different types of cargo with several different destinations, usually handled by a dedicated or regional driver