KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A national truck driver shortage remains high heading into the holiday shopping season and that could impact the movement of goods.
“There’s a high need for drivers right now," Mark Byrd said. "We need drivers all across the country, not just in Kansas City, Missouri. We’re going into the holidays, and these companies need trucks moving again to get things in the store."
Byrd is president and founder of New Reflections Technical Institute. The school teaches people how to drive trucks and buses in KCMO.
"There’s not enough people that really want to do this type of work," he said.
According to the American Trucking Associations, the truck driver shortage is over 80,000 in 2022. It's expected to grow to 160,000 by 2030. The organization cites retirements, people quitting and an expanding industry as reasons.
The shortage comes at a time when more people are shopping.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, retail sales increased by 8.2% year over year in September.
“Think of everything that we have, even everything that we wear," Byrd said. "Everything that we need, from sunglasses, to shoes — it comes on a truck at some point."
New Reflections Technical Institute offers six-week training courses.
Graduates could earn a starting salary of $55,000 to $60,000 a year according to Byrd. 18-year-old Karina Bruce is one of the school's students.
“It wasn’t my first option to drive a truck," Bruce said. "I was going to go into cosmetology school and get into beauty, but my mom, she influenced me to do this. She used to come to this school. She graduated here. She’s now an owner/operator. So, it made me want to drive with her and just start the family out strong.”
Bruce's education came with learning curves, but now she's now able to navigate.
"It took me a minute to get into it, but I didn’t give up cause that’s not the type of person I am, I just kept on pushing through, Bruce said.
