For today's transportation industry worker, making an informed career decision requires reliable information about opportunities today as well as in the future. That being said, the employment outlook for the transportation industry looks to be bright and growing, according to a recent US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistic's job forecast. These projected opportunities will stem not only from job growth, but also in the area of job replacement, as transportation workers retire, return to school, or change industries.

The General Outlook

Growth in the truck transportation department jobs and the warehousing industry reflects ups and downs in the national economy. Job opportunities are expected to be favorable for truck drivers and diesel service technicians. Warehousing is expected to grow faster than the rest of the industry.

The number of wage and salary jobs in the truck transportation and warehousing industry is expected to grow 15% from 2006 through 2016, compared with projected growth of 11% for all industries combined. Growth will result in many job openings because the industry is so large. There also will be openings due to replacement needs for the large number of workers who will transfer to other industries or retire, so even transportation occupations that are projected to experience slower than average growth or to decline in employment still may offer many job openings.

Transportation logistics jobs, warehousing, and transportation engineering jobs are expected to increase by 496,000 jobs, or by 11.1% through 2016. Truck transportation will grow by 11%, adding 158,000 new jobs. The warehousing and storage sector is projected to grow rapidly at 23.5%, adding 150,000 jobs. Demand for truck transportation and warehousing services will expand as many manufacturers concentrate on their primary business and contract out their product transportation and storage functions.

Transportation and material moving workers transport people and materials by land, sea, or air. Employment of these workers should increase by 4.5%, accounting for 462,000 new jobs by 2016. Among transportation occupations, motor vehicle operators will add the most jobs, 368,000.

Growth Occupations within the Transportation Industry

Transportation and material moving occupations account for 69% of all jobs in the industry. Truck drivers and driver/sales workers hold 45% of all trucking and warehousing jobs. Their main job is to transport goods from one location to another. These workers are typically either local drivers that have regular schedules and return home at the end of the day or long-haul truck drivers that often are on the road for long stretches of time.

Laborers, and hand freight, stock, and material movers help load and unload freight and move it around warehouses and terminals.

Office and administrative support workers perform the daily recordkeeping operations for the truck transportation and warehousing industry. These occupations are varied, ranging from dispatchers who coordinate the movement of freight and trucks to shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks who keep records of shipments arriving and leaving. Additionally, billing and posting clerks and machine operators maintain company records of the shipping rates negotiated with customers and shipping charges incurred; they also prepare customer invoices.

Service technicians and mechanics in trucking and warehousing firms perform preventive safety checks as well as routine service and repairs. Service technicians and mechanics sometimes advance to parts manager positions. These employees need mechanical knowledge and must be familiar with computers and purchasing procedures.

Sales professionals sell trucking and warehousing services to shippers of goods. They meet with prospective buyers, discuss the customers' needs, and suggest appropriate services. Travel may be required, and many analyze sales statistics, prepare reports, and handle some administrative duties.

As the transportation department jobs in the industry grow, managerial opportunities will grow as well. These managers must hire, supervise, and provide safety and other training to workers in the various occupations. They also resolve logistical problems such as forecasting the demand for transportation; mapping out the most efficient traffic routes; ordering parts and equipment service support; and scheduling the transportation of goods.

Additional employment growth will result from manufacturers' willingness to concentrate more on their main business — producing goods — while farming out their distribution functions to trucking and warehousing companies which can perform these tasks with greater efficiency. As firms in other industries increasingly employ the industry's logistical services, such as inventory management and just-in-time shipping, many new jobs will be created.

Also, as more consumers and businesses make purchases over the Internet, the expansion of electronic commerce will continue to increase demand for the transportation, logistical, and value-added services offered by the truck transportation and warehousing industry.

Final Thoughts on Job Growth in the Transportation Industry

One of the main factors influencing the growth of the truck transportation and warehousing industry is the state of the national economy. As the national economy grows and the production and sales of goods increases, there is an increase in the demand for transportation services to move goods from their producers to consumers. This being the case, the growth of jobs in the transportation industry will be excellent over the foreseeable future.

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