Truckers playing a critical role in addressing virus
Floyd McFadden was hauling 43,200 pounds of gold in his 18-wheeler Monday morning.
A truck driver for Metropolitan Trucking of Bloomberg, Pa., McFadden was transporting 43,200 pounds of bagged antibacterial soap from Fall River, Mass., to be processed and packaged in Sayreville, N.J.
A Vietnam veteran who has logged more than two million miles in the driver's seat over the past 20 years, McFadden said it's business as usual for him, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
"A lot of truck drivers are worried about it. I'm not worried about it," he said, during a refueling stop at the Pilot truck stop in North Stonington.
The trucking industry is essential in keeping the nation's shelves stocked, transporting more than 70 percent of the nation's freight, or 11.5 billion tons in 2018, according to the American Trucking Associations. The trade association says that if the trucks stopped moving, the nation's grocery stories would run out of food within 72 hours.
Despite the panic buying that has occurred due to the coronavirus, and its attendant disruptions and closures, experts say the food supply, and products such as toilet paper, are plentiful in the United States. The more pressing concern is whether medical supplies and items such as masks, gloves and hand sanitizer can be delivered to where they are needed in the coming weeks.
Trucking is a strictly regulated industry, and drivers such as McFadden are allowed to work no more than 60 hours over seven consecutive days or 70 hours over eight days.
On Friday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an emergency declaration easing the limit on hours of service for drivers providing direct assistance in support of emergency relief efforts related to COVID-19 outbreaks. The regulatory adjustment applies to those transporting medical supplies and equipment, supplies for community safety, including masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap and disinfectants; for emergency restocking of stores; supplies for temporary housing and quarantine/isolation facilities; and transporting people necessary to provide medical or emergency services related to the disease.
While many businesses are experiencing slowdowns or shutdowns, truckers remain in demand and are expected to be busy for the foreseeable future.
"It (the coronavirus pandemic) really hasn't stopped the industry," said Craig Mitchell, president of the Teamsters Local 493 in Uncasville. Members include drivers for UPS, Frito Lay, Pepsi and UNFI, a wholesale food distributer in Dayville.
"We're working with the companies to ensure everything is clean every day," Mitchell said in a phone interview. "They went through all the trucks and disinfected everything."
UPS has initiated a no-contact policy in which drivers are no longer required to hand recipients a clipboard to sign for deliveries, he said.
While delivery and tractor-trailer drivers are getting more hours, other members of Local 493, school bus drivers, are out of work indefinitely, Mitchell said.
Those who have the appropriate certification may be able to find driving work elsewhere. Edgardo Cruz, lead instructor for the driving academy at the AB CDL Training Center in Waterford, said the demand for drivers has continued to increase. Training takes four to 10 weeks, depending on the level of qualification.
Cruz said that truck drivers, who can earn between $60,000 and $100,000 year, have one of the most dangerous jobs. But unless and until driverless trucks such as those featured on "60 Minutes" Sunday night become a reality, the nation depends on them for just about every product they purchase.
"If you think about it, without truck drivers it wouldn't be the same," Cruz said.
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