Best states for trucking

Posted by Different_Mousse_564@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 33 comments

I’m out of south Louisiana while there is mostly oilfield jobs pretty much every position is held up by someone with around 20-30years experience because once you land a job around here you can’t let it go for any reason. The market isn’t great and I’ve been turned down by 3 companies simply because I lived outside of the hiring radius. If the drive is 50-60 miles out even for a LtL carrier they won’t hire you at all. Don’t drive for owner operators either no one likes to fix their equipment for some reason. Looking for some advice on where I can advance my career. Tennessee looks promising

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Ok-Exit-8640@reddit

Any of yall in the houston area bored or lonely?

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legendarygarlicfarm@reddit

East Tennessee. Get into the nuclear industry if you want to make more money than pretty much anybody else.

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trickedthePigs@reddit

I’m in east TN. Can you elaborate a bit? Are you OTR or local? ORNL or Y-12? How does one get into nuclear without nuclear experience?

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legendarygarlicfarm@reddit

Otr. But home on a lot of weekends.

You just gotta apply but you need a clean record, no tickets, good PSP, good MVR. All of your endorsements

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Connor4543@reddit

Funny you said Tennessee. I literally just moved out there to work for Averitt. I start orientation this week for their regional truckload account. But after 30 days I’m looking to switch to their on-tour logistics account. So then I’d haul around stuff for concerts or whatever. I’m super excited for all the mini benefits that come along with it

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snownight77@reddit

I started in Truckload for 2 years then switched to LTL Shuttle out of NC. They been pushing OTL hard here so you’ll be able to switch easily enough. Good company, you’ll like it.

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Connor4543@reddit

That’s great to hear. Yeah they told me I only need to do 30 days on regional. If I had previous experience in the entertainment side I could go directly into it

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Different_Mousse_564@reddit (OP)

So how does that work do you begin the relocation and employment at the same time?

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Connor4543@reddit

It’s been a little tricky. I’m actually just in a cheap little motel rn and my car is just loaded with stuff. I didn’t wanna pay to get an apartment or try and haul a bunch of furniture out here that I’ll never use. Just gonna move everything into the truck when I get it and if I wanna take time off I’ll just get a hotel for a couple nights

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Different_Mousse_564@reddit (OP)

So they hired you while you were out of state?

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Connor4543@reddit

Yeah it was weird. They said I needed an address within 50 miles of where I was applying. I literally just put some random hotel and they were fine with it. I plan on setting up a mail box once I get through orientation

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SnakeandNape5000@reddit

I just moved to Mississippi and noticed there's lots of logging companies that need drivers.

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Washedhockeyguy@reddit

Do you know any companies hiring?

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SnakeandNape5000@reddit

Not off hand. As I said I just moved here and I'm looking for work myself. I just notice a lot of log trucks on the road by myself and there's a timber mill. I've been on Zip recruiter and Indeed. Get the Driver Pulse app.

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LeveledGarbage@reddit

Honestly pick any state with large port(s), I live in WA and we got the Ports in Seattle, Tacoma as well as i90 Eastbound from Seattle through Spokane and the railroad follows the SAME path....Washington has trucking jobs for days!!!

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Economy-Bid-7005@reddit

Right now its hard to haul anywhere. With Trump Tariffs just fucks everything up. Not to mention Canada being pissed at us and making Supply & Demand a bitch. Good luck getting across Ambassador Bridge, anywhere through Vancouver Border or anywhere pass El Paso in TX.

I feel like anything on the east coast is pretty good though.

I-77 (N or S) I-33 (E or W)

I-64 and I-65

California....

Down south like FL or GA.

Generally speaking these are some good routes/places when stuff aint happening like Travel Bans or Restrictions or Economic Tarriffs.

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Disastrous-Most-528@reddit

South LA has plenty of tanker companies. Try Service Transport.

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TXTruck-Teach@reddit

Pick a location near several east-west Interstates. Check for companies with terminals in that city.

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InterestingMatter506@reddit

New England is a very underrated area for trucking. Wages are high, if you have 2 household income you can live lavish.

Other than that, Tennessee is great, no income tax, cost of living is rising and the wages are a bit lower. But PA is great, tons of major interstates, lower cost of living and solid wages.

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Emergency_Ad1152@reddit

Texas

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Different_Mousse_564@reddit (OP)

No more oilfield for me

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Emergency_Ad1152@reddit

Bro there’s a lot more jobs than just oilfield in Texas lol

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Different_Mousse_564@reddit (OP)

Is Houston a good area?

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ExpedientDemise@reddit

If you have any desire to go "halfway" you might try east Texas, like Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lufkin or Marshall.

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Different_Mousse_564@reddit (OP)

How are the LTL companies looking out there

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ExpedientDemise@reddit

I haven't looked specifically at LTL, but we do a lot of dry van loads in the corridor from Houston to Baton Rouge/ NOLA. I see tankers in and out of the refineries and sand haulers around Shreveport.

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ExpedientDemise@reddit

Houston moves a lot of freight, including groceries, petrochemicals, and I've moved a lot of durable goods like refrigerators and air conditioners to DCs in that area. It isnt the friendliest so far as traffic and parking.

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dieselonmyturkey@reddit

So much freight moving between Chicago to Cleveland down to the Ohio valley and back to St.Louis.

Pick a spot. You’ll never have to go to the northeast

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