The headlines haven’t reported great news from the nation’s largest cargo ports as strikes and potential strikes have dominated the news cycle. But in terms of the actual cargo coming through, it has been a good year and December’s cargo shipments were expected to grow.
Growing cargo at ports is good for the commercial truck industry, which ships nearly 80 percent of all cargo that comes into the United States. The commercial truck industry has already been experiencing a rise in demand – which has led to a higher demand for professionally trained truck drivers – but the news that cargo imports are growing means even greater demand for the trucking industry in the months to come.
Import cargo volume is expected to increase 3.9 percent in December, even though a strike closed the nation’s largest port for the first week. The expected increase was reported by the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The cargo increase is partly credited to strong holiday shopping that had retailers placing orders for even more product.
“After a strong kickoff on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the holiday season is looking good and these numbers reflect that,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in a statement about the report. “Nonetheless, we narrowly avoided what could have been a long-term disruption with the strike in Los Angeles and Long Beach and don’t want to run that risk on the East Coast and Gulf Coast. NRF is continuing to urge labor, management and lawmakers to do whatever is necessary to keep our nation’s ports running smoothly.”
U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.39 million 20-foot Equivalent Units in October, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was up 5.2 percent from October 2011.
December is forecast at 1.27 million TEU, up 3.9 percent from last year, with January forecast for a 2 percent increase from January 2012. Other future estimates for cargo imports are February at 5.9 percent higher; March at 2 percent higher, and April at 3.2 percent higher.
If you are one of the millions of Americans looking for work – or have given up looking for work – the commercial truck driver industry may be a great option. Carriers all across the country are desperately looking for more commercial truck drivers, but they especially need those drivers with professional training and those that have completed a respected driver’s training program, like the one at Diesel Driving Academy.
Drivers with professional training are also more likely to be paid higher salaries as companies are willing to pay good money for a truck driver they believe will be a long-term employee.
If you are considering a job as a professional truck driver don’t make the mistake of attending some fly-by-night program or jumping into the field without the right skills and experience. Investing in a professional training program like Diesel Driving Academy offers will definitely payoff.
As the economy continues to grow, demand for truck shipping increases and manufacturing output rises, which also means the demand for professionally trained commercial truck drivers will remain high, making now the perfect time to start a new career as a truck driver. Diesel Driving Academy is the best place to launch that new career and take advantage of the growth taking place in the trucking industry.
