UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A new commercial truck driving school in Union County is seeing steady business as the industry is in desperate need of more drivers.

Christian LeGuizanon opened the JR CDL Truck Driving School in Indian Trail in June of 2020. 

In the 14 months the school’s been open, they’ve trained roughly 200 people to become commercial drivers, according to school ownership.

What You Need To Know

  • National trucking organizations say the country is facing a significant shortage in drivers over the next several years

  • In a letter to Congress, dozens of groups say the need could be 160,000 by 2028

  • New Union County driving school has added 200+ drivers to the road since June of last year

The school opened at the right time, as professional trucking organizations say the country is facing an immediate need of drivers with shortages in the thousands. At the school, students like Lin Touch are learning the ropes of commercial driving.

“I’ve been reading about it, it’s a booming business, and a shortage and I’m trying to get into the business,” Touch said about his foray into driving.

Touch bought a commercial truck in February of this year, but had a hard time finding a driver to use it for regular business. So, he decided to come to school himself and learn how to drive it.

“I’m stuck with truck not running, so, you know when it’s not running, I’m not making money and that’s why I was like you know I have to step in and get my truck moving,” Touch explained.

The married father of three said he bought the truck to bring in money to support his family. He used to flip houses in the area before the market made it too difficult to make money as home prices skyrocketed.

Now, Touch is several weeks into the driving program and is set to test for his license in the coming weeks.

“I always loved driving, you know waking up in different cities,” Touch said from behind the wheel, “I always wanted to do when I was younger.”

Touch, who now takes practice drives on the road with an instructor in the passenger seat, will be sorely needed when he has his license.

In a letter earlier this year, the American Trucking Associations, and dozens of other groups, urged Congress to help get more drivers on the road. In the letter to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Commerce Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the groups said the country needed more than 60,000 drivers immediately.

Eventually, they claim the need could grow to 160,000 by 2028.

“In fact, when anticipated driver retirement numbers are combined with the expected growth in capacity, the trucking industry will need to hire roughly 1.1 million new drivers over the next decade, or an average of nearly 110,000 per year,” the letter states in its third paragraph. 

Back in Indian Trail, Touch and other students said they get several emails a week with job offers to drive commercially.

“That’s the main reason I’m doing this, to support my family,” Touch added.

LeGuizanon, the school’s owner, said the pandemic reminded people truckers are needed all over the country.

“Trucking is really the backbone of our economy. As we saw in COVID times of last year, we had the toilet paper shortage, we’ve had the hand sanitizer, the Clorox wipe shortage. That was all with supply and demand, there was too much supply and not enough trucks out there to get it quick enough to everybody,” LeGuizanon said.

Not to mention, he sees the demand for his students as soon as they have a license in hand.

“Every day we’re getting calls from trucking companies, prior to this that didn’t want drivers without experience, and there’s such a need right now that they’re trying to fill the void with our students, which gives them a great opportunity,” LeGuizanon added.

72 percent of all United States freight in 2019 was transported by truck at some point, according to the American Trucking Associations. 

A variety of factors including retirement, pandemic-related closures of driving schools, and international supply chain delays are causing the current driver shortage, according to the ATA. 

LeGuizanon said new drivers can use the shortage to their advantage and have the opportunity to pick the kind of jobs they want, whether it be day trips, over the road long hauls, or more regional east coast trips. Additionally, LeGuizanon said many companies are willing to pay for driving school, give new hire incentives, and continue training on the job with more experienced drivers.

At the JR CDL Truck Driving School, he said they’ve seen a diverse group of new drivers from age 18 to 67 and across all genders.

LeGuizanon, who's business partner runs a similar school up in the northeast, said he opened the Indian Trail location to capitalize on a lack of driving schools in southern Mecklenburg County and his area of Union County.

Back behind the wheel, Touch told Spectrum News 1 he does not plan on joining a big trucking company when he earns his license, but instead continue operating his business as a driver and owner.

He said making his own schedule has to stay top priority.

“It’s going to be a lot harder on me leaving on the road, because I’ve been taking care of my son since he was a baby,” Touch said with a smile.

He’ll be a father on the road, making sure America gets what it needs so his family gets what they need.