Atlanta, GA

[LehighValley]

How's the trucking opportunities around the Atlanta metro area? Are there any worthwide companies around there hiring that pay well and are local? I lived there about 10 years ago but didn't have a CDL back then. At that time I can remember things were good (I was in distribution then) for the local drivers, they seemed happy. The reason I ask is my friend is considering going to school for his CDL but he doesn't have any connections to drivers around Atlanta. He's been in CAD design for almost 20 years and once he got laid off, he wants to try out something different(I can't blame him I did the same). I already told him he needs a minimum of 1 year experience and most better companies require 2. Does anyone know of any companies that are decent for guys with 1-2 years that are local down there? I figured it's slow for all the bigger companies like it is around the NE here.

[UPSFreightDUI'd]

Well, the distribution aspect of Atlanta was booming, until the economy slowed down. Not sure where you were located at when you were in Atlanta, but alot of warehouse/distribution centers have sprung up outside the city, mainly along I-20 West, just a little past Fulton Industrial Blvd, and farther south along Fulton Industrial, and up I-85 to take advantage of the lower taxes outside Atlanta city limits. I did see a local trash cartage company had a sign out for hiring drivers earlier today, they mainly haul to the landfills from drop off centers utilized by United, WM, etc. I also hear that the local beer distributors are quite busy lately, might want to look into that as well. The LTL industry around Atlanta has pretty much put a freeze on hiring, were all struggling to get the freight out here. Other than that, I don't think their was much hiring in the trucking industry as I checked monster.com and careerbuilder.com. A few of the big companies seemed to be still taking applications, C.R. England and a few others...Any other questions lemme know.

[LehighValley]

Originally Posted by UPSFreightDUI'd

Well, the distribution aspect of Atlanta was booming, until the economy slowed down. Not sure where you were located at when you were in Atlanta, but alot of warehouse/distribution centers have sprung up outside the city, mainly along I-20 West, just a little past Fulton Industrial Blvd, and farther south along Fulton Industrial, and up I-85 to take advantage of the lower taxes outside Atlanta city limits. I did see a local trash cartage company had a sign out for hiring drivers earlier today, they mainly haul to the landfills from drop off centers utilized by United, WM, etc. I also hear that the local beer distributors are quite busy lately, might want to look into that as well. The LTL industry around Atlanta has pretty much put a freeze on hiring, were all struggling to get the freight out here. Other than that, I don't think their was much hiring in the trucking industry as I checked monster.com and careerbuilder.com. A few of the big companies seemed to be still taking applications, C.R. England and a few others...Any other questions lemme know.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll pass it along. When I lived there I worked in Norcross mainly but traveled up and down the east coast from NYC to Tampa FL. That was during the early 90's. My family migrated there in the early 80's though. That's when Atlanta was great! I remember taking the back roads out to Swannee to watch the Falcons. My dad used to live over off 20 in Austell. That was a cool neighborhood and close enough to go watch the dogs race across the way. That Fulton Industrial area was always loaded with distribution centers. The main thing I liked about Atlanta (during my working years) was the fact you could simply pick a location to live and find a job doing whatever you wanted close to home. It seemed like the flood gates opened up though after say 94/95 during the run up to the Olympic games. I've often considered moving back there myself. Most of the family is there and many of my good friends from childhood. Prices of real estate are really coming down after this housing crash so that makes me consider it even more. What part of town do you live in? Thinking of hotlanta makes me remember all the extended lunch hours at Oasis North and the Gold Club. Then again being the mecca of strip bars all you had to do was get off any exit. You were guaranteed a waffle house and a strip club almost every time.

[UPSFreightDUI'd]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, due to the metro Atlanta area's vast size, the many LTL carriers in Atlanta have numerous terminals. Like you said no matter where you live, their were jobs. UPS Freight has terminals in Kennesaw, Lawrenceville, Gainesville, and off Moreland Ave. Estes has a terminal off Moreland, Kennesaw,and Athens. Averitt just built a new terminal off Fulton Industrial. The other carriers have their numerous terminals as well...Of course most of the terminals are located off Moreland Avenue aka Freight Haulers Blvd. I was reading a few years ago in a railroad industry magazine about how intermodal transportation was gonna grow substantially in the Atlanta area, both Railroads in Atlanta, CSX and Norfolk Southern have terminals here, CSX has one East of downtown Atlanta and one in Fairburn. Norfolk Southern has one West of Downtown and one in Austell. Intermodal trailer/container drayage might be something to look into once the economy picks back up.

I was only 13 when the Olympics came to town, but have witnessed alot of the growth over the years from where my parents stayed. Ah, the strip clubs in Atlanta, the industry thats not promoted by the tourist bureau but many know about it.