CDL-A Container Drayage Driver – St. Louis, Missouri

Local intermodal work centered on moving domestic and international containers through the St. Louis rail-and-river network rather than accumulating highway miles.

• Verifies container, chassis and seal numbers before every departure.
• Completes ingate and outgate procedures at rail and yard facilities.
• Inspects twist locks, tires, lights and air lines on every chassis.
• Reports damaged equipment, missing releases and terminal discrepancies immediately.
• Follows changing dispatch instructions driven by rail releases and appointments.
• Maintains accurate electronic logs and protects available HOS throughout the day.

Earnings follow completed paid container moves rather than fixed miles or hourly guarantees. Activity rates and modest detention adjustments produce the weekly totals.

Assigned tractors when available; occasional slip-seat use during maintenance. Air-ride suspension, dual rear axles and engine braking standard. Electronic logging systems installed.

Containerized industrial, retail, agricultural and commercial freight moves through the region’s Class I rail and river network. Assignments shift with rail releases and customer appointments.

• Dupo, IL ↔ St. Louis, MO and Edwardsville, IL lanes
• CSX Rose Lake (Fairmont City/Washington Park) to Granite City and St. Louis
• NS Luther Intermodal Yard to Metro East and Wentzville, MO
• East St. Louis, Sauget and river-terminal shuttles
• Primary highways: I-55, I-64, I-70, I-255, I-270, I-44 and Illinois Route 3
• Mix of drop-and-hook, live unload and equipment repositioning

• Valid Class A CDL, minimum age 21, current DOT medical card
• 6+ months CDL-A experience preferred; intermodal or rail-yard background helpful but not required
• Acceptable MVR with no recent major preventable violations
• Ability to inspect chassis and climb equipment in yard environments
• TWIC preferred; company support available for obtaining or renewing

• Morning queues at Dupo, Rose Lake or Luther can extend gate times.
• Container not grounded or chassis pool temporarily tight.
• Customer dock space full or receiving windows delayed 30–90 minutes.
• Traffic congestion or incidents on I-55, I-64, I-70 or Mississippi River crossings.
• Weather affecting yard throughput or bridge approaches.

St. Louis maintains a mature and competitive CDL-A labor market. Heavy and tractor-trailer drivers form a large statewide occupation, with BLS data showing tens of thousands of positions and a mean hourly wage near $25.69. Employers range from national dry-van and dedicated fleets to regional LTL, foodservice, bulk and specialized intermodal carriers. Local intermodal operators compete for drivers who can handle terminal procedures and variable dwell times. Clean records and any prior yard or container experience increase value. Overall supply is competitive rather than critically short, so carriers price local intermodal work toward the higher end of the short-haul segment to attract reliable drivers who prefer home-daily schedules.

St. Louis functions as a Midwest freight bridge linking Missouri, Illinois and longer national corridors. Multiple Class I railroads—Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern, BNSF and CPKC—converge with Mississippi River barge traffic and interstate highways. The combination generates steady intermodal volume: retail imports, industrial components, agricultural products and domestic 53-foot containers. Union Pacific’s Dupo terminal operates around the clock and feeds I-255 and Illinois Route 3. CSX Rose Lake and NS Luther add further capacity on both sides of the river. River terminals north of the I-70 bridge handle warehouse and crane activity. Growing truck volumes around Dupo have already drawn regional planning attention. The result is a dense short-haul market where containers move repeatedly between rail ramps, drop yards and customer facilities rather than traveling long distances.