Local CDL-A Position Cross-Dock Transfer
Local CDL-A Cross-Dock Truck Driver – Los Angeles, CA
Hiring Area: Los Angeles County & Surrounding • Terminal: Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA Terminal-to-Terminal Day Cab Fleet
Handle consolidated dry freight transfers between Los Angeles cross-dock terminals and nearby warehouses on home-daily shifts. Typical weekly gross $1,650–$1,950 before taxes based on roughly 50–57 hours; annualized at 50 hours/week equals $85,800.
Typical Weekly Gross
$1,650–$1,950
Annualized at 50 hrs/wk: $85,800
Base / Overtime $30 / $45 per hour
Schedule Home daily · About 5 shifts
Freight Dry van / consolidated LTL
Sign-On Bonus Not offered
Driver Type Company Driver
Shipments arrive from multiple customers, get sorted at the cross-dock, and move onward the same day. Drivers keep that cycle moving.
- Pull scheduled trailers between terminals and customer facilities.
- Handle both drop-and-hook exchanges and live dock appointments.
- Match trailer numbers, seals, and paperwork before leaving the yard.
- Note shortages or damage and alert dispatch before departure.
- Return equipment to the home terminal or designated drop yard.
- Keep dispatch updated on traffic, dock delays, or equipment issues.
Pay is strictly hourly because most of the day is spent on gate checks, backing, and waiting for dock doors rather than racking up highway miles.
Base Rate $30 per hour
Overtime $45 per hour after 40
Reference Week (50 hrs) $1,650 gross
Typical Range $1,650–$1,950 (approx. 50–57 hrs)
Detention $25/hr after 60 minutes of qualifying delay
Sign-On / Night Premium Not included in weekly figures
Home Time Home daily after each shift
Area Covered Los Angeles County, Orange County, selected Inland Empire stops
Base Terminal Los Angeles, CA
Weekly Rhythm About five shifts; Saturday coverage possible during volume spikes
Shift Length Planned around 10 hours; some run 11–12
Tractor Years Primarily 2020–2024
Makes Freightliner Cascadia and International LT day cabs
Transmissions Mix of automated-manual and automatic
Typical Miles 250,000–500,000 range
Seating Assigned when possible; slip-seat used as needed
Trailers are 48-ft and 53-ft dry vans, generally 5–12 years old, fitted with load bars, logistics tracks where available, and straps. Liftgates are not standard on these transfer trailers. Tractors run ELDs, GPS tracking, electronic inspection reporting, and forward-facing cameras. Some later units add collision mitigation or lane-departure alerts. Yard hostlers may move trailers inside the terminal but are not guaranteed for every turn.
Palletized commercial freight, consolidated LTL, boxed merchandise, packaged industrial supplies, and general dry freight move between cross-dock terminals and distribution warehouses. The lanes below represent common local patterns; exact daily assignments depend on trailer availability and customer cutoffs.
- Los Angeles terminal to Commerce warehouses for sorting and outbound staging
- Commerce industrial district to Santa Fe Springs distribution centers via I-5 / I-605
- Vernon manufacturing area to Carson facilities for commercial replenishment
- Carson to Long Beach warehouse cluster for regional distribution freight
- Santa Fe Springs to Anaheim via SR-91 for consolidated retail inventory
- Commerce outbound to Ontario Inland Empire DCs; return loads back west
- Carson to Irvine commercial sites; Anaheim inbound freight returning to Commerce
- Arrive at terminal, pull the first assignment, pre-trip the tractor, confirm trailer number and seal
- Drive the loaded trailer to the assigned cross-dock or customer gate
- Check in, wait for door or staging spot, complete exchange or live load/unload
- Pick up inbound freight or empty equipment for the return leg
- Drop the final trailer, post-trip, report any defects or exceptions, clock out
- Monday often clears weekend backlog; Friday focuses on freight that must clear before weekend cutoffs
- Dispatch can change the next stop mid-shift when a trailer is late or a cutoff moves
About the Carrier
Cross-dock operations in the Los Angeles basin exist because retailers, wholesalers, and industrial shippers need freight sorted and forwarded the same day rather than held in storage. A mid-sized regional carrier supplies that short-haul capacity by running repeated terminal-to-terminal and warehouse-to-warehouse transfers across Los Angeles County and the near Inland Empire. The work stays inside the local network—no multi-state linehaul and no dedicated port-container chassis—so equipment turns stay high and drivers return to the same terminal each night. The carrier’s role is simply to keep the sorted pallets moving between the sorting docks and the next distribution point before the next cutoff hits.
Health Coverage Medical, dental, and vision options per employer plan
Paid Time Off Vacation accrual based on tenure and attendance
Uniforms Company workwear or uniforms supplied
Orientation Paid if written into the offer letter
Safety Recognition Available under written policy when offered
- Valid Class A CDL
- Six months CDL-A experience preferred; recent graduates from accredited programs may be considered
- Driving record that meets the carrier’s insurance standards
- Current DOT medical card, drug screen, and Clearinghouse clearance
- Comfortable backing in active yards and completing basic freight paperwork
- Heavy traffic on I-710, I-5, I-605 and the surface streets around warehouse gates
- Inbound trailers missing their cutoff and forcing a last-minute reassignment
- Live dock waits when freight has not been staged or doors are full
- Morning dispatch waves and late-afternoon shipping peaks that pack the yard
- Retail volume spikes and rain that slow both freeway and yard movement
1
Application Review
CDL and work history check
2
Phone Screen
Shift fit and dock experience
3
Background & Drug Screen
MVR, Clearinghouse, DOT test
4
Road Test & Orientation
Equipment check and terminal rules
Q: How many moves are drop-and-hook versus live loads? ▼
As a planning estimate roughly 55–65 % of transfers are trailer exchanges; the rest involve live dock work. The mix changes with daily volume.
Q: Will I have to unload freight myself? ▼
The role is driving and documentation. Physical unloading is handled by warehouse staff or lumper services when required; drivers follow dispatch authorization for any paid unloading.
Q: Are Saturday shifts mandatory? ▼
Saturday coverage can be scheduled during high-volume periods or when customer contracts require it. Confirm the expected weekend rotation during hiring.
Q: What if the assigned trailer is not ready? ▼
Report it to dispatch right away. A trailer sitting in the yard is not automatically released; confirm it is cleared before coupling.
Q: How is detention paid and documented? ▼
$25 per hour starts after 60 minutes of qualifying customer delay. Record arrival, check-in, door assignment, release, and departure times and send the paperwork to dispatch before leaving.
Q: Can I take the tractor home at night? ▼
Only with explicit written authorization and suitable parking. Standard practice is to leave the unit at the terminal or designated yard.
Q: Do the same stops repeat every day? ▼
You may run the same corridors often, but trailer numbers, sequence, and destinations shift with inbound freight and customer cutoffs.
Greater Los Angeles supports a broad range of CDL-A openings: local distribution, LTL city runs, warehouse shuttle work, parcel operations, foodservice routes, and port drayage. Cross-dock and terminal-transfer jobs form a distinct slice that rewards drivers who handle frequent backing, tight appointment windows, and dock coordination rather than long uninterrupted highway runs. Employers in this segment look for reliable attendance and the ability to keep short turns moving through congested yards. Public occupational data show median hourly wages for heavy tractor-trailer drivers in the metro near $29, with the 75th percentile above $33. Because the region’s warehouse and intermodal activity never fully pauses, openings for home-daily local drivers appear throughout the year across the Harbor, Mid-Counties, and Inland Empire zones.
Imported goods leave the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and land in transload and consolidation warehouses stretched across Commerce, Vernon, Santa Fe Springs, Carson, and neighboring industrial districts. Domestic manufacturers and wholesalers add their own outbound volume that must reach distribution centers in Orange County and the Inland Empire. The main freeways that carry this traffic—I-710 near the harbor, I-5 south toward Orange County, I-605 through the Mid-Counties, and I-10 east into the San Gabriel Valley—see constant truck movement. Surface streets around warehouse gates often create longer delays than the freeways themselves. Retail peaks and import surges produce short-term spikes, yet the underlying pattern of cross-dock sorting and same-day transfers continues week after week, generating steady demand for local equipment that can move consolidated loads between sorting points without overnight linehaul.