Outsourcing Jobs in the Trucking Industry

Outsourcing has become a widespread practice across various sectors in the United States, driven by the quest for cost reduction, efficiency, but also the access to specialized skills.
While nearly any industry can find aspects of its operations suitable for outsourcing, certain sectors have been particularly prominent in adopting this approach.

To touch on some of the few, the top industries where outsourcing is prevalent in the USA include information technology and software development, customer service or sales call centers, finance and accounting, human resources and even healthcare.
So where does the trucking industry stack in outsourcing? To answer this question, let’s take a look at when outsourcing became popular and what are the popular outsourcing countries.

What is Job Outsourcing?

Online outsourcing, also known as crowdsourcing or cloud labor, began to gain significant popularity in the early to mid-2000s. This rise was primarily fueled by advancements in internet technology, the expansion of internet access, and the development of platforms that facilitated remote work.
Moving business offshore meant development or service costs would get significantly less expensive, potentially saving companies up to 85% on their core expenses. 

The first outsourcing jobs focused on the benefits of having access to the global talent pool and the cost efficiencies of remote work. Customer support, web design, software development, and administrative work, to name a few, were the pioneering positions available to people across the planet.
While the fast growing IT industry was getting very popular around the world not everyone in the States was interested in picking it up. This led to an increase in demand for talent which was not available locally.
So while companies are saving a lot of money by outsourcing jobs, they also have no issues with the lack of talent. 

Just in case you’re wondering what were and still are popular outsourcing destinations, the top list would look something like this: Poland, Ukraine, Serbia, Mexico, Philippines and India. These countries have an endless talent pool that offers a skilled workforce with extreme cost-effectiveness.
With all this in mind, among major industries, IT has been successfully outsourcing jobs to these countries with major success. 

Trucking Industry & Job Outsourcing

Now it’s time to talk about the trucking industry and the outsourcing of trucking jobs.
The trucking industry has always been a tough one. Constant market ups and downs made trucking volatile for most of the players. Carriers have a hard time planning their future due to the oscillations in the market rates, diesel prices, turnover rates, rising insurance costs and so on…
All of this impacts the career of truck drivers who are the core of the industry. Constantly changing rates affect the salary, insurance costs affect the selection process, diesel prices make companies hire only drivers from within state…
While carriers can’t outsource truck driver jobs they certainly can outsource other positions in the company. Dispatch, safety, recruiting and accounting don’t require a person to be in the office, at least not most of the time. This is what opened the door of the trucking industry to the same talent pool we talked about earlier. But there are certain differences… Right?

Even though talent from overseas has never been to America, doesn’t know our regulations or laws, slang, or systems we have in place, it didn’t stop them from learning.

Popular Trucking Job Outsourcing Destinations

When it comes to outsourcing trucking jobs, Serbia, Bosnia and the whole Balkan region; Ukraine, Poland and Russia; and Mexico, Colombia among Latin American states have become global hubs. 
Trucking companies in the US that have close ties or connections in these countries started their outsourcing operations to save on operational costs. They set up a whole new office and hire all the personnel. 
The biggest challenge had to be training new personnel from across the sea, in skills, language and culture. 
It had to be a rough start, for sure, but once the ball was rolling there was no stopping. 
After conducting research in English, Spanish, Serbian and Ukrainian we realized that there have been about 45,000 job openings across above above-stated regions. In 2023 alone. These positions were outsourced directly from the US.
To conduct the research we looked at different job boards, social media and Facebook groups. 

What Trucking Industry Jobs are Outsourced

Now that we know outsourcing is big in trucking, lets take a look at the positions that are available out there.

Dispatcher

Probably the most outsourced position in a trucking company is dispatch. Negotiating and booking loads, dispatching trucks, taking care of your drivers and staying on top of things in real-time is one dynamic job.
The usual requirement for a truck dispatcher is a good knowledge of English or Spanish language, sometimes both. Written and spoken. When it comes to proficiency level, the most often stated in the job ads, is A2 level. 
Having completed a dispatcher course is a plus. 
Having prior experience as a dispatcher is a huge plus.
Also for some of the regions, there is a bigger time difference, so if you were to work from Belgrade, Serbia as a dispatcher your “first shift” would start around 2PM.
Salaries vary from region to region:
Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria (Balkans) have starting salaries at about $500 per month for those with 0 experience in dispatch. Training is provided by the company. 
For those with some or 2+ years of experience salaries start at $800-$1000 per month and go beyond that.
Ukraine comes with a similar salary offer, starting at about $450 for no experience and going up to $1200 after bonuses for someone with experience. 
Dispatcher salaries in Poland start at about $700 and quickly get to $1400 for those with 2+ years of experience.
In the beautiful country of Mexico, truck dispatcher salaries start at about $500 and scale up to $1100 for veteran dispatchers. 
If you are lucky enough to be living in Colombia their salaries for truck dispatchers start at about $650 for no experience and go to $1000 for experienced dispatchers. 
Just to put it into perspective a Flatbed dispatcher in the USA makes about $1200 per week. Of course, the above-mentioned countries have a cheaper standard of living in many regards and that is taken into account when the salaries are formulated. This all goes to show that outsourcing dispatch can save trucking companies a lot of money. 

Recruiter

Another very popular position that is being outsourced from the USA is truck driver recruiter.
Posting job ads, interviewing candidates, doing PSP and MVR checks, scheduling drug tests, and finally onboarding drivers. If you are a man of the people you will love this job. 
Requirements are pretty much the same as for dispatchers.
A2 level of proficiency in English, sometimes in Spanish is required. 
Good communication skills as well. Working hours might be shifter as well depending on your location. 
When it comes to salaries for truck driver recruiters, they all have the same formula:
Base salary + hiring bonuses.
In Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria (and the Balkan region)  as a recruiter you will be making about $400-$500 plus a $50-$150 bonus for every driver you hire. 
Poland and Ukraine are right there as well, having a truck driver recruiter base salary of $400-$500 and getting a per-hire bonus of $100-$150. 
Being a truck driver recruiter in Mexico or Colombia would net you a $300 or $350 base salary with a $100 bonus for every hire. 
According to a few recruiters we reached out to, someone with good communication skills hires 6-8 drivers per month and even more, depending on the position they are trying to fill. 

Safety Manager

A trucking company wouldn’t exist without these experts who make sure the company is legally conducting business in every aspect – safety manager. Unlike dispatch or recruiting, making a small mistake as a safety manager could put a lock on the office door. For good.
Knowing federal and state regulations and laws, and making sure that everything is on point is the name of the game. 
When it comes to other requirements, again A2 proficiency in English or Spanish is required.
Salaries for safety managers in Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria (and other Balkan countries) start at about $700 and can go over $1800. Considering the seriousness of the position, it makes sense. 
Poland and Ukraine come in close at about $650 for new safeties, going up to $1600 for pros. 
Mexico and Colombia have entry-level positions at $600 and $1500 for those with 3 or more years of experience. 

Accounting Representative

With an accountant being the last piece of the puzzle, handling all things related to finances, this is another widely outsourced position across all major industries in the US. Including the trucking industry.
Within mid to large carrier companies, accounting is split into multiple departments. These are usually payroll, billing, EFS, fuel… While working for a smaller trucking company, you might have one accountant covering the whole sector.
Qualifying for this position doesn’t require you to have a bachelor’s degree or experience in accounting, but having a complete course is a huge plus.
Again most companies prefer at least an A2 level of English proficiency.
Unlike with dispatch, this position usually only covers the first shift.
The starting salary of an accounting rep in Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria (and other Balkan countries) usually starts at $750 a month, with a high growth potential for the reps with experience going well beyond $1000 per month.
In Poland, the starting salary is about $650 for nonexperienced candidates, while being a beginner accounting rep in Ukraine with no experience will get you about $525. 
Mexico and Colombia are on par with salaries starting around $500 and going up to $900 for experienced accountants.

Equipment Sales Representative

Leasing and selling trucks and trailers to owner-operators or truck drivers looking to go independent and selling to 3rd party businesses is the primary objective of a sales rep in a trucking company. They provide detailed information including equipment features, financing options, and lease-to-purchase programs. 
To qualify for the position of a sales rep companies require at least an A2 level of proficiency in English. Knowing Spanish and/or Russian is a huge plus.
First shifts only. 
No prior experience in sales is required, but having some will grant you a higher starting salary. 
The starting salary of equipment sales representative in Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Bulgaria (and other Balkan countries) is about $600 per month for new hires or about $800 a month for those with some prior experience in sales. Salaries quite often hit $1000+ a month, plus the bonuses on signed rents or sales.

The Downsides of Outsourcing

Loss of Jobs in the Home Country

One of the most significant and often criticized aspects of outsourcing is the loss of jobs in the company’s home state. This is especially true with production industries where outsourcing can lead to unemployment issues and economic distress in local communities. But when it comes to IT or trucking, outsourcing is a solution to cut costs and find a qualified work force that otherwise isn’t available locally. 

Sometimes you’ll hear from truck drivers who had bad experience with a dispatcher, an overseas dispatcher to be more precise, argue that someone from far away can’t be a good dispatcher as he or she has not experienced America and it’s system. As with any other generalization, we can’t say how accurate this statement is. 
The Washington Post – Outsourcing: True Impact on US Economy – click here.
From slam dunks to semi-trucks, the legend of NBA Karl Malone delivers again. 

External Links

DASH Harvard – the politics and economics of offshore outsourcing – click here.