Who are the men and women who make up this country's corps of professional drivers? Why do they drive? How much do they drive, and how much do they earn?
Those and other insights were uncovered when Truckers News had drivers complete a survey about what they do and what they want out of their time behind the wheel.
This is the first dive in the results of that survey. More will follow, and be sure to add your comments below.
For now, answers from some 800 truckers who responded to our survey, show they are:
- Older, the majority of them over 55 years old
- Experienced, over the road company drivers who have been driving for more than 30 years
- Covering at least 100,000 miles a year
- Drawn to the profession because hey enjoy the open road
- Motivated to drive as they do in order to pay their bills
That's the key takeaways.
Now for the specifics.
The drivers who answered the survey questions fit within the prevailing view that this country's trucking industry is being driven by older men and women. In fact, one of the things that keeps many executives at trucking companies awake at night is the prospect of facing large numbers of retirements. (More on that in an upcoming part of this series.) We found:
- 26.5% of drivers are 65 years old or older
- 38.6% are between the ages of 55 and 65
- 19.7% are 41 to 54 years old
- 13.3% are between 31 and 40 years old
Interestingly, trucker organizations say the average age of American truckers is either 46 or 47. The owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association earlier this year said it was 47. The American Trucking Association said it was 46.
Regardless, American truckers are older than the average age of the rest of the rest of the work force by five or six year.
Our survey also found that 83.5% of respondents are company drivers, like most of the readers of Truckers News. Of that number:
- 44% drive over the road
- 26.3% drive regionally
- 14.4% are on dedicated routes
- 7.54% do pick up and delivery
- 4% drive less than truckload
- 3% handle intermodal freight
- .6% drive as part of a team
And, they have been on the road for a fair chunk of their adult lives. When we asked how long they had been driving, we learned:
- 36.8% have been driving for 31 years or more
- 19.4% said they have driven for 21 to 30 years
- 15.1% have driven for from 16 to 20 years
- 16.2% said they have been in the driver's seat for 11 to 15 years
- 8.7% have driven 6 to 10 years
- 3.8% have driven for 5 years or less.
We also found that the truckers who filled out our survey, log plenty of miles each year. We found:
- 5.9% drove 150,000 or more miles during a typical year
- 14.9% logged 125,001 and 150,000 miles
- 33.54% drove between 100,001 and 125,000 miles
- 19.5% were behind the wheel for from 75,001 to 100,000 miles
- 11.7% drove between 50,001 and 75,000 miles
- 7.1% had between 25,001 and 50,000 miles to their credit
- 7.3% drove up to 25,000 miles
Why are they driving those miles? Their responses show they enjoy the basic nature of the job: being on the road, and being on their own. They say they also drive to take care of their financial responsibilities.
When we asked, "Why did you get into trucking? their responses showed:
- 33.3% said they have always been drawn to the open road
- 31.9% said the saw trucking as providing a good salary and a way to provide for their families
- 14% said they didn't want a boss looking over their shoulders
- 13.2% said their families were in the trucking business
- 7.5% said they considered professional driving as a job of last resort
That's why they started driving, we also wanted to know what keeps them behind the wheel. We found:
- 53% said they wanted to pay their monthly bills
- 21.4% said they were saving for retirement
- 9.2% said they were digging our of a bankruptcy
- 5.9% said they were paying for their child's education
- 4.1% said they were dealing with the health of a family member
- 1.3% said they were helping to care for an elderly parent
What's to be made of all these numbers?
Well, America's truckers, if this survey is any indication, are hard working and dedicated judging by the number of miles they log, much of it in demanding over the road driving.
And, they are in their cabs -- for whatever the reason -- with a purpose. Like other working class Americans, they are on the job to meet their financial responsibilities, and care for their families.
Finally, they add credence to the industry's concerns about young people not coming into the industry.
NEXT: We're talking about one of those topics folks don't like talking about: money.
