Minnesota. Now how can a truck driver expect to find a route through the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”? Well, roads they have, and they provide service to a lot of natural resources including western prairies, deciduous forest, and rich mineral assets. If all that can be fit between 10,000 “prairie potholes” often filled with ducks, Minnesota folks now doubt have found ways to reach them. Chances are, if you’re a driver in Minnesota, you’ll want to be based in the southern end of the state which the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul are found. But inner Minnesota is growing, and what were once small difficult to access towns, are becoming commercial centers. Intensive agriculture, timber, and mining are all important to the state’s economy, and the products that driver an economy also drive the trucking industry. Don’t get concerned if you happen to find your rig in a prairie pothole. Those ducks will take good care of it until they leave for the winter.
Geographic Advantages
Minnesota, an upper Midwest state providing access to the Canadian Border, is part of the conglomerate of nearby state’s offering numerous large cities and industrial and high-tech manufacturing jobs.
Bordering States/Countries
Minnesota is bordered to the north by Canada, to the east by Wisconsin and Lake Huron, to the south by Iowa, and to the west by the Dakotas.
As the U.S. economy experiences is ups and downs, Minnesota’s increasing role in technology development will play an important role in providing tools to assist in stabilizing the economy on both regional and national levels.
Deep Water Ports
Minnesota has several ports situated on Lake Superior as well as navigable rivers along the Canadian border and in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Products Moved by Trucks
When it comes to truck driver jobs, Minnesota offers many industries in which a driver can specialize as well as a large number of companies and carriers offering truck driver jobs. Many Minnesota truck driver jobs have historically been related to agriculture; however, as the state has become known for the technology industry truck driver jobs are shifting was well. Whether products are exported out of state, out of the country, or simply remain in the state for the use of those living in Minnesota, according to the latest data from World’s Top Exports, the following are the primary products moved by truck drivers and offering many truck driving jobs to those calling Minnesota home:
- Medical needles, catheters
- Lenses, prisms, mirrors
- Iron ores, concentrates
- Medical/dental/veterinarian instruments
- Aircraft including engines, parts
- Parts for filtering/purifying machines
- Flat sheet plates, sheets, foil, tape
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices
- Miscellaneous artificial body parts
- Integrated circuits (excluding processors/controllers)
Minnesota Highways
The Interstate Highways in Minnesota include 4 interstate highways and 10 auxiliary interstates. The total mileage of interstate highway in Minnesota is 920, just a portion of the state’s 287,000 lane miles of roadway and include:
I-35 from Mason City, Iowa to Burnsville
I-35 E from Burnsville to Columbus
I-35 W from Burnsville to Columbus
I-90 from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to Sioux Falls, South Dakota
I-94 from Fargo, North Dakota to Hudson, Wisconsin
Auxiliary interstate around larger cities
For more information on Minnesota and its truck driver jobs, visit www.mntrucking.org