We went from being nobodies to essential workers. — CHAD MONTGOMERY, TRUCK DRIVER,
DESPITE MUCH LOST BUSINESS, TRUCKERS STEP UP AS ECONOMY STALLS TO KEEP DELIVERING
Truck driver Gord Baird has had to significantly adjust his morning routine at Challenger Motor Freight Inc. ever since North America went into shutdown mode two weeks ago.
“I now have a coffee pot in my truck. Cream. Sugar. I’ll pull over and make myself a cup of coffee. They’re closing truck stops now. If I park my truck and walk up to a Tim Hortons or any drive- thru, they won’t serve me,” Baird said over the phone from a truck stop in the middle of Pennsylvania.
Truck stops are almost an indispensable feature of a trucker’s life: thousands of drivers rely on them to shower, sleep and eat between shifts that can sometimes last up to 14 hours.
But as part of strict social distancing measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, many truck stops have shut down or reduced their hours. Rest stops on major highways have also closed their sit- down restaurants, leaving open only their drive-thru options, which trucks are often much too large to use.
It’s a real annoyance, Baird said. “It’s not like my job has stopped. I still need to make sure people have groceries in their local store, clothes on their back, shoes on their feet.”
Indeed, truckers have become the key cog in the supply chain as grocery stores empty out and hospitals and pharmacies have an ever- increasing need for supplies such as soap, sanitizer, masks, ventilators, and basic flu medication.
“We went from being nobodies to essential workers,” said Chad Montgomery, also a driver with Challenger Motor Freight. “I’ve never felt appreciated in my job until now. A lot of people don’t realize it takes a truck to get stuff on shelves. If it wasn’t for a truck driver, you would have nothing.”
Montgomery began his week delivering pressure vessels to a construction site in downtown Toronto. He then drove to a warehouse in eastern Ontario to pick up ventilator systems for a hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., a 14- hour, rather picturesque journey that took him through the Adirondacks in upstate New York.
He said he’s now hyper-aware of practising social distancing when loading or unloading goods, making sure people around him are not “coughing or hacking up a lung.”
Still, there are plenty of risks. After all, drivers spend a portion of their shifts interacting with warehouse workers who often work in close confines. For example, numerous Amazon. com Inc. workers in at least 10 U.S. warehouses have tested positive for coronavirus over the past week alone.
“My kids, at first, didn’t really understand why I was working when everyone else was staying indoors,” Montgomery said. “But I think I’m keeping myself safe, and you know what? I’m lucky to still have a job.”
Even though trucking firms are especially vital to the economy right now, many have taken a significant hit as businesses and factories deemed “non-essential” are forced to temporarily close shop.
Bank of America’s Truck Shipper Survey, an indicator of trucking rates, reached a record low on the demand- side for the week of March 11. A survey of trucking stakeholders conducted by Morgan Stanley around the same time showed that almost 80 per cent thought coronavirus would have a major effect on their business.
Mark Seymour, the owner of Kriska Transportation Group, a Prescott, Ont.-based company that operates roughly 800 trucks, said his business has been particularly affected by the mandated shutdown in auto factories — General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. — that took place last week.
“I can tell you that nothing is really great right now. We had to close one part of our business that deals with transporting automotive parts,” he said. “Am I worried? Yeah, I’m worried. I can’t close the business and send everyone home and tell them to come back when this is over. It doesn’t work that way.”
Cambridge, Ont.- based Challenger Motor Freight has also had to deal with a sudden revenue hit, and recently laid off approximately 40 drivers. Last week, in a show of solidarity toward his drivers, owner Dan Einwechter took to the wheel himself, driving across the country to deliver fresh produce to retailers.
“A week and a half ago, I was beside myself with this fear of the unknown. I did this truck trip because I want to show my drivers that I’m simply not willing to do anything less than them,” he said, on the phone from his home in Cambridge.
Einwechter estimates he could lose 25 per cent of his business if the pandemic does not subside soon and the economic shutdown persists for the next three months. There may be opportunities to switch to other supply chains, say, delivering necessities to hospitals in dire straits, but he said it will “never make up” for the lost income from the number of businesses and factories that have closed.
“The opportunities to deliver hospital goods will be limited. Everyone will want them. The big couriers like Fedex are already doing a lot of that,” he said. “So many can do pharma- type products, hospital beds, but it will be limited.”
There are tiny silver linings, however. Both Baird and Montgomery said they have never seen highways so empty, which makes for a smooth drive and reduced stress levels. “It’s nice. You don’t have to deal with new drivers, bad drivers,” Montgomery said.
He’s also had offers from strangers — upon becoming aware that truck stops have closed down — to eat and freshen up in their homes.
“That kind of appreciation is touching,” Baird said. “I’ve been doing this for 39 years, and my father did this for 54 years. All I ask is to when you see us at a rest stop, say hi, buy us a coffee maybe, know that we care about our jobs and just want to get your stuff to you.”
I’ve been doing this for 39 years, and my father did this for 54 years. All I ask is to when you see us at a rest stop, say hi, buy us a coffee maybe, know that we care about our jobs and just want to get your stuff to you. — truck driver Gord Baird