Many Americans fail to realize the impact the trucking industry has on our economic goods. In fact, it’s fair to say that the trucking industry is a cornerstone in commerce, and the backbone of exchanged goods.

However, a major shortage of truck drivers in the country poses a potential threat. According to the American Trucking Association, the trucking industry is short over 63,000 drivers this year—largely fueled by retiring truck drivers. And that number is only expected to grow over the next several years. Over the next decade, 90,000 new drivers are needed to keep the industry operating smoothly.

One Santa Clarita resident, Jetty Sy, said in an interview with Trucks.com that he made the decision to capitalize on the trucking industry shortage by getting his commercial driver’s license (CDL). Sy, who had previously worked as a merchandising manager at Sam’s Club and Walmart, knew that with the trucking shortage, drivers were in demand. This meant double his previous salary and better benefits.

To start, Sy went over to a local training school,  GSF Truck & Bus Training. There, he spent three weeks under intense, hands-on training before preparing to take his test for a CDL. Here, he learned how to analyze many different truck parts, operate trucks, and more.

Edna Renderos, the owner of GSF, stated that they were receiving record high numbers of interested drivers, who are also catching on to the idea Sy had in mind: to leverage the trucking shortage to their own benefit. Furthermore, 100% of drivers attending the school found placements for carriers, and some of the major brands included Walmart and Home Depot.

Even more on demand than truck drivers are those with clean driving records. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration utilizes a Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program to identify carriers with potential safety issues. Business owners in the trucking industry are held to high standards: every driver hired plays a role into how a trucking business is scored. Factor that go into determining a CSA score include unsafe driving, vehicle maintenance, hazardous material compliances, and much more. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to capitalize on the trucking shortage, or a current business owner seeking to improve their own score, check out additional CSA program details here.

Additionally, there are DOT compliance services that help truckers maintain safe driving practices.

“Truck drivers are in high, high demand right now,” Don Lefeve, president of the Commercial Vehicle Training Association in Virginia (CTVA) said in an interview. “Trucking company executives that have been in this business 30 years haven’t seen it this bad.” Several larger, reputable companies like U.S. Express are so desperate for drivers that they’re offering large sign-on bonuses ranging in the $40,000-$50,000 mark.

Another study conducted by Indeed—which analyzed data from 6.5 million employees and job listings over the course of 24 months—found that the average truck driver salary was $64,000.

There are other benefits of California residents leaving existing jobs to transition into trucking, too. For instance, job security tends to be much higher, as trucking jobs in the United States cannot be outsourced. Drivers with good conduct and safe driving records are very safe in their line of work.

Currently, CTVA is working alongside the state of California to create a more efficient system, where drivers are able to receive their CDL from accredited schools, rather than just the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is because the influx of willing drivers far exceeds the capabilities on hand to process the requests, creating a backlog of potential truck drivers that exceeds two months in some cases. Even more, many companies are rethinking their experience requirements to accommodate new drivers with no experience on their resume.

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