Trucking Dispatcher Jobs

If you’d rather work within the trucking industry but don’t want to drive a truck, you can always get a job as a truck dispatcher with a trucking company. This might be something to try if you have done 911 dispatcher work or something similar.

Maybe you’ve been a truck driver for many years and just want to have a job that you can do without having to go out on the road for days at a time. Truck dispatching is a very interesting and rewarding position in the trucking industry. Whether you work for a small trucking company with a few trucks making local or in-state deliveries or a large trucking company with thousands of trucks of all types making state and national transportation runs, the position is basically the same. But whether the company is small or large, all trucking companies, from TMC Transportation to Wilson trucking, today have computerized positions and the truck dispatcher should have a good knowledge of computers before setting out for this job.

Truck dispatchers are responsible for coordinating the transport of freight between destinations, whether the destinations are across town or across the country. They arrange for the pickup and delivery schedules of all the company’s drivers, whether they’re driving small local delivery vehicles or long-haul rigs. They are also responsible for consolidating the orders of freight so that trailers are filled before setting out on the way to their destinations. When there’s a specialized load of freight requiring that special handling or safety protocols be followed, the dispatcher ensures that the driver handling that load is certified and adequately trained to do the job properly.

The dispatcher is responsible for making sure that all assets of a trucking company are properly utilized. This includes the trucks, as well as, the drivers.

Truck dispatchers need to have strong communication skills so that they can easily interact with both truck drivers and the customers of the company. Solid decision-making skills as well as being able to multi-task are excellent personal traits for this sort of position. Many companies also use satellite tracking systems and GPS technology to monitor locations of all trucks at all times. Having a working knowledge of this technology would also be helpful, starting out. The annual salary for dispatchers varies with the size of the trucking company and the location of the work, but can range between $31,000 and $85,000 with the higher rate being reserved for the more complex and stressful positions with larger multi-national transportation companies.