There’s a lot more to truck driving than being behind the wheel. Different types of truck drivers—over-the-road trucking (often referred to as OTR), regional, and local trucking—each have distinct roles and responsibilities that go far beyond simply delivering goods. Over-the-road driving, despite its name, involves far more than “popping over-the-road.” It actually represents the long-haul division of the logistics industry, where drivers travel thousands of miles to keep the nation’s supply chains flowing.

While over-the-road trucking is the backbone for many domestic trucking companies, it’s important to recognize the importance and how it differs from other methods like regional and local trucking. Because remember, each has its own unique set of challenges, benefits, and operational strategies that contribute to the overall transportation network in the States.

As last week was ‘National Truck Driver Appreciation Week‘ in the USA. We wanted to write this blog post as a homage to all of the truck drivers not just in the USA but across the globe, with the purpose of shining a light on the unsung heroes of our roads. We’ll delve into the world of OTR trucking, explain how it differs from local and regional services, and highlight the key life-style aspects of each role.

What Is Over-The-Road Trucking And Why Does It Matter To You??

Over-the-road trucking involves the transportation of goods across vast distances, often spanning across multiple state lines, with drivers racking up thousands of miles over days, or weeks. Unlike regional or local, OTR drivers deliver goods nationwide. OTR drivers are skilled, experienced and dedicated to getting your goods across highways, interstates and large sections of the country seamlessly.

Over-The-Road Trucking vs. Local vs. Regional Trucking: Key Differences

Key Characteristics of Over-The-Road Trucking:

1.Long Distance Hauling

OTR shipments often require drivers to travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles per trip. A typical OTR driver might log over 100,000 miles per year.

2.Long Periods Of Time On The Roads

OTR drivers are extremely committed to their job, this is shown by the amount of time they spend on the move. Often times drivers will be away from their homes driving for weeks at a time, living in their trucks and sleeping at truck stops. Although we must highlight, there’s trucks on the road these days that would give a hotel a run for it’s money. Some trucks are kitted out to the nines!

3.Nationwide Reach

OTR drivers have to adapt to driving huge multi-ton vehicles in different weather conditions, terrains and learn different state driving laws. This is because OTR shipments span nationwide, covering a lot of ground to meet long haul needs.

4.Diverse Freight

There’s a lot of diversity in the types of shipments that require this type of service. OTR shippers can transport anything from construction materials, consumer goods to heavy machinery and connect industries, businesses and consumers across the country.

Regional and Local Trucking: How They Compare to OTR

To completely understand the lengths that OTR drivers go to for long haul shipments, we thought it would be important to compare what goes into long haul shipments (above) to the demands of regional and local trucking. Each of these trucking models has its’ own reach, operational strategies and impacts on drivers lifestyles, so let’s take a look at the stark differences…

Key Characteristics Of Regional Trucking:

Regional truck drivers usually operate in a specific geographical area. Unlike OTR drivers who are away from home for weeks at a time, regional drivers are home much more frequently as their role requires shorter trips.

1.Medium Distance Hauling

Regional trucking covers much shorter distances than OTR solutions. While they may still cover shipments over multiple states, the states are always within the same region, i.e. Southeast, Midwest, Northeast, etc. and these types of truck drivers will typically cover between 50,000-80,000 miles per year.

2.Home-Life Balance

Regional truck drivers have a much better home-life balance than OTR drivers. They consistently return home every few days or at least once a week. While some people thrive off living on the road, for the majority, this is seen as a huge positive compared to OTR drivers home-life balance.

3.Familiar Routes

Regional truck drivers tend to drive routine, familiar routes. This can make it much easier to plan and navigate routes. Which is far from the ‘norm’ for OTR drivers who consistently drive new routes.

4.Dedicated Freight

Different areas in the US, specialize in different local industries, i.e. some states are bigger on automotive and aerospace than others. Therefore, regional drivers often ship regular freight within a set area.

Key Characteristics Of Local Trucking:

Local trucking is the movement of goods over the shortest distances, usually within a county, city or metropolitan area. The radius of deliveries is kept small for local drivers and they typically have multiple stops in one day.

1.Short Distance Hauling

Local drivers tend to cover multiple deliveries a day within a 100 mile radius of their base address.

2.Home-Life Balance

Due to the local nature of these deliveries. Local drivers usually return home every night, making it a great solution for those who want a more ‘normal’ work-life balance and those with commitments that require them to be at home.

3.Frequent Stops

As local drivers make several stops in a day, it means they’re loading and unloading cargo more frequently in one shift. Making it more of a physically demanding role.

4.Smaller Vehicles

We’re not speaking for all local truck drivers here, but as most local deliveries require delivery to urban areas where they need agility in more congested areas, they often drive smaller trucks. There is however, obviously times where large machinery, etc. needs moving short distances.

To Summarize:

The Role Of Over-The-Road Trucking In The U.S. Economy

Overall trucks are responsible for moving the majority of all freight in the United States, with over 72% of all freight being transported on the roads. Over-the-road trucking makes up a significant portion of that percentage, because while air and rail also move a ton of freight, trucks ultimately are the final link between getting goods from distribution centers to their end destination.

Conclusion

Whether it’s the long-haul journeys of OTR drivers, the shorter regional routes, or the highly localized deliveries of local truckers, each type of driver plays a crucial role in keeping supply chains running smoothly. OTR drivers cover vast distances and spend extended time on the road, regional drivers balance home life with medium-distance hauls, and local drivers handle frequent deliveries with daily home time. Understanding these differences helps highlight the unique contributions of each driver type, and for businesses, choosing the right trucking solution it’s key to ensuring efficient, reliable logistics.

We’re experts in over-the-road, regional and local shipments. So, we know that we can get your freight wherever it needs to be, whenever it needs to be there. You can rely on us as your trusted logistics partners 😊

Thank you truck drivers for everything you do for our country!

Contact PEI for help navigating your OTR, regional and local shipments 

At PEI we’re experts in dealing with specialized freight under pressure and can handle yours with any custom requirements.