If you’re lactose intolerant but looking to drive a truck in Wisconsin, do not fear. Common to popular belief, dairy products are not a major export from “The Badger State.” In fact, of the top 10 products sent out of state, not even one is tied to agriculture. You’re far more likely to find yourself hauling a load of aircraft parts, outboard engines, medical supplies, or silica sand as a Wisconsin-based driver than even a jug of milk or a slab of cheese. When it does come to agriculture, cranberries are the state’s top primary crop, with sausage following. Even more surprising, with all the beer breweries and major brands of beer brewed in the state, beer barely registers a blip on the Wisconsin economy. Now that all those stereotypes are corrected, you’ll find plenty of driving jobs in Wisconsin transporting a variety of products. And if you like the snow and cold and prefer not to travel south, Wisconsin is the place for you! Nearly a third of all Wisconsin exports are not headed for U.S. destinations but for Canada instead. Can you say “Eh?”
Geographic Advantages
Wisconsin is situated in the upper Midwest and has access to all major midwestern cities including Detroit and Chicago, and includes a number of port situated on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.
Bordering State/Countries
Wisconsin is bordered to the north by Michigan, to the east by Lake Michigan, to the south by Illinois, and to the west by Minnesota.
Wisconsin’s Deep-Water Ports
Wisconsin includes several ports on the west side of Lake Michigan including the Port of Milwaukee, City of Port Washington, and the Port of Green Bay.
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 Wisconsin home:
- Aircraft including engines, parts: US$527 million
- Outboard engines for marine vessels
- Spark-ignition piston engine parts
- Computed tomography equipment
- Non-pharmaceutical composite diagnostic/lab reagents
- Battery waste, scrap
- Natural sands of silica, quartz
- Human/animal blood for therapeutic purposes
- Medical/surgical/veterinarian instruments
- Miscellaneous plastic articles
Wisconsin’s Highways
Wisconsin has nearly 240,000 lane miles of roadway offering truck drivers many routes across and throughout the state. About 1,100 miles of these roadways are included in Wisconsin’s interstate system as follows:
I-39 from Beloit to Rothschild
I-41 from Howard to Russell, Illinois
I-43 Beloit to Howard
I-90 from La Crosse to Beloit
I-94 from Hudson to Russell, Illinois
Auxiliary interstate highways
For more information on Wisconsin and its truck driver jobs, visit: witruck.org