Trucking companies employ about a third of all truck drivers in the United States. Another 30 percent work for companies engaged in wholesale or retail trade, such as auto parts stores, oil companies, lumber yards, or distributors of food and grocery products. The remaining truck drivers are distributed across many industries, including construction, manufacturing, and services.
Fewer than one out of ten truck drivers are self-employed. Of these, a significant number are owner-operators who either serve a variety of businesses independently or lease their services and trucks to a trucking company.
Opportunities should be favorable for people interested in truck driving. This occupation has among the largest number of job openings each year. Although growth in demand for truck drivers will create thousands of openings, the majority will occur as experienced drivers transfer to other fields of work, retire, or leave the labor force for other reasons. Jobs vary greatly in terms of earnings, weekly work hours, number of nights spent on the road, and in the quality of equipment operated. Because truck driving does not require education beyond high school, competition is expected for jobs with the most attractive earnings and working conditions.
Employment of truck drivers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2006 as the economy grows and the amount of freight carried by trucks increases. The increased use of rail, air, and ship transportation requires truck drivers to pick up and deliver shipments. Growth of long-distance drivers may slow as rail cars increasingly ship loaded trailers across country, but long-distance truck drivers will continue to haul perishable goods.
Average growth of local and long-distance truck driver employment should outweigh the slow growth in driver-sales worker jobs. The number of truck drivers with sales responsibilities is expected to increase slowly because companies are increasingly splitting their responsibilities among other workers. They will shift sales, ordering, and customer service tasks to sales and office staffs, and use regular truck drivers to make deliveries to customers.
Job opportunities may vary from year to year, because the strength of the economy dictates the amount of freight moved by trucks. Companies tend to hire more drivers when the economy is strong and deliveries are in high demand. Consequently, when the economy slows, employers hire fewer drivers or even lay off drivers. Independent owner-operators are particularly vulnerable to slowdowns. Industries least likely to be affected by economic fluctuation tend to be the most stable places for employment.
SALARIES
As a general rule, local truck drivers receive an hourly wage and extra pay for working overtime, usually after forty hours. Employers pay long-distance drivers primarily by the mile. The rate per mile can vary greatly from employer to employer and may even depend on the type of cargo. Typically, earnings increase with mileage driven, seniority, and the size and type of truck driven. Most driver-sales workers receive a commission, based on their sales in addition to an hourly wage.
The average straight-time hourly earnings of truck drivers are about $13.39. Depending on the size of the truck, average hourly earnings are generally as follows:
Medium trucks: $14.64
Tractor-trailers: 14.07
Heavy straight trucks: 13.17
Light trucks: 8.56
Typically, the size of the trucking establishment influences the relative size of drivers' earnings. Drivers employed by large establishments-those with 2,500 or more employees-have the highest earnings. Smaller establishments (those with fewer than 500 employees) have average earnings that range from $8.31 to $16.11 an hour. Truck drivers in the northeast and west have the highest earnings; those in the south have the lowest.
Most long-distance truck drivers operate tractor-trailers, and their earnings vary widely, from as little as $20,000 to over $40,000 annually. Most self-employed truck drivers are primarily engaged in long-distance hauling. After deducting their living expenses and the costs associated with operating their trucks, earnings of $20,000 to $25,000 a year are common.
Many truck drivers are members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Some truck drivers employed by companies outside the trucking industry are members of unions representing the plant workers of the companies for which they work.
RELATED FIELDS
Other driving occupations include ambulance driver, chauffeur, bus driver, and taxi driver.
INTERVIEW
Wally Nickerson
Trucker
Wally Nickerson has been a trucker since 1982. He delivers food for Kayem Foods in Massachusetts.
How Wally Nickerson Got Started
"What made me pick trucking? I was helping out my brother at Logan Airport doing a part-time job, nights. He is the one who suggested getting my license, so I went for it. This was not something I planned to do or was around as a kid. As a matter of fact, my dad or mom never even had their licenses. My training was pretty much on-the-job training."
What the Job's Really Like
I'm what they call a local driver p-u-d (pickup and delivery). I'm allowed to drive only 500 miles in a fifteen-hour work day, and only ten of those hours can be driving. I am also only allowed a sixty-hour work week by federal law.
I get up most mornings at 4:00 A.M., arrive at work by 5:00 A.M., and do my pre-trip inspection, basically walking around the truck and observing anything that might need my attention. Then I am rolling by 5:30 A.M.
Most days my route takes me from Massachusetts to Rhode Island. On an average day I have twelve stops. Some days I drive a forty-two-foot trailer, other days I have up to forty-eight feet to pull.
Most of the time I deliver full pallets of processed meat (deli).
It's an interesting job, meeting all kinds of working people. Most are very friendly, that's because I treat them like I would like to be treated.
I'm usually done with deliveries by 2:00 P.M. That's when I pull over in a safe area with other trucks to rest for a half hour. I usually get home by 5:00 P.M.
I like the money the job pays. I make $15.50 an hour with full medical and dental insurance. I usually gross about $1,000 a week. I also like my independence on the job. I don't have to answer to anybody most of the day.
"I don't like the weather most of the time in the winter. And I don't like being far from home. I have a young family and that sometimes makes the work stressful, being away from home."
Expert Advice
"Find a company with the right size of trucks you want to drive. When you apply, ask them if training you on the job is an option. If not, go to tractor-trailer school. There are many schools out there. The tuition is about $5,000, and it's worth it. "The type of person who will do well driving these machines is someone who is patient and drug-free. If you like to party often, you should choose another job."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Information on truck driver employment opportunities is available from local trucking companies and local offices of the state employment service.
The Professional Truck Driver Institute of America, a nonprofit organization established by the trucking industry, manufacturers, and others, certifies truck driver training programs meeting industry standards.
