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Commercial trucking industry is booming. As the economy is getting better and the demand for goods is getting higher, trucking industry needs more and more drivers to keep it running. Truck drivers are an important element of the whole shipping system. Almost 70% of all the goods in the US are hauled by trucks. In comparison, only 15% is shipped by rail. If you have a commercial driving license, job is guaranteed for you.
For those who are thinking to get a job as a truck driver, as well as for current commercial truck drivers. It is important to stay updated. You need to check new information on topics like industry rules, changes, fleet management and many others. And for this purpose trucking blogs are perfect. There you can find useful information from all kinds of sources. It can be from managers and drivers, suppliers, insurance agencies and other reliable sources.
There are many great trucking blogs in the web. They all cover different topics and can be useful to new and experienced truck drivers. One of the best blogs about trucking industry is run by the National Automobile Dealers Association. It is called NADA Commercial Truck Blog. There you can find blogs on topics like industry news and events, market analysis and overview and others. NADA represents the interests of car and truck dealers. On their blog you can find posts about natural gas market, retail sales, new guidelines, etc.
NADA is a non-profit association that represents dealers in various matters. It also offers opportunities in networking and education. NADA has started its history as long ago as in 1917. NADA Used Car Guide provides auction values on a weekly basis and loan, retail and trade-in values monthly. All this can also be found on their website along with the trucking blog.
My younger brother spent years doing this and that jobs that pay under the table. I been telling him to get his license to driver commercially and he keeps putting it off. I am going to send him here so he knows what’s what. I want him to have a better job. He don’t have anything tying him down so now is the time to get into this kinda work.
My father has been a truck driver for as long as I could remember and loves it. He even said that there has been a major uprising for the demands of commercial drivers. If anyone is need of work, they need to jump on this. There are a lot of other obs that are closing the doors on people looking for work… This kind of business is not!
My uncle drove semi trucks for many years, and when I was younger I talked with him for many hours about following in his footsteps. (This was back when trucking still had a sort of “outlaw” reputation and seemed like a pretty romantic career path for a young kid!)
What I found is that the good parts of being a trucker are very good. But the “bad parts” are something that most people will really have to think hard about.
Good parts:
– You will never be out of a job. This article is correct in that respect. If you are willing to work, and put in the very long hours required, you will always be employed. And earning a pretty good wage too compared to other non-college occupations.
– You are your own boss. Most truckers are “independent contractors.” They own their truck (or rather, they make the payments to the finance company that owns it, like a mortgage on a house). They can take a job or not take a job for any reason or no reason at all. If you want to be with your kids one week? No problem, just don’t accept any work that week.
– Married couples. There is a subset of truckers that work as husband-and-wife teams. Very few jobs will allow you to do this, if you are so inclined.
Now the bad part:
– Isolation. This was the biggest factor my uncle mentioned. You’re always on the road, and the people you do meet are very fleeting. It’s like being on a ship at sea.
– Long hours. The hours required of long-distance truck driving can be brutal. There are laws in place that limit the hours driven, but like any other occupation, it seems like you’re always working your tail off, one day after the next.
– Maintenance. As said before, truckers are independent contractors and own their trucks. That means they own the maintenance problems too. If you have a brand new truck, you’re golden. If you’ve got a 15 year old rig that breaks down and needs $5,000 worth of new engine parts, guess who pays for that? You do.
So there are upsides and downsides. I think trucking would appeal to people who are independent and who don’t require a lot of structure or social approval that a white collar job brings. But you have to be prepared for “the grind” of it.
My two cents.
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