- Key Takeaways
- Truck drivers are essential for organizations since they are in charge of transporting commodities and products from one location to another.
- Depending on the sort of goods or items you’re transporting, you can select from a variety of trucking services.
- To make an informed decision about delivering your goods, you must first understand the many types of vehicles available and their capabilities.
The trucking industry is a major contributor to the operation of many organizations and enterprises, as it is responsible for carrying commodities and raw materials to various locations. With this, there is a great demand for truck drivers.
It was reported that the number of truck drivers in Canada in 2021 was 324,200, an increase from 300,000 drivers in 2020.
To this day, the numbers are constantly expanding. A large part of it is due to the fact that there are people who can effectively develop careers in the trucking sector.
Trucking firms provide a variety of services at various pricing ranges. However, before determining which services are best for you, make sure you understand what each service has to offer. Continue reading to learn about the many sorts of trucking services.
Full Truckload (FTL)
Full Truck Load (FTL) transportation is preferred by businesses that deliver goods in large quantities. The goods typically take up the whole cargo area, or at least the majority of it.
FTL optimizes the logistics of the transportation process because the commodities are carried straight from the supplier to the client.
When transferring products from one nation to another, a full truckload is also important. This service is ideal for shipping bulky things like machinery and huge automobiles.
Furthermore, if the weight is not too heavy, corporations will use complete truckload services to deliver it.
Less-Than-Truckload (LTL)
Less-than-truckload, also known as or less-than-load (LTL), is a shipping service for relatively small loads or quantities of freight. Less-than-truckload services are offered by many large, national parcel services as well as by specialized logistics providers.
These services can accommodate the shipping needs of countless businesses that need to move smaller batches of goods frequently. Less-than-truckload shippers offer economies of scale so that freight costs of individual shipments are minimized.
The big advantage of LTL is that it saves money and is more efficient for smaller shippers.
A partial truckload is when only a piece of the shipment is loaded at once. This is when you need to deliver a part of a supply to the dropping point. If you have 30 kilos of products, the partial truckload will load just 10 kilos, while the remaining 20 kilos will be transported by other vehicles.
Partial trucking services are frequently utilized when very big shipments cannot fit into a single shipping container, and because you just need to transport a piece of the goods at once, there is less risk of damage during transportation.
Refrigerated Trucks
Refrigerated trucks are responsible for carrying perishable goods such as fruits, meats, dairy products, and the like. Refrigerated trailers can travel locally or beyond provincial or state lines.
Reefer drivers must have extra abilities in order to monitor temperatures and identify technical problems. Minor repairs may be required to keep the cargo from spoiling.
Lowboy Trailer
A lowboy trailer is a type of unpowered trailer that is typically used to move tall objects. Goods carried or transported on a lowboy trailer have surpassed the legal height restriction of goods typically hauled on a flatbed trailer.
A lowboy trailer is a great alternative for moving heavy-duty goods such as construction equipment and agricultural machines. The low height facilitates loading and unloading and aids in keeping the payload level while in transportation, which is critical for preventing damage.
Dry Van Trucker
Dry van truckers deliver nonperishable, lightweight freight. It is frequently packed and transported in a single rectangular trailer connected to a semi-truck.
A dry van, unlike a refrigerated vehicle, can transport a variety of cargo sizes while being less expensive to operate. While air conditioning and insulation can serve specialty commodities, they cannot move as much freight as a dry van can for non-perishable goods.
Interested in making a career as a truck driver? Start achieving your goals by signing up for Taylor Pro College’s driver training program. Learn about the different classes you could take and gain the skills you need to become a professional truck driver.
Sources:
Canadian trucking industry: total drivers 2000-2021. (n.d.). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/947317/canadian-trucking-industry-total-drivers/
Plus, A. F. (2018, April 27). What You Need to Know About Full Truckload Shipping. AFP Global Logistics. https://afplus.com/need-know-full-truckload-shipping/
Trucking Statistics | TruckInfo.net. (n.d.). Www.truckinfo.net. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.truckinfo.net/research/trucking-statistics
Work in Canada as a Truck Driver: All You Need to Know – CanadaCIS. (2021, August 11). Canada Citizenship Immigration Services. https://www.canadacis.org/blog/how-to-find-jobs-in-canada-as-a-truck-driver/