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As it stands, trucks and their drivers provide one of the most vital services to a flourishing modern society — delivering resources. Yet all over the world, the industry encounters complex, deep-rooted problems, both for people and the planet. ‘The Veins of Civilisation’ is a high-level recap of our deep dive into the crucial — but complicated — global trucking industry.
In 2018, the total amount of goods handled by the Japanese freight industry was 4.7 billion tonnes. That’s equal to 37 tonnes per Japanese citizen.
Society as we know it was radically shaped by trucks
Trucks were first developed at the turn of the 20th century, and represented a fundamental shift in how we could transport resources flexibly, at scale, to the furthest corners of civilisation.
Now, according to the International Road Transport Union, on average more than 80% of all goods that are transported in our world are moved by trucks.
When we think about mobility, it’s often easy to fall into the trap of thinking only about how people move throughout the world. But in reality — and on any given day — there are often much more goods than people moving across the surface of the planet.
In 2018, the total amount of goods handled by the Japanese freight industry was 4.7 billion tonnes. That’s equal to 37 tonnes per Japanese citizen.
Trucks have an outsized impact on our endangered ecology
It’s unavoidable — trucks are really bad for the environment.
In a recent report, the International Energy Agency found that between 2010–2018, trucks made up the fourth-largest contribution to the increase in global carbon emissions. Aviation was number five.
“In California, trucks represent about 4% of all vehicles, but produce more than 20% of emissions,” says Tony Brasil, Head of Transportation and Clean Technology at the California Air Resources Board.
Keep reading: In an attempt to explore alternative ways of using transportation to aid in the climate crisis, we opened an Exploration into Climate Migration. Read the introduction here.
There is a global shortage of truck drivers
All around the world, truck drivers are ageing and retiring, with younger generations unlikely to fill the voids because of poor working conditions and the looming prospect of automation.
Almost 30% of people employed in the transport sector are over 50, and will be retiring in the coming 10 to 15 years, says the International Road Transport Union.
Right now there is a shortage of 4 million truck drivers in China, and 10% of the Indian truck fleet is unused because of a lack of drivers. On top of this, India will need to find and train 17 million more truck drivers over the next decade, the IRU reports.
All around the world, truck drivers are ageing and retiring, with younger generations unlikely to fill the voids because of poor working conditions and the looming prospect of automation.
Trucks are generally underutilised
Even for vehicles that do have drivers, they often drive with nearly as much air as cargo, or sit unused for long periods of time.
In a 2016 whitepaper on the digitalisation of logistics, the World Economic Forum estimated that, on average, 50% of trucks drive empty on their return journey after making a delivery.
In the US, 25% of trucks sit idle for at least one workday per week, Bloomberg reports.
The truck industry has a sharp gender imbalance
Men vastly outnumber women in the trucking industry, and the women who do work in trucking sometimes face issues ranging from poor facilities to harassment and discrimination.
Women make up just 5% of American truck drivers, and only 2% in Europe, according to the IRU.
Keep reading: Surviving the Long Haul by Mary Pilon.
Truck drivers are overworked, overtired and underpaid
A core issue fueling the global shortage of truck drivers.
In the US, drivers work 50% more hours than other industries, many of which are unpaid ‘waiting’ time, and have seen wages decrease almost threefold in the last three decades, according to the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health & U.S. Department of Labour.
In the EU, drivers from Eastern Europe are paid as little as €1.70/hr, and forced to sleep in their cabs for months at a time, the International Road Transport Workers’ Federation reports.
When truck drivers’ working conditions decrease, road traffic accidents increase
Numerous studies have found that decreasing pay, increasing working hours and added job strain lead to higher rates of truck crashes.
According to the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the number of injury crashes involving large trucks or buses increased 62% between 2009 – 2016.
Rather than improving their working and living conditions, many freight companies are turning to surveillance measures like EEG-monitoring headbands to keep watch over their drivers.
Numerous studies have found that decreasing pay, increasing working hours and added job strain lead to higher rates of truck crashes.
Truck drivers have abnormally high rates of mental illness
Truck drivers work in stressful conditions that favour unhealthy lifestyles and medical disorders.
A 2012 study in Mental Health Nursing Journal found that nearly 27% of American truck drivers reported experiencing depression, while only 5% sought medical or psychological help. In America, 7% of the general population suffers from depression.
A 2019 exposé in the Economist found that on average, Chinese truck drivers see their families only once every 20 days. Asked if they would like their children to drive trucks, nearly 96% of those same drivers said no.
Keep reading: Based on the combination of these oppressive issues, we opened an Exploration into the Humanity of Truck Drivers. Read the introduction here.
Truck drivers need more and better rest stops
Rest stops are difficult to find, overcrowded, dangerous, and lacking many of the most basic amenities needed for a life on the road.
The IRU claims that one in six truck drivers worldwide have been victims of organised crime while driving, with almost half of all attacks happening at rest stops.
One Indian start-up is transforming the way trucks are driven — with drivers working in a sort of pan-Indian relay, only operating from one pitstop to the next, then taking a returning vehicle back to their hometown.
E-Commerce is straining the physical limits of our cities
Demand for next-day delivery is outpacing the very infrastructure, systems and industries that it depends on, often causing leading to increased congestion and pollution.
In 2019, the New York Times reported that, with 1.5 million packages delivered in NYC every single day, home deliveries had overtaken commercial deliveries for the first time ever, pushing trucks further into neighbourhoods that they wouldn’t previously frequent.
As a result, cars in the busiest parts of Manhattan are moving 23% slower than at the beginning of the decade, and since 1990 air pollution from cars and trucks have risen 27%.
The World Economic Forum just predicted that demand for urban last-mile delivery is expected to grow by almost 80% by 2030, leading to 21% more congestion and 33% more emissions in the world’s 100 largest cities.
Keep reading: In order to try and tackle the growing congestion on our city’s streets, we opened an Exploration into Urban Congestion. Read the introduction here.
