Transportation

Industry Overview

The transportation industry is enormous, encompassing everything from municipal bus, subway, and commuter-train systems that get folks to and from work and school to the container ships that transport goods from port to port all around the globe; from the rail and trucking networks that move those containers across states, countries, and continents to the airliners we use to fly to destinations near and far for work and pleasure, to the express shipping companies "for when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight."

The industry encompasses all those businesses that move people or goods, by land, sea, or air, from one point to another. This is a big industry, employing millions: In addition to the package deliverer, truck driver, and airline attendant—the ambassadors of the industry—there's a beehive of behind-the-scenes workers bustling to load containers, fuel airplanes, coordinate the logistics of thousands of railroad cars, and chart the best routes for truck drivers to take across America.

Virtually everything that surrounds us—including our clothes—comes from somewhere else. Your computer's components, manufactured in multiple countries, all had to be transported to the computer manufacturer, assembled, and then transported to a store or perhaps your front door. The newspaper you read this morning could not have been produced (think of the trucks delivering logs to the paper mill; think of the paper and ink being delivered to the printing press) or delivered without the transportation industry. And then there's passenger travel—the airlines, trains, boats, and buses that people use every day to get from place to place. Transportation may not be sexy, but it pervades nearly every area of our lives. Without the transportation industry, economies, global and domestic, would disintegrate.

Opportunities in the industry can be classified geographically, as local, regional, national, or international. In many career paths, you'll need to pay your dues in a local job before moving up to a regional transportation outfit, and you'll have to work at a regional one before moving to a national one. And if you go into freight transportation, be aware that this sector has been consolidating, as companies seek to become global players by merging into giant, full-service transportation integrators, combining ships, trains, boats, and rail.

Want to learn about current industry trends and major players? Learn how.

Transportation Job Listings