Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/680184
The small-business skills that owner- operators pick up in household moving give them management experience. "We've got a number of drivers that have sort of advanced through the ranks even beyond the owner-operator stage and have become owners of a lo- cal moving company," Michael says. Getting into the niche Despite its better pay, household goods moving, like the rest of the trucking in- dustry, is short on drivers. That's partly because loading and unloading is hard, tedious work. "There are some drivers that get tired of that," says Scott Michael, chief executive of the American Moving & Storage Association. "They shift over to the general freight industry, and they just have to bump docks." Owner-operators' average age is in the 50s – not a good time to handle labor that's far more taxing than driving. Mover John Graham thinks that draw- back also affects new drivers. "I don't see a lot of younger drivers stepping up to do this because I believe it's physi- cally demanding," he says. AMSA has tried different ways to recruit drivers but with little success. The association's consensus now is for individual companies to "build them up through the ranks," Michael says. "Maybe you start off working in the local warehouse driving a forklift, get some experience in the industry doing local things like that," he says. "Then maybe you put them in a straight truck and get them involved on local jobs in that area and grow them throughout the ranks so that they continue to ad- vance through the industry and eventu- ally are able to get their own truck and become an owner-operator." "Most places want you to have at least a year or two years of experience of being an owner-operator," says mover Mark Pettigrew. "Being a successful owner-operator, you have to pretty well know what you're doing. "We're pulling up beside houses and working with customers every day, so it's a lot different for somebody wanting to come from freight to the household side," he says. "They have to get with a driver and get some expe- rience." • 8 www.bigrigowner.com J U N E 2 0 1 6 Cover Story Bob Hirchak was named 2014 Super Van Operator for Household Goods by AMSA and 2013 Driver of the Year by Allied Van Lines. He drives a 2014 Volvo 780. John Graham, previously leased with Interstate Van Lines, now leases with National Van Lines. His 2002 Kenworth W900 features a custom sleeper.