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Monday, January 02, 2012

Careers in the Auto Shipping Industry

By Tom Kearns


The modern auto shipping industry is a massive force in the modern job market. It provides a wide variety of positions with excellent career opportunities. Full time and part time jobs are available. Leading companies are looking for devoted, loyal, motivated, hard-working qualified professionals to occupy challenging, innovative niches. As a relatively new yet very advanced, still developing yet state-of-the-art innovative industry, auto shipping companies provide promising opportunities for advanced qualification and general advancement even to the newcomer truck driver or mechanic.

Finding a job in the auto shipping industry is no different than in any other industry. There are classified ads in newspapers, car dealers and online career sites. Auto shipping has a need for general and specialized types of shipping personnel for shipping of multiple or single vehicles, special shipping of traditional, vintage, collectible, and customized or sports cars among many other types of cargo. Everyone is relocating these days giving rise to the wide variety of jobs available in the industry. Among them are auto mover truck drivers, shipping dispatchers, customer service representatives, driver car hauler, commercial drivers, military-vehicle drivers and shippers, truck fleet managers, too many mechanic-type positions to mention here for all levels of experience, and many others.

Obviously, the industry hires truck drivers. In the auto shipping industry, however, this job is much more complicated and demanding of responsibility as the driver loads and unloads the vehicles, makes an inspection of all vehicles prior to delivery, communicates with the customers at pick up and drop off on top of the many miles of long distance driving over roads in all sorts of disrepair and possible inclement weather. All the time hauling valuable cargo which must be delivered punctually to many different destinations. The vehicles must be picked up and unloaded in varying states and across borders making each trip very lengthy, possibly many weeks to conclude. This is hard work. Not nearly the same as driving the local ice cream truck, but far more interesting and certainly far more remunerative.

The dispatcher is really a travel agent who takes orders and relays the customers requirements to the trucking company. The dispatcher is the go-between person who ensures that the pick up, delivery, transportation time, and cost of same have been made crystal clear to the truck driver and the customer. The dispatcher/travel agent is involved with the customer in the planning of the vehicle's trip demanding sharply honed organizational skills. One truck may be loaded with vehicles, each one going to a different destination. It is easy to see the need for intricate planning of optimum cost/time effective customer service with the resources available to the company while allowing the company to turn a profit on top of all that. This is not the job for the person with a wandering mind, or the daydreamer. It requires focus and organization.

The client service representative is not responsible for any planning, but he or she does the crucial job of kindly providing fussy customers with all required information, including quotes by phone or email, and the job of placing orders with the dispatcher who then works with the company.

Arguably, the most critical of all the jobs in the auto shipping industry is that of the diesel mechanic. There would not be an auto transport company without this position. The routine duties of the job is to ensure that the traveling trucks are in good mechanical order and safe for the driver and the cargo. The job requirements are advanced and numerous. The rewards are high pay and high esteem.

And lastly is the auto processor who operates the processing of the customer's vehicles through the many different company terminals.

Companies often offer certified courses in some or all of the basic positions. Training for other positions can be done at community colleges, vocational schools, or even on the job.




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