By Hime Wang       Photo: @aleksandarlittlewolf

Truckers can only work on load a day, while they are not paid waiting to pick-up containers. On an average of 12 work hours a day, they are making the bare minimum wage.

We need to understand some fundamental workings of the ports first, as to why we are facing this phenomenon.

Unless they are designated for ports, most trucking companies will not touch containers, due to the hassling process of just picking up a container. There are three lines in total for pick-up, one at the “in-gate” where hundreds of trucks will pass through daily, second one for the trucks to pick up the container, and lastly the line where trucks wait to get out. Ryan has waited 8 hours just to get into the port in the past, and this is regardless to where you are located, whether coastal or inland, union or non-union. 

The wages truckers are paid are not determined by the size and duration of the loads, meaning whether it’s two hours or up to two weeks, the trucker will receive the same pay at an extremely low rate common to truckers outside of unions. It’s a wonder how any of them show up to work when after covering all costs of fuel and repair for their own truck, may truckers make below the minimum wage. 

During covid because of congestion, truckers could only work one load a day when the average used to be up to three loads a day, and while the rates increased for the carriers, none were going to the truckers. Many refused to show up to work when they are being paid near to nothing working 12 hours on average daily. 

Besides unfair treatment of truckers, BNSF and Union Pacific Airways shut down their container yards, being some of the busiest ports in the country. Even after re-opening they are still at over-capacity. The lack of space is among the many reasons why we are facing a congestion crisis. 

One of these critical shortages are the chassis which is a trailer for the container to sit on. They are essential for container trucking, and most are provided by container companies, generally trucking companies don’t own chassis. There aren’t nearly enough chassis to go around with the backlog of containers nowadays, and truckers find themselves to be waiting around for hours sometimes even up to days.

After the lengthy process of getting containers out of ports, when containers find themselves arriving at warehouses, often they cannot be unloaded due to how chronically short-staffed warehouses are, like everybody else.

Nothing is going to compel the carriers and the shippers to invest int the much-needed infrastructure, since the backlog of containers doesn’t hurt them. The rates are getting higher and all of that is absorbed into the rates paid by the buyers themselves. Manufacturers selling and buying the products are the ones that will have to absorb the extra fees of dwelling containers that are backlogged at the ports of LA and other coastal ports. 

Unless the carriers are willing to make actual changes to how the shipping industry is being operated right now, there won’t be any significant improvements to the congestion crisis we are facing today.

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