Also called: Port Truck Driver, Container Hauler
Hauls shipping containers short distances between ports, rail yards, and warehouses.
A drayage driver lines up at the port gate before dawn, picks up a 40-foot container, delivers it to a warehouse 20 miles away, and returns for another. Days are about waiting, timing, and city driving.
Certificate, about 0 years after high school. Commercial driver's license (CDL-A) and a port security card (TWIC).
Ways in: Certification, Trade school. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Commercial Driving (trade school).
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). BLS 2025-35 projection band for SOC 53-3032: Average (3% to 4%).
Medium risk for 10 years. Ports are testing driverless yard trucks and short container runs suit autonomy; jobs hold through 2031, then likely drop.
Classes: Driver's education, Geography.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-3032.
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