Heroes of the Highway

2 SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2020 SPECIAL SECTION HEROES HIGHWAY OF THE thank you truck drivers From all of us at Siemens Transportation Group Inc., we want to thank truck drivers everywhere for your hard work and dedication. Your effort has not gone unnoticed. Thank You Truckers! P H OTO BY J A S O N H A L S T E A D There have been many more empty miles lately and more downtime waiting for reloads. I t's a general misconception that because trucks are on the road the sector is immune to any impact from the coronavirus. But Terry Shaw, executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association, says there's no question the economics have changed since March. First of all, just because trucks are still very visible on the road doesn't mean they're all carrying full loads. "There are a lot more empty miles today and there's a lot more down- time waiting for reloads. The manu- facturer who used to ship five loads a day is now doing five loads a week. We're still moving, but it's a lot more costly for us to move," he said. Compounding the problem is the fact trucking customers don't have any extra revenue to pay for the additional costs involved in shipping their goods. For example, many of them may have run on 24-hour days in order to be competitive, so the widespread shut-downs have carved into their bottom lines. "A big cost in the supply chain is transportation, and that's us. We're trying to pass on the costs but we have customers coming to us asking for deferred payments or to renegoti- ate contracts. Not only are our expenses going up but our revenues are going down," he said. Truck drivers have always been very safety-conscious, but now they're mandated to wash their hands, practise social distancing and follow public health protocols. At first blush, that sounds just like the rest of us. Truck drivers, however, have to know the specific rules and guidelines in every province and state they're driving in. For example, in Laredo, Texas, you weren't allowed to go out in public without having your face covered. So, if Laredo was on your route, you had to ensure you had a mask that met their necessary standards. If you were bypassing Texas, masks might not be as pressing an issue. "A lot of uncertainty led to a lot a confusion," Shaw said. The majority of the trucking industry's employees are drivers who work at remote sites, which means their access to personal protective equipment (PPE) is more challenging to co-ordinate. "They don't go to an office — it's not like they're at a construction site. One day they're at a shipper in Nebraska and the next they're at a receiver in Toronto. Even access for things as simple as hand washing is a real challenge for our drivers on the road," Shaw said. Truck drivers are about the only workers able to cross the Canada- U.S. border, but just because non- essential travel is currently banned doesn't mean it's been all smooth sailing when they talk to customs agents. Traditionally, a lot of paper is passed back and forth, but that put drivers and agents at risk, so docu- mentation was quickly transitioned to paperless. "Those little tweaks that everybody is living with, we're living with them, too," Shaw said. Even with all the precautions taken by drivers and the shippers and re- ceivers they deal with, many drivers are fearful of what could happen if something goes wrong. "There is a lot of uncertainty, but that's not unique to trucking. It's the same for a lot of employees in manufacturing, retail and health care. Public policy is evolving on the fly," Shaw said. Some truck drivers are fine with spending time on the road, and they feel safe in their cabs and with their health practices. But they start to worry when they're on their way back to spend time with their spouses and families. "There are a lot of unknowns. How do I go home safely? We worked on policy to help our drivers with that," Shaw said. NAVIGATING A PANDEMIC If you look at stocked shelves in grocery stores around the province you might think the trucking industry has emerged unscathed from the COVID-19 pandemic. You'd be wrong. BY GEOFF KIRBYSON Truck drivers have to know the specific COVID-19 rules and guidelines in every province and state they drive in. Terry Shaw is executive director of the Manitoba Trucking Association. P H OTO BY D A R CY F I N L E Y M TA P H OTO

• Cover