March 27, 2012 - Demand for Truck Drivers in High Gear

Sep 18, 2026

March 27, 2012 highlights the strong demand for truck drivers and the practical pathway for laid-off workers to enter the profession. Joe McKnight’s experience reflects how workforce agencies can support tuition, followed by short training to obtain a commercial driver’s license and start over-the-road work. The report balances high pay and job openings with concerns about lifestyle strain, experience requirements for local routes, and barriers such as past driving records and hazardous-material certification checks.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

Truck Driver Demand and Career Path

Training Support and Hiring Outlook

Pay, Shortages, and Market Dynamics

Barriers, Turnover, and Certification Requirements

March 27, 2012 Demand for truck drivers in high gear Joe McKnight had worked at a steel drum factory in Arkansas City for nearly five years and planned to retire there. Then he lost his job last April. He spent months looking for work but found nothing, although he kept seeing ads for truck drivers. During a December visit to the Workforce Centers of South Central Kansas in Wichita, he was told the agency could help pay his $2,937 tuition for a five-week course at the Wichita Truck Driving School. “Everything clicked,” said McKnight, 44. He now has his commercial driver’s license and recently began working as an over-the-road driver for Olathe-based TransAm Trucking. He stepped into an occupation that’s wide open for opportunity – good salary, short start-up training period of four to six weeks, and a shortage of drivers. Starting salary for truck drivers ranges from $38,000 for local work to $40,000-$45,000 for over-the-road haulers. Experienced drivers can average $75,000 and exceed $100,000 – if they’re willing to pretty much live on the road, those in the industry say. Truck drivers rank second behind registered nurses on the Kansas labor department’s list of jobs most in demand statewide. For the second quarter of 2011, there were statewide openings for 938 drivers of heavy and tractor-trailer trucks – the fourth highest vacancy total out of all occupations. The need for truck drivers could jump significantly if oil production in south-central Kansas takes off in the next year or two as expected. The state has already taken steps to address the need. Legislation that would allow military veterans with truck-driving experience to fast-track obtaining their commercial driver’s licenses is on the verge of being finalized. Add it all up and it sounds like truck driving is an ideal opportunity for someone out of work or wanting to shift to a higher-paying career. Not necessarily, say those involved in helping people find work. For starters, drivers are usually required to have one or two years of over-the-road experience before they can land jobs driving locally. That means they must first pay their dues of staying out weeks at a time before counting on being home most nights as a local driver. “We’re not pushing truck driving as the latest and greatest thing,” Workforce Center spokeswoman Kim Cronister said. The Workforce Center has propelled 25 people toward a truck-driving career since September after averaging only five annually in previous years. That’s too short a time frame to get a good feel for hiring results, Cronister said. So the center’s first choice for people looking for jobs that require short-term training is to direct them to manufacturing and some health care jobs, such as a certified nursing assistants or surgical technicians, she said. Shirley Martin-Smith, franchise owner of the Adecco employment agency in Lawrence, who has more than 35 years of experience in the employment industry, knows about truck drivers because her father was one. “It can be a great career,” she said.“With the quick training program, it has a great upside. It’s just not for everybody. “It’s a serious lifestyle change. It sounds easy, but it can be hard on your health. You have to have good people skills and know how to manage your freedom.” Perhaps that’s why statistics show the turnover rate for over-the-road drivers was 89 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 – the fourth straight quarter the rate has grown, according to the American Trucking Association. That turnover includes movement between trucking companies, said Sean McNally, a spokesman for the trade group. Even McKnight acknowledges his new job is “more of a lifestyle change than a job change.” “It’s a good career if you can handle being gone,” he said. He just finished an additional month of training with TransAm, which included three weeks of driving that had him making a dozen trips to the East Coast and back. “It’s a

FAQs

How did Joe McKnight transition into truck driving after losing his job?

He used workforce center support to pay tuition for a five-week course, earned a commercial driver’s license, and then started as an over-the-road driver with TransAm Trucking.

What factors make truck driving attractive in Kansas?

The occupation is in high demand statewide, offers strong starting pay, has a short training period, and faces a shortage of drivers.

What challenges can prevent or discourage people from truck-driving jobs?

Hiring locally often requires one or two years of over-the-road experience, turnover is high, and qualifications can be blocked by prior driving issues or the extensive background checks needed for hazardous materials.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn Holloway