Female truckers take the wheel in response to driver shortage

The trucking industry is experiencing a shortage of drivers and specifically looking for women to fill those positions.

In 2018, the industry was short 60,800 drivers and is expected to expand to more than 160,000 in the next decade – demanding 1.1 million new hires.

FOX Business' Tracee Carrasco learned more about the industry in a visit to York, Pennsylvania – home of Shelly Truck Driving School.

Carrasco took a ride with driver and instructor Liz Meyers, who is part of the six percent of women driving trucks in America.

WOMEN TRUCKERS IN DEMAND AS DRIVER SHORTAGE BALLOONS

Meyers said she was waitressing when a customer suggested she get her Commercial Driver's License (CDL) – a suggestion that changed her life.

"It's a good career to be in, and I can support my son," the customer said, according to Meyers.

"He basically saved my life that day," she said.

Driving trucks, Meyers said, has given her a career and a trade that can be taken with her anywhere.

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The number of women in truck driving is slowly increasing. Meyers said, as a driving instructor, she's noticed an increase of women in her classroom.

"I'm seeing quite a few females come through," she said. "The average [we see] is normally 10 percent per year … and I think it's great. I think it's incredible."

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In November, Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran and Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin introduced a bill to create a Women in Trucking Advisory Board.

The board intends to focus on addressing why fewer women are joining the trucking industry and ways to expand opportunities.

FOX Business' Brittany De Lea contributed to this story.