There is a common feeling in society that there isn’t any viable work. People struggle to find jobs that provide a living wage. Many blame the economy and the shrinking industry in the United States for the changes in the job market.
However, what many may not realize is that the good paying jobs aren’t disappearing; they are simply changing industries. While the manufacturing industry is down, the transportation and logistics industry is on the rise.
According to recent surveys, employment of tractor-trailer and heavy truck drivers is projected to grow 5% over the next 10 years. The current trucking and warehouse industry employs nearly 9 million people in the United States alone, and 3.5 million of them are truck drivers.
Truck drivers have job security due to the high demand for their services. Nearly 70% of all freight transported in the United States each year is transported by truck. That is equal to over $670 billion in manufactured and retail products. Those numbers are only the United States; they grow exponentially when you look at the global economy.
While the logistics industry as a whole is growing and continues to grow, truck drivers account for over 40% of that growth. There are over 15.5 million trucks registered in the United States for hauling and transportation.
As a truck driver, transportation broker, or logistics manager, you can secure a position with a national company that is continually adding to their team, opposed to laying people off. A transportation broker company works with manufacturers and supplies to handle the logistics of their buying and selling. For most companies, it is too costly and resource-consuming to do this in-house.
It makes more sense and is more cost-effective to work with a transportation brokerage company. As a perspective employee, the security is with the brokerage company. While many people assume truck drivers are on the road all the time and consistently away from their families, this is not always the case. There are local and regional drivers that are home nightly or weekly depending on their position.
If you are interested in how to become a truck driver, the first thing you want to do is look into licensing. Large truck drivers need a CDL, which requires special training and testing. Many trucking companies will provide their own training or pay for employees to go to trucking school. This is something you would need to check individually.
There are owner operator trucking jobs, which are for truckers that own their own rig. Regional trucking jobs are for people that don?t want to be on the road for weeks at a time, and specialized trucking service jobs can come with higher pay but also require a higher level of skills and experience.
