From ‘nobodies to essential workers’
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 companies 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. Financial Post