| HOME | ABOUT US | TRAINING | INDUSTRY | GRADS | PRICES | CONTACT US | ||
Industry Today Trucking as a Career Driver Qualifications News Salary & Benefits Truck Driving Links CALL 1-800-350-0002 |
TRUCK DRIVING INDUSTRY TODAY The U.S. trucking industry will need to hire about 200,000 drivers by the end of this year, and will need to add another 200,000 by the end of 2011, according to the state of logistics report from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The industry was hit very hard by the recession; but things appear to be turning around. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects overall growth of 9 percent in truck driving jobs between 2008 and 2018. Since the trucking market nationwide is huge, that's significant, representing about 291,000 new jobs. Trucking is one of the largest occupations in the country, with 3.2 million jobholders. In anticipation of a serious driver shortage in the near future, companies are taking steps now to fill positions. They are offering drivers cash bonuses and prizes such as boats and vacations to refer fellow drivers who switch to their firms. Base pay is rising, and trucking companies are guaranteeing drivers more time at home. Firms are offering generous 401(k), stock option and healthcare packages and other perks. Truck stops now have massage therapists and Wi-Fi computer technology. "It's almost like they're athletes being drafted out of school," says Larry Caringi, placement director at Smith & Solomon, who says some students go from being unemployed to, six weeks later, earning at a rate of $50,000 a year. Kathy Shepard, 47, of Delran, N.J., received her trucking license Sept. 23 and was hired less than two weeks later by UPS. With a lifelong passion for travel, she decided to go into trucking after being laid off from her job in the billing department at a trucking firm. She is making $14.70 an hour to start, 34% more than at her last job, and her pay is set to go up in a month. Source: Barbara Hagenbaugh. USA TODAY. McLean, Va.: Oct 12, 2004. pg. B.1 |
  |
|
Dootson School of Trucking
11625 Clark Street
Arcadia, CA 91006
1-800-350-0002
dootsontruck.net