Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/683064
FEATURE STORY 8 // OWNER OPERATOR // JUNE 2016 nities to haul special commodities such as mu- seum exhibits. 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 be- yond the owner-operator stage and have be- come owners of a local moving company," Michael says. Getting into the niche Despite its better pay, household goods moving, like the rest of the trucking industry, is short on drivers. That's partly because load- ing 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 indus- try, and they just have to bump docks." Owner-operators' aver- age age is in the 50s – not a good time to handle labor that's far more taxing than driving. Mover John Gra- ham thinks that drawback also affects new drivers. "I don't see a lot of younger drivers stepping up to do this because I believe it's physically demanding," he says. AMSA has tried different ways to recruit drivers but with little success. The as- sociation'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 expe- rience in the industry doing local things like that," he says. "Then maybe you put them in a straight truck and get them involved on lo- cal jobs in that area and grow them through- out the ranks so that they continue to advance through the industry and eventually 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 work- ing with customers every day, so it's a lot dif- ferent for somebody wanting to come from freight to the household side," he says. "They have to get with a driver and get some experi- ence." OO John Graham, previously leased with Interstate Van Lines, now leases with National Van Lines. His 2002 Kenworth W900 fea- tures a custom sleeper.