West Virginia is another state that might surprise you in terms of what you thought you knew. While “The Mountain State” does rely on the coal industry for jobs, ranks second to Wyoming in coal production, and has exports of coal that make up 38% of what its mines produce, only 2% of the state’s workers are employed in the coal industry. In fact, the majority of West Virginia coal remains in-state and produces electricity for almost all residential and business use. Now, coal is no doubt a large industry in West Virginia, but 62% of exports are not coal. With the Appalachian Mountains severely limiting agricultural production, what does the state have to offer truck drivers? For a few, auto and aircraft parts, spark plugs, alloys, and polymers are primary exports. Pretty much, if a company in the U.S. using a lot of plastic or rubber, it’s likely shipped from West Virginia. Of course, this appears to contradict the idea that coal isn’t as big an export as you may have thought. But its not so much the raw material as what is done with it before it leaves the states, and the plastics and rubber exported come from the same source — coal. So if you happen to land a trucking job in West Virginia, you’ll always have the comfort of knowing that where there is rubber, there are tires. Now we guess you know more than you thought you knew, right?
Geographic Advantages
West Virginia, as its name implies is west of Virginia and largely covered by the Appalachian Mountains. The section of the mountain range in which West Virginia is situated is rich in coal, and historically, the economy has relied on coal mining, but in recent years increased technology production has improved the diversity of the West Virginia economy.
Bordering State/Countries
West Virginia is bordered to the east by Virginia and Maryland, to the north by Pennsylvania, to the west by Ohio and Kentucky, and to the south by Virginia.
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 West Virginia home:
- Coal (non-agglomerated, bituminous)
- Large spark-ignition engines
- Polyamides
- Aluminum plates
- Aircraft including engines, parts
- Propylene copolymers
- Polyethers
- Acyclic aldehydes
- Unsaturated polyesters
- Gas/smoke analysis apparatus
West Virginia’s Highways
West Virginia has over 80,000 lane miles of roadway offering truck drivers many routes across and throughout the state. About 375 miles of these roadways are included in West Virginia’s interstate system as follows:
I-64 from Huntington to the Virginia state line near White Sulphur Springs
I-70 from Charleston to Pennsylvania border near Morgantown
Auxiliary interstate highways
For more information on West Virginia and its truck driver jobs, visit: www.wvtrucking.com