China News Service, April 29. According to the US "World Journal" report, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has pushed the market of the US trucking industry to a high point. Various freight companies are scrambling to offer high salaries to recruit drivers, and some of them are affected by the epidemic. The Chinese who have had an impact on their livelihood are particularly looking forward to it.
Mr. Huang, who has been driving trucks for more than 10 years, specializes in the route from Chicago to New York. The 64-year-old wanted to retire two years ago, but when the epidemic happened, the truck company was overwhelmed with business, and the boss raised his salary to keep him.
"High pay comes from working long hours in small spaces, exhausting your energy to unload cargo, and worrying about road violations or car accidents," he said. "It's not a job for everyone."
According to the American Trucking Association, there was a shortage of 80,000 truck drivers in the United States last year, and the shortage of long-distance drivers is even worse.
Trucks transport 71 percent of U.S. goods, and the association estimates that if driver recruitment fails to keep pace, the truck driver shortage will reach 160,000 by 2030.
"You don't need English to drive an online car-hailing service, but you must have some basic English to get a truck commercial license." A Liang, who originally drove Uber and turned to a truck driver after the outbreak, said that more and more Chinese are entering the truck driver industry. , but the number is relatively small compared to other ethnic groups, "English is an invisible threshold."
According to data from career website ZIPPIA, among the more than 1.3 million truck drivers in the United States, most of them are white, and only 3.1% are Asian. The average age of truck drivers is 48 years old.
After the implementation of home quarantine, the number of passengers taking online car-hailing has shrunk significantly. After being introduced by a friend, A Liang began to go to the driving training class to prepare for the truck driver’s license. Fortunately, he got it quickly. Chances are, in early 2021, A Liang begins to join the ranks of long-distance truck drivers.
"It's about three or four times a month to go back and forth from California to Chicago, and it's common to drive more than 10,000 miles in 30 days." Although the work requires a long time in the small driver's seat, A Liang does not think it is hard, he said, "Transportation costs Soaring, almost every long-haul truck driver earns over $10,000 a month.”
The owner of the Chinese truck company that A Liang serves had only one truck before the epidemic. In just two years, the company’s fleet has increased to 12.
Ah Liang is hard-working, and often wants to drive to the destination as soon as he gets in the car. "The more you rest, the more tired you become. Every morning at 5 o'clock is the time when you feel the most tired. As long as you get through it, you will be fine."
A Liang said that when he first entered the industry, he was not sure about some regulations. For example, if you drive for 5.5 hours, you need to take a half-hour break, and if you drive for 5.5 hours, you must take a ten-hour break before starting the road.
As a result, when he was driving back to Chicago from California, he was stopped by the police halfway. The police checked his driving record book and issued a ticket for overtime driving. After that, he strictly followed the rest rules.
The wages of truck drivers calculated by driving mileage have increased from 0.6 yuan before the epidemic to 0.8 to 0.85 yuan per mile. Many drivers who are new to the road are unfamiliar with road conditions and worry about falling asleep due to the long distance. "Duo" rides; although there are advantages, but also because two people ride, each person's salary is relatively small.
While the salary is high, truck drivers also face certain occupational pressures and risks.
The sedentary nature of truck drivers puts this group at a high risk of developing diabetes, said a researcher and professor of population health science and policy at Mount Sinai.
The dean of Boston University's School of Public Health also mentioned that truck drivers are one of the most stressful jobs, because the job makes it difficult for them to develop relationships, and over time can lead to them being disconnected from society.
A Liang said that he has heard of many after-effects of being a truck driver, and he is indeed spending more time in the truck than at home, but he has arranged the interior of the car to be similar to that at home. "There is a microwave oven and a refrigerator next to the driver's seat. , and the Chinese version of Tmall Genie to accompany me, just like my second home."
When parked at the truck rest stop in winter nights, A Liang's greatest enjoyment is to cook hot pot in the car, and then sleep in the warm blanket behind the truck.
After driving the truck for nearly a year, A Liang said that the route 70 from Chicago to Denver and from Denver is the most difficult to drive. , making it even more difficult to drive.”
The most treacherous section is Highway 80 near Salt Lake City; this section of the road is often snowed, and the wind is almost non-stop all year round. to avoid overturning.”
"Driving these two sections of the road is dangerous, but it can save you six or seven hundred miles, which means you can drive one more long-distance round trip every month." A Liang, who only wanted to increase his income, said with a smile, after passing through these two sections of road At the time, I could not help humming the lyrics of "The Lonely Highway, Where is the End".
Like many Chinese drivers, Aliang wants to buy a car head to be his own boss. "One car head is now nearly 160,000 yuan, but now because of the epidemic, it takes at least half a year to wait in line to buy a car head." The previous one was only 10,000 yuan. Many trailers have now risen to nearly 50,000 yuan.
With the current level of cargo backlog at California ports, it is estimated that the trucking industry will still be in short supply in the next few years, Arlian said.
(Huang Huiling)