Job Outlook & Career Forecast for Transportation Industry

Tractor-trailer drivers; Local van drivers; Delivery service van drivers; Sales workers; Drivers, route; Route drivers; Drivers, light truck; Heavy van & tractor-trailer drivers; Light or delivery services van drivers; Drivers, delivery services; Long haul van drivers; Short haul or local van drivers; Drivers, tractor-trailer
Highlights For Van Drivers & Driver/Sales Workers.

•  Overall job opportunities ought to be favorable.
•  Competition is expected for jobs offering the highest earnings or most favorable work schedules.
•  A commercial driver’s license is necessary to operate sizable trucks.

 
Nature of the Work For Van Drivers & Driver/Sales Workers
Van drivers are a constant presence on the Nation’s highways & interstates.
They deliver everything from automobiles to canned food. Firms of all kinds depend on trucks to choose up & deliver goods because no other type of transportation can deliver goods door-to-door. Although plenty of goods travel at least part of their journey by ship, train, or airplane, everything is carried by trucks at some point.

Before leaving the terminal or warehouse, van drivers check the fuel level & oil in their trucks. They also inspect the trucks to make sure that the brakes, windshield wipers, & lights are working & that a fire extinguisher, flares, & other safety equipment are aboard & in working order. Drivers make sure their cargo is secure & fine-tune the mirrors so that both sides of the van are visible from the driver’s chair. Drivers document equipment that is inoperable, missing, or loaded improperly to the dispatcher.

Drivers keep a log of their activities, as necessary by the U.S. Department of Transportation, to the condition of the van, & the circumstances of any accidents.

Heavy van & tractor-trailer drivers operate trucks or vans with a capacity of at least 26,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). They transport goods including cars, livestock, & other materials in liquid, loose, or packaged form. Plenty of routes are from city to city & cover long distances. Some companies use three drivers on long runs—one drives while the other sleeps in a berth behind the cab. These “sleeper” runs can last for days, or even weeks. Trucks on sleeper runs usually cease only for fuel, food, loading, & unloading.

Some heavy van & tractor-trailer drivers who have regular runs transport freig

Long-distance heavy van & tractor-trailer drivers spend most of their working time behind the wheel but also may must load or unload their cargo. This is common when drivers haul specialty cargo because they may be the only ones at the location familiar with procedures or certified to handle the materials. Auto-transport drivers, for example, position cars on the trailers at the manufacturing plant & remove them at the dealerships. When picking up or delivering furniture, drivers of long-distance moving vans hire local workers to help them load or unload.

Light or delivery services van drivers operate vans & trucks weighing less than 26,000 pounds GVW. They pick up or deliver merchandise & packages within a specific area. This may include short “turnarounds” to deliver a shipment to a nearby city, pick up another loaded van or van, & drive it back to their home base the same day. These services may need use of electronic delivery tracking systems to track the whereabouts of the merchandise or packages. Light or delivery services van drivers usually load or unload the merchandise at the customer’s place of business. They may have helpers if there's plenty of deliveries to make in the coursework of the day or if the load requires heavy moving. Usually, before the driver arrives for work, material handlers load the trucks & arrange items for ease of delivery. Customers must sign receipts for goods & pay drivers the balance due on the merchandise if there is a cash-on-delivery arrangement. At the finish of the day, drivers turn in receipts, payments, records of deliveries made, & any reports on mechanical issues with their trucks.
A driver’s obligations & assignments change according to the type of lots transported & their vehicle’s size. The period of runs depends on the categories of cargo & the destinations. Local drivers may provide every day service for a specific route or region, while other drivers make longer, intercity & interstate deliveries. Interstate & intercity cargo tends to vary from job to job over local cargo does.

Some local van drivers have sales & customer support obligations. The primary responsibility of driver/sales workers, or route drivers, is to deliver & sell their firms’ products over established routes or within an established territory. They sell goods such as food products, including restaurant takeout items, or pick up & deliver items such as laundry. Their response to customer complaints & requests can make the difference between a sizable order & a lost customer. Route drivers may also take orders & collect payments.

The duties of driver/sales workers vary according to their industry, the policies of their employer, & the emphasis placed on their sales responsibility. Most have wholesale routes that deliver to businesses & stores, than to homes. For example, wholesale bakery driver/sales workers deliver & arrange bread, cakes, rolls, & other baked goods on display racks in grocery stores. They estimate how plenty of of each item to stock by paying close attention to what is selling. They may recommend changes in a store’s order or encourage the manager to stock new bakery products. Laundries that rent linens, towels, work clothes, & other items employ driver/sales workers to visit businesses regularly to replace soiled laundry. Their duties also may include soliciting new customers along their sales route.

After finishing their route, driver/sales workers place orders for their next deliveries based on product sales & customer requests.
Satellites & the Global Positioning Process link plenty of trucks with their company’s headquarters. Troubleshooting information, directions, weather reports, & other important communications can be instantly relayed to the van. Drivers can basically communicate with the dispatcher to speak about delivery schedules & what to do in the event of mechanical issues. The satellite link also allows the dispatcher to track the truck’s location, fuel consumption, & engine performance. Some drivers also work with computerized stock tracking equipment. It is important for the producer, warehouse, & customer to know their products’ location at all times so they can maintain a top quality of service.

Work surroundings. Van driving has become less physically demanding because most trucks now have more comfortable seats, better ventilation, & improved, ergonomically designed cabs. Although these changes make the work surroundings less taxing, driving for plenty of hours at a stretch, loading & unloading cargo, & making plenty of deliveries can be tiring. Local van drivers, unlike long-distance drivers, usually return home in the evening. Some self-employed long-distance van drivers who own & operate their trucks spend most of the year away from home.

The U.S. Department of Transportation governs work hours & other working conditions of van drivers engaged in interstate commerce. A long-distance driver may drive for 11 hours & work for up to 14 hours - including driving & non-driving duties - after having 10 hours off-duty. A driver may not drive after having worked for 60 hours historically 7 days or 70 hours historically 8 days unless they have taken at least 34 consecutive hours off. Most drivers are necessary to document their time in a logbook. Plenty of drivers, on long runs, work close to the maximum time allowed because they usually are compensated according to the number of miles or hours they drive. Drivers on long runs face boredom, loneliness, & fatigue. Drivers often travel nights, holidays, & weekends to keep away from traffic delays.

Local van drivers often work 50 or more hours a week. Drivers who handle food for chain grocery stores, produce markets, or bakeries usually work long hours - starting late at night or early in the morning. Although most drivers have regular routes, some have different routes each day. Plenty of local van drivers, driver/sales workers, load & unload their own trucks. This requires considerable lifting, carrying, & jogging each day. Check out the latest job opportunities in Transporation Industry.

Job Category: Transportation

Source: GeneralJobs.com