Line haul drivers operate tractor-trailers. They drive along specific routes and move goods from one warehouse or location to another. While performing their jobs, line haul drivers may also help to load and unload the freight.
As a line haul driver, they may deliver cargo to the same destinations, so they build a relationship over time. They are also required to follow Department of Transport regulations for their and other road users' safety.
Line haul drivers are quite different from long haul drivers. Long haul drivers are on the road for longer periods, maybe weeks or months. Line haul drivers, however, get to go home frequently, often after every day's shift. Because of the job's regular shift nature, line haul driving has been dubbed the nine-five of trucking.
To become a line haul driver, applicants need a commercial driver's license. Some organizations may also require a HAZMAT (Hazardous Materials) endorsement.
What is a Line Haul Driver?
What Does a Line Haul Driver Do
There are certain skills that many line haul drivers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed hand-eye coordination, hearing ability and physical health.
How To Become a Line Haul Driver
If you're interested in becoming a line haul driver, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 12.8% of line haul drivers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.9% of line haul drivers have master's degrees. Even though some line haul drivers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Line Haul Driver Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of local driver you might progress to a role such as route driver eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title superintendent.
Average Salary for a Line Haul Driver
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Line Haul Driver
The role of a line haul driver includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general line haul driver responsibilities:
- Operate vehicle safely within dot regulations that govern safe driving, hours of service, inspection, maintenance,
- Ii. Essential duties and responsibilities implements safe
- Hook and unhook trailers from the tractor itself. Inspect truck/trailer(s) for defects
There are several types of line haul driver, including:
Driver
Role:
Almost anyone can drive a car, but not everyone gets paid for it. Drivers are responsible for everything from driving customers from point A to point B, to delivering packages to clients, you have a range of what exactly you want to be driving. If you're going to be delivering packages, you'll want to build up your upper body strength in case you have to lift heavy objects.
As far as driving people around, you might want to brush up on your communication skills, either that or blast your music during the ride. Some drivers are especially helpful to tourists who are curious about the area. In these instances, your favorite restaurant or activity might come in useful.
The hours you'll work as a driver can range dramatically. Your work schedule will depend on who you're working for and if you're able to set your own hours. There are some companies where you'll work 60 hours in 7 days, but other companies will only require 40 hours. If there's anything to take away from being a driver, it's that the job is nothing less than interesting.
- Average Salary: $34,771
- Degree: High School Diploma
Truck Driver
Role:
Remember when you were a little kid and you would move your arm in a pulling down motion every time you passed a large semi-truck? You know that excitement when the drive actually honked? That's actually one of the responsibilites of being a truck driver.
While we're totally kidding, honking at kids (and let's face it, some adults) does make the long road trips a little more fun. After you take a professional truck driving school and obtain your commercial driver's license, then you'll be able to see the country. Imagine all of the cities and towns you'll get to drive through.
- Average Salary: $60,326
- Degree: High School Diploma
Route Driver
Role:
Route drivers work primarily independently, but they report to the dispatcher, and they work closely with them. As a route driver, you are to pick up and deliver products to diverse local customers. Choosing this career path requires constant travel because you will be involved in transporting materials and supplies. Being a route driver entails you to review route sheets daily to know the locations of pickups and deliveries.
Also, you are to maintain logs by filling out delivery and picking up logs accurately and with detailed information. In addition, you are expected to perform vehicle maintenance and communicate with customers. There is no formal training required for this role. You must, however, be able to drive comfortably. To be a successful route driver, you must possess exceptional organizational skills and customer service. Averagely, you will make $15.95 per hour.
- Average Salary: $45,492
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Line Haul Driver Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active line haul driver jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where line haul drivers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Line Haul Driver Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 47,884 | $57,481 |
| 2 | California | 34,221 | $53,073 |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 21,080 | $57,008 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 19,664 | $53,967 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 16,222 | $64,303 |
| 6 | Virginia | 16,122 | $63,309 |
| 7 | Minnesota | 15,743 | $63,119 |
| 8 | Michigan | 15,521 | $53,369 |
| 9 | New York | 15,341 | $58,870 |
| 10 | South Carolina | 14,102 | $47,688 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 13,516 | $61,232 |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 13,386 | $59,518 |
| 13 | Louisiana | 11,343 | $61,267 |
| 14 | Washington | 8,931 | $66,766 |
| 15 | Oregon | 7,401 | $55,813 |
| 16 | Maryland | 7,091 | $63,394 |
| 17 | Mississippi | 5,358 | $55,866 |
| 18 | New Mexico | 5,320 | $51,132 |
| 19 | West Virginia | 5,030 | $56,006 |
| 20 | Utah | 4,638 | $47,871 |
| 21 | New Jersey | 4,284 | $64,466 |
| 22 | Nebraska | 3,253 | $62,658 |
| 23 | South Dakota | 1,712 | $62,861 |
| 24 | North Dakota | 1,635 | $65,532 |
| 25 | Wyoming | 1,214 | $61,144 |
| 26 | Maine | 856 | $58,524 |
| 27 | New Hampshire | 838 | $62,924 |
| 28 | Rhode Island | 806 | $69,317 |
| 29 | Vermont | 620 | $64,763 |
| 30 | Alaska | 173 | $59,169 |
| 31 | Kentucky | 0 | $67,269 |
| 32 | Kansas | 0 | $64,581 |
| 33 | Connecticut | 0 | $67,050 |
| 34 | Iowa | 0 | $63,076 |
| 35 | Massachusetts | 0 | $65,717 |
| 36 | Alabama | 0 | $61,044 |
| 37 | Illinois | 0 | $62,774 |
| 38 | Montana | 0 | $60,683 |
| 39 | Colorado | 0 | $61,063 |
| 40 | Idaho | 0 | $58,215 |
| 41 | Florida | 0 | $58,674 |
| 42 | Arizona | 0 | $57,681 |
| 43 | Delaware | 0 | $58,685 |
| 44 | Hawaii | 0 | $59,543 |
| 45 | Indiana | 0 | $55,173 |
| 46 | Arkansas | 0 | $54,273 |
| 47 | Georgia | 0 | $53,974 |
| 48 | Ohio | 0 | $50,931 |
| 49 | Missouri | 0 | $50,475 |
| 50 | Nevada | 0 | $49,317 |
Top Skills For a Line Haul Driver
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 25.0% of line haul drivers listed cdl on their resume, but soft skills such as hand-eye coordination and hearing ability are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Line Haul Driver Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Line Haul Driver templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Line Haul Driver resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Line Haul Driver diversity
Line Haul Driver Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among line haul drivers, 9.2% of them are women, while 90.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among line haul drivers is White, which makes up 61.6% of all line haul drivers.
- The most common foreign language among line haul drivers is Spanish at 70.0%.
Online Courses For Line Haul Driver That You May Like
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Best States For a Line Haul Driver
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a line haul driver. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Kentucky, Connecticut, and Washington. Line haul drivers make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $69,317. Whereas in Kentucky and Connecticut, they would average $67,269 and $67,050, respectively. While line haul drivers would only make an average of $66,766 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Tennessee
$64,303
Avg. Salary
2. North Dakota
$65,532
Avg. Salary
3. Rhode Island
$69,317
Avg. Salary
How Do Line Haul Drivers Rate Their Jobs?
Top Line Haul Driver Employers
Most Common Employers For Line Haul Driver
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Dominion Freight Line | $70,228 | $33.76 | 108 |
| 2 | Saia | $66,920 | $32.17 | 82 |
| 3 | AAA Cooper Transportation | $66,727 | $32.08 | 48 |
| 4 | Lynden | $61,960 | $29.79 | 26 |
| 5 | UPS | $59,264 | $28.49 | 101 |
| 6 | United Road Services | $57,799 | $27.79 | 39 |
| 7 | Shaw Industries | $55,593 | $26.73 | 30 |
| 8 | Midwest Motor Express | $54,284 | $26.10 | 27 |
| 9 | Central Transport | $53,432 | $25.69 | 135 |
| 10 | Southeastern Freight Lines | $53,291 | $25.62 | 25 |
Line Haul Driver Videos
