industry news

Trucking firm to hire 400
PERALTE C. PAUL of Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta, GA - 1/13/2004 - Schneider National Inc., one of North America's largest trucking companies, is rolling into Georgia with 400 new jobs.

The privately held company, based in Green Bay, Wis., plans to open an operations center next month on 25 acres off Constitution Avenue in DeKalb County.

Schneider's expansion is in line with growth expected in the trucking industry this year, according to one economist.

"We expect to see a lot of carriers to go out and hire drivers this year. Schneider won't be alone," said Bob Costello, chief economist of the American Trucking Associations in Alexandria, Va.
The company said it had eyed Georgia for the last year and a half.

"It's a rapidly growing regional market and one of those markets we think we have to be in to be an effective truckload carrier," said Wayne Lubner, vice president of driver relations for the company, which had about $3 billion in revenue last year.

"What we're attempting to do is establish our presence in Georgia."

Trucking accounts for $585 billion, or 87 percent, of the $677 billion transportation industry, said Costello.

"We always say trucking is a bellwether of the economy because we haul goods at all stages of the economy," Costello said.

For metro Atlanta, Schneider's Southeast expansion fits in the city's role as a national logistics and transportation hub.

A recent Harvard University study ranked Atlanta fourth out of 20 metro areas nationwide for transportation jobs.

Metro Atlanta has roughly 84,000 logistics and transportation jobs and more than 2,000 companies in those fields, including giants Delta Air Lines and UPS, in addition to its interstate highway network and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

"That's why the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has targeted logistics for economic development," said Bob Pertierra, a former Army logistics officer and the chamber's vice president of logistics industry development.

"Logistics operate every day -- from the french fries you eat to the toys you buy to the groceries you buy, or the products you need to ship to your customers. Those all depend on an efficient logistics and transportation system."

The company has scheduled a job fair at the Decatur Career Center at 3798 Covington Highway from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Schneider said salaries will range from $30,000 to $50,000 per year. Drivers will be placed on routes spanning metro Atlanta, Georgia and the Southeast, the company said.

SCHNEIDER NATIONAL INC.
> What it is: Trucking company
> Headquarters: Green Bay, Wis.
> 2003 revenue: $3 billion
> Employees: 19,500
> Competitors: Swift Transportation Co. Inc., Werner Enterprises Inc., J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. and U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc.
Source: Schneider National