If you're considering a career in trucking, you may be wondering what type of trucking is the most profitable. The answer depends on a variety of factors, including the size of the trailer, fuel consumption, and the type of cargo you're transporting. If you're not sure if car transport is for you, there's no need to start big. Trailers come in different sizes and you can get one for a single car.
But if you're ready to launch into this market, some trailers can fit anywhere from two to six cars or more. Of course, the more cars you transport, the more expensive the trailer will be, but also the more benefits you get. For example, if you own a trucking business, your earnings will depend on how long you are on the road and how many jobs you can get. Fuel consumption can account for up to 25% of your company's expenses, as well as salaries for employees and drivers.
My opinion on a career as a truck driver is this: if you're willing to make sacrifices, especially for long-distance or short-distance driving, you could earn some of the best money out there. The sacrifices and stress of a driving race are plentiful. It's a job that deserves a decent salary for all the long and strenuous hours behind the wheel, often many thousands of miles from home. Usually, high-paying truck driver jobs are in what is called a “niche market” - a specialized segment in the transport industry.
The work involved in specialized niches in road transport is usually a little out of the ordinary and often involves expensive and specialized teams and specially trained, experienced drivers. That's where higher salaries for driving positions come into play. Often, these niche specialist jobs come with varying degrees of risk and danger involved - jobs that don't attract many truck drivers for several reasons. To earn a higher salary as a truck driver, more experienced drivers are preferred and a more complex skill set is required than for an average truck driver carrying dry cargo loads on a van trailer.
Walmart's private fleet requires a clean and pleasant driving record (no avoidable accidents, minimal movement violations, no serious violations, etc.), clean criminal control - just like any company offering a well-paid driving job. Expectations are higher than most companies, but in return they pay a higher than average salary. There are many challenges and occupational hazards involved in driving jobs on icy roads such as extreme temperatures, excessive winter storms and poor road conditions. Transportation of hazardous products such as gasoline and a variety of liquid caustic and explosive materials provides good remuneration for work.
Driving jobs that transport hazardous materials tend to pay well above the average salary for driving - you may need a TWIC CARD (Transportation Worker Identification Credential). The driver not only transports dangerous goods but they are sometimes exposed to chemical fumes when channeling dangerous chemicals. If you are with the right transport company, tanker driving jobs can be quite lucrative. There are carriers who specialize in transporting large loads or very expensive cars - these require very patient drivers who are meticulous when handling high-priced cargo.
Some teams do very well financially - team driving is often thought of as the quick and easy way to be a rich truck driver and because it's one of the highest-paying truck jobs. One of the problems with teams is that drivers often suffer from exhaustion and although their schedule is technically legal they cannot maintain such busy and stressful schedules for long periods of time. The rate of payment and number of miles presented by an airline always seem attractive but delays in loading and bad weather reduce mileage for teams. Husband and wife teams can do very well if both are drivers - they can live on the road for long periods of time if necessary and have no time obligations at home. The success of a team depends on many variables including the ability of the transport company they work for to schedule their loads efficiently. Whether an owner operator leased to a trucking company (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A LEASE OPERATOR) or an independent owner operator they can make a good living although there is much more risk and liability in owning a truck. Union truck drivers earn better wages than average drivers - unions establish standardized wage rates so their salaries are cut above those of average truck drivers whose salaries are not indexed to cost of living. Look for the best paying truck driving jobs - they're out there but trucking companies won't knock on YOUR door so it's up to you to make an effort to observe nine niches we mentioned above then locate businesses near you and start your job search. Usually work on oil tankers pays well but it depends on hiring the transport company. There is more risk involved more skills and knowledge needed so you should generate higher salary - they often pay for delays absences stopovers etc which makes rate of payment higher. Private truck fleets often pay higher rate of payment to trucker but their standards for hiring drivers are also higher - they can look for drivers with more experience and higher skill level than average dry-load driver. Trucking jobs that require higher skill set where there is higher level of risk than average truck driving job may pay better than average such as work on oil tankers owner-operator (more financial risk and liability) and trucking on highways of ice.
