JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A growing shortage of truck drivers has the industry tapping into an uncommon labor pool: women.
Currently, 3.4 million people work behind the wheel, and most of them are men. But now, more women are joining the truck driving workforce, which could ease a driver shortfall that's expected to grow.
The freight industry transporting goods and services is growing and doesn't expect to slow down anytime soon. In fact, it has an expected shortage of about 400,000 truck drivers by 2017.
Evelyn Rivers has been a truck driver for more than 17 years. That means her Day Cab has many miles on it.
"This is my baby. She's battered and beaten, but she's mine," Rivers said. "This is where I am at least about 6½ to seven hours a day."
Rivers represents the growing number of women taking the wheel of a big rig. According to the American Trucking Association, women made up 5.8 percent of the 3.4 million truck drivers last year. That's up from 4.6 percent in 2010.
"I'm amazed," Rivers said. "I think a lot of them are intimidated by it, thinking because it is a male-dominated field, 'I don't know if I want to do that' or 'Is it going to make me less of a female?'"
Rivers said after her first freight run she had to make some adjustments before hitting the open road as a career, but she said she doesn't feel any less feminine.
"I had just had my nails done, and I went to open up the trailer and split my nail bed all the way through," Rivers said. "And the lady said, 'How long you been driving?' She said, 'You won't have those for long.'"
Although she has to get her hands dirty sometimes, Rivers said truck driving has its benefits. She prefers to work shorter routes, which is a more convenient schedule for her and her family.
"(I enjoy) the freedom and to be able to manage my time when it comes to my children," Rivers said. "I can come to work if I want. I can leave early. I don't really have to answer to anyone, being an owner-operator."
She describes her truck as her home office.
"I do not ever leave home without my book tapes," Rivers said. "This is what keeps me sane during the day."
Rivers stands about 5 feet tall, and even though she doesn't seem like an average trucker, she knows her stuff.
"I make sure that my tire pressure is up anywhere between 90 and 100," she said. "This red line is your lifeline. The trailer moves and stops with this, so if you don't have any brakes you definitely don't want to be driving it. ... You want to come back home safe everyday. That's my main thing. Every morning I check my truck out to make sure it is operating at the full capacity, because I never want to not come back home to my kids."
Rivers said her husband is also a truck driver and introduced her to the industry. Even after training and 17 plus years of experience, she still gets the same reaction from men in the industry.
"The guys are like, 'Wow!'" Rivers said. "(But if) you put your mind to it, anyone can do it."
New job recruitment campaigns are targeting women by highlighting the industry's increased salaries, averaging about $40,000, competitive time off and more comfortable fleets.