How to Excel as a Local Delivery Truck Driver

Do you want to start a trucking career as a top paid truck driver, but you want to be home every night? Take the route of a local truck driver. All you need to start your career as a local truck driver is a Class B commercial driver’s license. Here at Southwest Truck Driver Training, we offer state-certified CDL training for Class B drivers in Tucson, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Learn more about how you can excel as a driver for a local delivery truck service.

Delivery Truck Driver Career Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of jobs for delivery truck drivers will increase by 55,200 by 2026. In addition to this increase, the local delivery driver workforce also experiences a surge in driver demand each holiday season. Chron reports that hiring for the holiday season begins every August. Propel yourself to make the most money possible by getting a Class B CDL now.

This way you are ready for hire by the holiday season. You are able to pick up part-time, seasonal, and higher paying local truck driving jobs throughout November and December. Ideally, your part-time seasonal work could get your foot in the door for a full-time local delivery driver job.

Local Trucking Job Demand

While freight demand has increased steadily over the last few years, the number of available local truck drivers to take these freight loads has declined. Everything from automated trucks to the mass exodus of retirees is currently, and adversely, reducing the truck driver pool. With fewer drivers to handle the increase in freight demand, the trucking industry as a whole is in crisis mode.

You will notice how trucking companies are offering one, two, and even three driver pay raises in a year. Big name carriers are giving new drivers full tuition reimbursement, as well as sign-on bonuses of $5,000 or more. It is all in an effort to attract truck drivers to trucking jobs that need to be filled to handle the freight demand.

Qualified Delivery Truck Drivers

This is where you come in. By getting started with Class B CDL training at SWTDT today, you place yourself at the front of the pack. Why go to truck driver training? Why not learn on your own? The biggest complaint among trucking companies is the majority of drivers applying for trucking jobs are not qualified. A qualified truck driver is one that has industry experience and a verifiable work history.

To get qualified to be a truck driver you need to do one of two things. You can go to a truck driving school or you can train yourself. Consider which of those two paths will be most efficient in receiving state-certified training that is industry-backed. Truck driving school is hands down the preferred way of getting trained to be a local delivery truck driver.

That’s why so many trucking companies are paying 100 percent of tuition reimbursement for new hires who have recently graduated from trucking school. Trucking companies know that trucking school works. They are willing to put their own money on it by hiring trucking school graduates over untrained, unqualified drivers.

Careers for Class B CDL Drivers

As a Class B CDL driver, you have a couple of haul differences in comparison to Class A CDL drivers. Your maximum freight size is maxed at 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. In addition, you are limited to operating straight trucks, which is easier to handle than the 18-wheelers with a trailer attached by an axle. Once you complete our Class B CDL training program, you have the skills needed to handle this type of tractor-trailer and freight size.

You will find plenty of P&D trucking jobs for pickup and delivery drivers, also known as light truck drivers. The most common P&D delivery driver job is handling parcels, such as for UPS or FedEx, the top two most profitable trucking companies in the US year after year. These drivers pick up freight from local distribution centers and deliver it via LTL freight hauling.

Thanks to the explosion of the e-commerce marketplace, the P&D delivery truck service niche has skyrocketed. More local P&D drivers are needed than ever before. The demand is not expected to subside as technology continues to increase the speed of P&D deliveries.

Find Class B CDL Training Near You

Start your professional truck driver training at Southwest Truck Driver Training with Class B CDL training. Other types of commercial truck driver training we offer include Class A CDL training, driver refresher courses, and military veteran truck driver training.

More importantly, we give our students comprehensive career services including lifetime trucking job placement, as well as financial aid opportunities. Contact SWTDT today to get started with your trucking career as a local delivery truck driver in Nevada or Arizona.