Why protests by China’s truck drivers could put the brakes on the economy
Truckers keep the vital e-commerce industry moving but they’re in an uphill battle against rising costs and a lack of labour protections
Truck owner Du Yun and his co-driver have just a completed a 1,600km (1,000 mile) trip to a freight hub in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou but they are anxious to get back on the road.
The clock is ticking and they waste no time loading the cargo of face masks and shampoo onto Du’s new 49-tonne vehicle for the return leg to Chengdu in Sichuan province.
The non-stop trip will take a little over a day but they need to get moving to outrace the pack of expenses threatening their basic financial survival.
Du’s monthly repayments on his truck – which he bought two months ago to meet new vehicle emissions standards and aims to pay off in two or three years – come to 20,000 yuan (US$3,100) alone and he struggles to cover in an increasingly cutthroat transport sector.
“We generally made about six trips per month last year. But business has been bad this year. We are already halfway through June and we have only made two trips so far,” he said.
The long trips, the stress and the uncertainty are taking their toll not only on Du but on the roughly 30 million truck drivers around the country, who are the lifeblood of a delivery system that keeps China’s 24 trillion yuan e-commerce industry moving.