Regional Reefer Position Full-Time
CDL-A Regional Reefer Driver — Midwest Grocery Distribution
Hiring Area: Greater St. Louis • Terminal: St. Louis, MO
CDL-A Reefer Regional Home Every 5–6 Days
Run Midwest grocery reefer lanes from St. Louis with $1,550–$2,250 weekly gross, estimated annual $80,600–$117,000 based on the advertised weekly range, and home every 5–6 days on dairy, frozen, produce and packaged food.
Weekly Gross
$1,550–$2,250
Estimated Annual: $80,600–$117,000
Sign-On Bonus Up to $1,500
Home Time Every 5–6 Days
Driver Type Regional Reefer
Weekly Miles 2,300–2,750
Freight Type Grocery Reefer
Outbound grocery reefer freight leaves cold-storage and food-distribution sites on the western side of the St. Louis metro and runs overnight to regional DCs under appointment windows.
- Checks reefer set-point, fuel level and door seals before rolling.
- Reports temperature alarms to dispatch and maintenance at once.
- Handles BOL, POD and any required pallet-count verification.
- Logs exact arrival, check-in and release times for detention.
- Completes full pre-trip and post-trip on tractor and reefer.
- Follows food-safety and receiver-specific procedures at every stop.
Weekly gross is built from paid miles at $0.64–$0.72 CPM plus qualifying detention and other accessorials. Pure mileage on a strong week tops out near $1,980; the advertised $2,250 ceiling appears only when detention and accessorial pay stack on top. Annual figures are estimated from the full weekly range and are not guaranteed.
Weekly Gross $1,550–$2,250
Estimated Annual $80,600–$117,000 (based on advertised weekly range)
Mileage Rate $0.64–$0.72 CPM
Detention $25/hr after 2 hours of qualifying delay
Sign-On Bonus Up to $1,500, paid in three $500 installments at 30, 90 and 180 days
Pay Frequency Weekly payroll
Home Time Every 5–6 days
Operating Area Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee
Terminal St. Louis, Missouri
Weekly Miles 2,300–2,750 paid
Dispatch Window 3:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Tractors 2023–2025 Freightliner Cascadia sleepers
Transmission Automatic
Trailers 53-ft refrigerated, primarily 2021–2025
Cab Technology Samsara ELD, inverter, bunk heater, forward-facing camera
Safety Systems Collision mitigation, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise
Assignment Assigned when available; slip-seating possible in peak periods
Reefer units include remote temperature monitoring, interior display, rear-door seal capability and multi-temperature options on selected trailers. All repairs go through the carrier shop network or approved roadside vendors.
Loads are refrigerated grocery, dairy, frozen foods, produce, meat, poultry and packaged retail product staged at western St. Louis County cold-storage facilities. About 70 % of the work is drop-and-hook; the balance is live load or live unload.
- Earth City, MO → Indianapolis, IN on I-70 to grocery distribution centers.
- Earth City, MO → Louisville, KY east on I-64 through southern Illinois.
- St. Louis → Nashville, TN via I-64 / I-57 / I-24 combinations.
- St. Louis → Memphis, TN south on I-55, often overnight appointments.
- Earth City, MO → Champaign, IL on I-70 then I-57 / I-72 connectors.
- St. Louis → Evansville, IN through southern Illinois on I-64 and state roads.
- Backhauls commonly reload toward St. Louis, Terre Haute or other Midwest points.
- Late-afternoon or evening dispatch releases the first preloaded trailer from an Earth City or Hazelwood yard.
- Overnight outbound delivery runs to Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville or Memphis appointment windows.
- Reload instructions are issued before the driver leaves the receiver whenever inventory is already staged.
- Live facilities require gate entry, door assignment, seal check and paperwork before release.
- Mid-week freight can shift to southern Illinois, Terre Haute or another grocery hub based on available product.
- Final day brings the tractor back toward the St. Louis terminal or home area to close the 5–6 day cycle.
- 34-hour reset is normally taken at the home terminal when the schedule permits.
About the Carrier
Midwest grocery distribution depends on carriers that can stage refrigerated trailers late in the day and keep product moving overnight to regional DCs. This mid-sized regional operation supplies that capacity by connecting cold-storage warehouses and food-distribution facilities in the western St. Louis logistics belt with receivers across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Volume is driven by dairy, frozen, produce and packaged-food demand rather than long-haul OTR cycles, so the fleet emphasizes appointment compliance, temperature integrity and quick trailer turns. Evening dispatch matches warehouse readiness with receiver windows, then plans the next reload from available refrigerated inventory once the first delivery is complete.
Health Coverage Medical, dental and vision after eligibility period
Retirement 401(k) with company match
Paid Time Off Paid vacation and company holidays
Life Insurance Company-paid basic life
Additional Support Monthly safety bonus, paid orientation, reefer training, DOT physical renewal, terminal parking, fuel card
- Valid unrestricted CDL-A
- 6–12 months CDL-A experience preferred; reefer or regional dry-van preferred
- Acceptable MVR — no major preventable violations or recent serious offenses
- Must meet DOT physical, pass drug screen and Clearinghouse query
- Able to climb tractor and trailer, inspect reefer, check seals and open/close doors
- Grocery DC appointment congestion during holiday and produce peaks
- Overnight receiver backlogs in high-volume markets such as Indianapolis and Memphis
- Snow and ice on I-70, I-55, I-57 and I-64 that stretch transit times
- St. Louis-area traffic and interstate construction that push ETAs
- Temporary trailer waits or equipment exchanges during high-volume periods
1
Application
Submit CDL-A application
2
Recruiter Screen
Experience and home-time review
3
Qualification
MVR, Clearinghouse, drug screen
4
Orientation
Paid orientation and first dispatch
Q: What share of the freight is drop-and-hook? ▼
Approximately 70 percent moves as drop-and-hook. The rest requires live loading or unloading at the facility.
Q: What do I do if the reefer throws a temperature alarm? ▼
Contact dispatch and maintenance immediately. Options include roadside service, trailer exchange, temperature verification or customer notification.
Q: Are the lanes fixed dedicated routes? ▼
No. Dispatch assigns loads according to grocery demand, warehouse readiness, receiver appointments and available reloads.
Q: Where can I park overnight while on the road? ▼
Customer-approved parking, carrier yards, major truck stops and designated commercial areas along the I-70 and I-55 corridors. Many grocery DCs restrict tractor overnight parking.
Q: Is lumper service used at receivers? ▼
Lumper services may be used at selected grocery DCs. Dispatch issues authorization and documentation instructions when required.
Q: How long does hiring usually take? ▼
Typically 5–10 business days for a qualified applicant once employment verification, MVR review and screening are finished.
St. Louis sits inside a dense Midwest freight network where carriers compete for drivers across dry-van, refrigerated, dedicated, LTL, intermodal and specialized seats. The I-270 corridor and the Earth City–Hazelwood industrial belt feed both regional and longer-haul traffic, so openings appear year-round from national fleets, large dedicated operators and smaller Missouri–Illinois carriers. Refrigerated positions generally require stronger experience and appointment reliability than basic regional dry-van seats, which raises the bar for drivers who already hold reefer time. Candidates with six months or more of tractor-trailer experience and clean records remain the most sought-after group; recent graduates find fewer openings on temperature-controlled accounts. Demand stays steady because food, retail and manufacturing freight continue to move through the metro regardless of broader economic swings.
St. Louis functions as a natural Midwest redistribution point because freight can move efficiently east toward Illinois and Indiana, south toward Memphis and Nashville, west through Missouri and north through the Illinois corridor. The western side of the metro concentrates much of the distribution activity: Earth City is bounded by I-270 and MO 370 and is served by truck, rail and barge, while Hazelwood offers direct access to I-270 and Highway 370 and hosts food, logistics, manufacturing and distribution tenants. Grocery and refrigerated product form a stable year-round flow, yet volumes still rise around Thanksgiving, Christmas and produce seasons. Winter weather across Illinois and Indiana can lengthen transit times even when demand remains strong. Major corridors—I-44, I-55, I-64, I-70 and I-270—link cold-storage warehouses and food-distribution facilities with regional DCs in Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, Champaign and Evansville, creating continuous demand for temperature-controlled capacity.
