KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The news of major freight and shipping company Yellow Corporation's closure is having a ripple effect on the trucking industry.
That includes drivers and companies right here in the Kansas City area.
Those behind the wheel got in front of the camera today to share their thoughts on what happens next.
"This is not a job, this is a lifestyle," Anthony Badalamenti said as he leaned out of his truck's window at a local truck stop.
That lifestyle has been much harder to live lately, with mileage cuts affecting many drivers.
"Look up the companies that are going out of business, you're going to be shocked," he said.
Yellow Corporation is the latest example on that list of trucking company closures, though experts cite multiple reasons for its bankruptcy, not just freight shortages.
With Yellow gone, it leaves the rest of the industry to pick up the slack, which could be good or bad news depending on how drivers see it.
"We were told during COVID, it's going to pick up after COVID, it's going to pick up," Badalamenti said. "We were told at the beginning of this year at the summer it'll pick up, and it's not picking up. We're realizing this is the new normal."
He hopes he and his company can pick up the haulage Yellow dropped. It might mean more miles for him.
Jennifer Lenchworth called in during a stop on her route through Kansas.
She was surprised to see a company that survived decades and multiple recessions finally came to its end.
"It's been around forever, so I just remember seeing [their] trucks all over the place, so yeah, [I'm] surprised."
Despite a somewhat deflated disposition, the drivers all say they aren't going anywhere, except to the next load.
"I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing as long as there's work for me," Lentchworth said.
"This job, I freaking love it," Badalamenti said.
Yellow's closure is worrying, but someone has to keep on trucking.
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