INSPIRING!: Coronavirus is bringing trade associations and truck drivers together
Hi everyone,
I'm on week two of working from home. There hasn't been a ton of non-coronavirus industry news, so I will just write about that in this newsletter for the indefinite future.
Let's focus on one topic this week — that the truck drivers and their employers are finally agreeing on something: getting Pennsylvania (and a bunch of other states) to re-open their dang rest stops!
Coronavirus makes strange bedfellows
It's pretty rare that the American Trucking Associations and actual truck drivers agree on anything. The former is an industry group that represents the interests of trucking companies (not the drivers themselves) from Arlington, Virginia. The latter are ... truck drivers.
Below, a screenshot from a 2019 study from the ATA's research arm. The left column represents drivers, and the right represents executives. You can see they don't have a lot of the same "top issues":
The biggest spat between them is whether or not a driver shortage exists. The ATA says it does, which is why they need to expand trucking jobs to those aged 18 to 21 as well as get more women in trucking.
Truck drivers (and most economists, for that matter) say there's no shortage of truck drivers, but rather that drivers don't make enough. The average driver salary has fallen by as much as 50% since 1980, for reasons I go into great detail here.
The ATA says there's no way to bring salaries up to 1980 levels as trucking has ultra-thin margins. (Most economists also agree with that — the only way to make trucking a better job is if everything you buy gets more expensive, too.)
If you don't know much about the truck driver shortage debate, please read this article or this article. Or this article if you have a BI Prime membership. I am too tired to further detail this topic.
But one issue is bringing them together: the lack of truck parking
I wrote this week for Business Insider that scores of states are shuttering their rest stops amid the coronavirus threat. Pennsylvania, a key hub for freight, is certainly the most notable, but states like Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska are winding down rest stops too.
Read more: Truck drivers have a big problem: Rest stops are shuttering across the US, leaving them to scramble for places to sleep, eat, and use the restroom
Truck drivers have always said this was an issue. Nearly 80% of truck drivers said in a survey conducted by the Department of Transportation that they struggle to find parking at night at least once a week. This doesn't just mean they can't hit up the buffet and take a leak — it means they can't sleep. You can't exactly park your semi-truck anywhere, for reasons relating to both personal safety and most state highway law.
But as coronavirus presses the demand for more food, medical supplies, and other consumer goods, truck drivers are getting more essential than ever. The closure of rest stops only makes their job more complicated.
That's why, in an unexpected twist, both what the ATA and truck drivers are telling me in my inbox are converging. The ATA and their northern cousin, the Canadian Trucking Alliance, has co-authored a letter to various leader to please stop the closure of rest stops. "Let’s jointly develop plans to ensure our drivers are well rested, fed and have proper access to clean washrooms throughout this crisis so they can continue delivering the essential products Canadians and Americans need as efficiently as possible," the letter urges.
There's more! The National Retail Foundation is urging the Trump administration to deem rest stops an "essential" business. This trade group represents basically every major and minor retailer, from Walmart to Bass Pro Shops to Amazon to Saks Fifth Avenue.
"Truck drivers and logistics companies need access to federal and state highway rest areas," the NRF wrote. "Regrettably, some states have chosen to close rest areas they control while setting overly stringent curfews on these critical workforces serving our communities."
Yay for Saks, our nation's truck driver advocate! (Side note: This is a lighthearted joke amid a pandemic. I have no proof that Saks was involved in the creation of the above letter.) (Side side note: Did you know the CFO of Pilot Flying J truck stops was previously the CFO at Saks Fifth Avenue?)
Now what's happening?
The messages seem to have worked. No additional state that I'm aware of have closed rest stops.
PennDOT re-opened 13 of its 30 truck stops for parking, and its turnpike commission (which operates separately from PennDOT) has re-opened all 17. (There are no turnpikes in Michigan. What do the Modes subscribers think about turnpikes?)
It goes to show what can happen when workers and executives get together to fight for the same cause. Most lawmakers and Americans don't get how vital trucking is, so a combined message might be the best way to make this industry more efficient and more kind for the workers, too.
I'm hoping this brethren sparked by coronavirus goes beyond the pandemic — it does good for the truck drivers, and ultimately for all of us who enjoy eating, having steering columns in our cars, and buying weighted blankets online.
That's my happy note to end on. :-)
Don't be a stranger! Say hello at rpremack@businessinsider.com.
Best,
Rachel