Over the past 12 months as many as 40,000 new commercial truck driver have hit the road and thousands more are needed to meet growing demand.
Economists predict that 2011 will add some jobs to the nation’s economy and that 2012 could be even better. Many industries – such as the healthcare field, the automobile industry and information technology – are being credited for helping to fuel the job growth, but the commercial trucking industry has been one of the best sectors for creating jobs, especially those that offer ling-term stability and great pay.
The commercial trucking industry added over 40,000 jobs in 2011 and this year that trend is expected to continue as the demand for professionally trained drivers remain and carriers continue to experience increases in shipping orders. Even before the increase in 2011 there were already more than 1.3 million commercial truck drivers on America’s roads.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the trucking industry added over 5,000 new workers in December, the largest single month increase since last March. Additionally, the new numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the commercial trucking industry has added almost 69,000 jobs since March 2010. That means the commercial trucking industry has seen its employment grow by 5.6 percent over the past two years while many employment industries attempt to slowdown job loss.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that the American economy added 200,000 jobs in December, which dropped the unemployment rate by 1 percent (now at 8.5 percent). However, a large amount of those jobs were seasonal positions created to handle the holiday shopping season before and after Christmas. While those jobs might not last, the drivers hired by the commercial trucking industry can enjoy the fact that they are in an industry that is experiencing long-term growth and can offer long-term stability to new drivers that have been professionally trained.
The commercial trucking industry offers some of the best career options today, especially as many Americans continue to search for employment. While the economy is slowly growing, the trucking industry is growing at a much faster rate and many job seekers are finding that a career as a commercial truck driver can provide long-term employment with a great starting salary, especially when compared to many other entry level positions.
“Two primary factors have helped truck tonnage in recent months,” American Trucking Association Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a press release last month. “First, manufacturing output, which generates a significant amount of truck freight, has generally been increasing.”
The commercial trucking industry benefits greatly from the manufacturing industry as over 70 percent of domestically produced goods are shipped by commercial truck, according to the ATA.
If you would like to become one of the thousands of new drivers that will be hired in 2012 then completing the CDL training program at the Diesel Driving Academy is the best place to start.
