Throughout the entire world, trucking companies and the services they offer play a critical role in the transportation of various goods. This forms part of the infrastructure and allows for companies to transport everything from food to furniture, and more. In the majority of cases, a trucking company will have contracts with other businesses. The trucking company will be responsible for transporting the goods to another business, often with a significant distance in between.
What Do Trucking Companies Do?
Trucking companies are essentially part of the transportation industry. While there are different types of these businesses, they all tend to provide a service where items can be transported on behalf of a commercial client. There are a couple of cases where a trucking company may not only target commercial clients but also offer their services to individuals, for example to someone moving.
When it comes to looking for a trucking company, some offer transportation services in a very limited area, while others provide transport of goods long distances. These two types of services are often described as short and long hauls. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.
Long Hauls
Long hauls refer to services offered by a trucking company that involves the transportation of goods to locations that are relatively far away. While each company may decide the limitations in terms of how far their trucks will drive in order to deliver goods, when advertised as a trucking company that offers long hauls, this usually means that delivery can take place in a radius that is further than 250 miles away from the business’s headquarters.
Short Hauls
Short hauls would be the opposite of long hauls. When a company promotes its transportation with trucks as short hauls, it means delivery cannot take place outside a very specific radius. This is often the case when a trucking company only provides delivery within a specific state. When the customer is in need of delivery to a different state, then a short-haul trucking business might not be what they are looking for. The specific radius tends to differ from one company to the next, but many limit their delivery radius to around 150 miles.
Yard Management
Yard management is something that any good trucking company also needs to implement. This is essentially a strategy where daily operations within the “yard” where trucks come in and go out are monitored. In most of cases, especially with all of the advancements in technology, a yard management system would be used. This allows for easier management of a fleet. Transportation and warehouse management is often included in this category, as well.
What is the Best Paying Big Trucking Company?
There are a lot of trucking companies that frequently take on new drivers. For many drivers, it really comes down to how much they will be paid for making so many sacrifices in their own life in order to ensure the transport of goods.
Sysco is currently rated as the best paying trucking company in the United States, with an average annual salary of $87,204. Wal-Mart follows closely behind with an average annual salary of $86,000.
Other companies that also pay over $80,000 on an annual basis include Epes Transport and Acme Truck Line. Going into the range of $70,000 to $80,000, which is still quite a significant amount, we have companies like Brady Trucking, GP Transco, Trimac Transportation, Estes Trucking, ABF Freight, and Holland Freight.
Who is the Best Trucking Company to Work For?
Just because a company pays well does not mean they treat their employees the same way. Thus, there are some truck drivers who do not only want to know what trucking companies pay well, but they want to know which company would offer them a better overall working experience.
Below, we list a couple of the top-rated trucking companies that truck drivers really seem to enjoy working for according to Trucker’s Training. Please note: One of their main considerations was the number of employees. So, if you are not a large trucking company, you could not make this list. It does not mean a smaller company could not actually be the best trucking company to work for; it just means it wasn’t large enough to make the list.
- Arkansas Best
- FedEx
- Pitt Ohio
- Southeastern Freight Lines
- UPS
- Universal Truckload Services
- Quality Distribution
This does not mean that working for a company that is not on the list will be unpleasant. There are a lot of other companies out there that do not only provide an adequate salary for truck drivers but also offer a rewarding experience and many other benefits. One of those companies is B&B Logistics. They command over 2000 trucks and have grown to be one of the most respected trucking companies in the industry. You can contact B&B Logistics at 1-877-512-0692.
What Are the Top 10 Trucking Companies in the United States?
There are different ways to determine who the best trucking companies are in the United States. Overall, considering the overall revenue of these companies helps to put things into perspective. We did some research and here we share a list of the top 10 trucking companies that are currently offering their transportation services in the United States. Our ranking is based on revenue only:
- J.B Hunt Transport Services
- FedEx
- YRC Worldwide
- Swift Transportation
- Landstar System
- TFI International
- Hub Group
- Schneider
- XPO Logistics
What Are the 5 Largest Trucking Companies in the United States?
There are a lot of trucking companies in the country that has expanded significantly over the years. While some do end up failing, others grow into national – sometimes even international – ventures that go on to provide their transportation services to millions of customers.
We did some digging and found that the five largest trucking companies currently within the United States include the following businesses:
- Werner Enterprises
- Schneider National
- XPO Logistics
- Knight-Swift
These rankings are primarily based on the number of the fleet (trucks and trailers) that these companies have compared to competitor businesses in the trucking industry that provide their transportation services to customers within the United States. These companies offer both short and long hauls and can service the entire country.
Do Truckers Make Good Money?
Those individuals who are interested in becoming a truck driver often first want to know if this type of career move is lucrative. The career does come with several issues that need to be taken into concern – so at least you know if accepting a job as a truck driver is worth it to you.
Overall, this can be a good opportunity. The median annual salary for truck drivers is around $37,930 in the United States. This is higher than the median salary that has been established when all career choices are taken into account. It should be noted, however, that it all depends on who the driver works for. There are some companies, such as Wal-Mart, who pay well over $80,000 per annum.
On the other hand, landing a job at a relatively new trucking company is not only risky, but this would also usually mean starting out with a lower salary.
Is Trucking a Good Career?
Whether or not trucking is a good career is yet another popular question. Unfortunately, there isn’t a “right” answer to this. For a person who is not qualified with a degree, trucking might be a great career choice. On the other hand, when a person does hold several qualifications and perhaps even a degree, there might be more specialized jobs that they could be interested in.
Becoming a truck driver is usually a relatively easy and straightforward process. With so many companies out there that offer trucking services, landing this type of job is often not that difficult. No special degrees are required. The employee simply needs to hold a valid driver’s license that permits them to drive trucks (cdl). This is the only skill that would be required.
Some trucking companies offer several benefits for their employees, such as a retirement fund. These can all add to the advantages that could make trucking a good career choice for some people.
There are many concerns that should be mentioned when a person considers becoming a truck driver, however. A lot of sacrifices are made with this job, especially if the person has a family. While a driver who focuses on short hauls is often able to spend weekends with their family, those who rather take on long hauls, which pay more, sometimes only get to see their family once a month – sometimes even less frequently.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Working for a Large Trucking Company?
Working for a large company may sound beneficial, as it often means there is a lower risk of the business failing, and the benefits are often better, but there are also some drawbacks that need to be considered.
The biggest advantage that a person could get by choosing to work for a large company is the fact that there are several job-related benefits offered. This usually includes a retirement fund. Insurance benefits are often also offered. Salaries may sometimes be bigger as well – compare a trucker’s salary at Wal-Mart to that of a small business, for example.
On the flip side, when you work for a larger company, there is a lot of red tape involved. If you have an idea, there is a chance it may never truly be followed through or heard by the right people.
Why Work for a Smaller Trucking Company?
Many people find that working for a small company provides a better and more positive culture. In many cases, the few people who work together become like a family. This can help with motivation and also make it easier to work as a team. Even though a trucker will often find themselves on the road, there are times where they will need to work with others in order to ensure proper yard management, fleet management, and the success of the entire operation.
Some smaller firms also offer benefits of the larger companies. Benefits like higher salary, insurance, and 401(k) are offered by B&B Logistics while still maintaining a family atmosphere. If this is the kind of working environment you’d like, give them a call at 1-877-512-0692.
