The romance of Route 66 helped make travel through New Mexico a cultural phenomenon only equaled by the state’s major import — aliens near Roswell. During the heyday of Route 66, the highway was the route of choice for travelers from Chicago and the Great Plains to the west coast where they expected to find jobs in the citrus industry. Today, I-40 has replaced a major portion of Route 66, but traffic hasn’t slowed down. New Mexico remains a major thoroughfare for traffic, including trucks, traveling east and west across the southern U.S. all the way to the east coast. The state’s access to Mexico-U.S. border has only increased trucking activity in New Mexico. Minerals are the state’s primary exports, but driving a truck in New Mexico doesn’t mean you’ll be waiting for loads in dusty mining areas or blazing hot quarries. You might transport a commodity worth as much as any in the state — water! Imagine driving through the desert knowing you have a trailer-load of water behind you. You may be tempted to open the hatch and take a quick dip. But remember, “NO SWIMMING ALLOWED!”
Geographic Advantages
New Mexico is situated in the southwest U.S. between Arizona and Texas and has entry points to Mexico. Trucker driver jobs that haul freight coast-to-coast and internationally require frequent travel through New Mexico.
Bordering State/Countries
New Mexico is the southeasternmost of the four corners states, meaning it border Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. To the east, it is bordered by Texas and to the south by Mexico.
Products Moved by Trucks
Whether they are exported out of state, out of the country, or simply remain in the state for use in-state, according to the latest data from World’s Top Exports, the following are the primary products moved by truck drivers and offering truck driving jobs to those calling New Mexico home:
- Computer parts and accessories
- Integrated circuits (processors/controllers)
- Bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles
- Medical, dental, veterinarian instruments
- Radar apparatus
- Computer data storage units
- Petroleum gases
- Chemical elements for use in electronics
- Modems, similar reception/transmission devices
- Miscellaneous plastic articles
New Mexico’s Highways
New Mexico contains interstates providing access in all directions. These interstates consist of 1,000 miles, while New Mexico’s public roadway systems total 161,000 lane-miles. Interstates within New Mexico are as follows:
I-10 between Texas to Arizona state lines
I-25 from Las Cruces to Colorado state line
I-40 from Texas to Arizona state line
For more information on New Mexico and its truck driver jobs, visit: www.nmtrucking.org