Despite what is happening in the overall economy, the trucking industry continues to be one of the few economic sectors that are not growing. This usually occurs because of the truck and the life of a truck driver is certainly not a career that everybody considers to have. A long day on the road, a week away from family and home, and even lonely work all contribute to the bad reputation of the industry in the minds of many people.
These reasons, plus the rate of turnover in the industry for experienced drivers, creating a shortage of drivers from time to time. However, it is important to remember that transportation companies still prefer to hire drivers with six months to the one-year of clean driving experience. This is because the insurance rates are higher for rookie drivers or drivers without driving experience in addition to trucking school.
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To get a new employee, the company often offers incentives such as a bonus. Bonus hire can be a relatively small amount, only a few hundred dollars, or it could be as much as several thousand dollars. Usually, the bonus hiring will be on a sliding scale depending on your actual experience as a driver or by specialized expertise that they want in a driver.
Those drivers with highly specialized skills, such as driving in the oil fields or drive a large load, or a driver with a lot of support and a lot of time driving under their belt will always get the highest sign-on bonus. It is important to carefully read and understand the terms of the bonus because they are not always as simple as they may appear.