The Petro Travel Center off Interstate 10 in Ontario, California is one of the scores across the country. In front of the building are the things road trippers see when they stop for gas or snacks: a supermarket, restrooms, and a few eateries.
But for truck drivers, Petro is a haven.
An entrance opens to kiosks and services aimed directly at those working from the cab of a large facility. There are showers, a driver’s lounge, a gym and a launderette. A brightly lit play area features slot machines and a pool table. Outside the stop is a chapel in a caravan.
“For the next 34 hours, I’m going to do laundry, do some reading, take a shower — basically just like anyone else would if they were home for a weekend,” Bryan Tyson Galbreath, 41, of Corpus Christi, Texel, said. “I’m not home, but that truck is technically my house.”
Mr. Galbreath is one of at least 550,000 long-haul truck drivers in the United States, supporting an industry that was considered indispensable during the pandemic, even when there was a serious driver shortage. That shortage coincided with supply chain problems, which increased the pressure on drivers to reach their destinations on time.
The sector is also on the cusp of massive change. The shortage of drivers is changing the workforce as the specter of self-driving trucks threatens to increasingly change the way work is done. Self-driving trucks are now being tested and are seen as the future for transporting all kinds of goods across the country.
As freight transport evolves, the patchwork of companies in the United States that support the industry is in danger of disappearing.
There are no figures on how many people work in the various occupations that support the trucking industry, but it takes an army of truck washers, gas station cashiers and prison staff to help drivers and their loads get from point A to B.
Understand the supply chain crisis
Restrictions dictate how long they can drive, accurate to the minute, one reason Mr. Galbreath spends 34 hours in the lane of the truck stop.
Because of the dangers associated with having exhausted drivers behind the wheel, several federal regulations have come into effect since the 1930s. The current rules, introduced in 2013, are complicated. Depending on their company’s operating hours, truck drivers are allowed to drive up to 60 hours over seven days or 70 hours over eight days. So drivers with these schedules can reset their time to zero with so-called reset pauses. These 34-hour rest periods are often spent at truck stops.
“If you’re at a truck stop, you’re kind of stuck there,” Mr. Galbreath said.
In the parking lots, the drivers nest their trucks in tightly packed rows. Their cubicles act as kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms and offices. At night, drivers can be seen through their windshields – as they eat or recline in their bunks, bathed in light from a Nintendo Switch or FaceTime call home.
Small truck stops have only a few parking spaces. In contrast, the Iowa 80 Truckstop, in Walcott, Iowa, calls itself the largest truckstop in the world and has 900. Entire temporary cities are being created and spread daily across the country.
“Everyone has different stories,” Elaine Peralta said of the truckers driving through her salon at the TA Travel Center in Barstow, California. “A lot of couples drive. A lot of students drive. Young people drive and do their schoolwork, when they are at university, in the truck. Many different ages.”
A common complaint among truck drivers is food quality. Except for the occasional diner, food truck, or independent restaurant, fast food is the most readily available fare, with restaurants like Carl’s Jr, Wendy’s and Taco Bell dominating the truck stop market.
“I’d like to see a little more variety and not just fast food,” says Angela Eudey, 42, of Bakersfield, Calif., who tries to avoid it and stock up on groceries before hitting the road. “I have a fridge, so I buy food every week,” she said. “Usually fresh fruits, vegetables, yogurt, luncheon meat.”
“I’m trying to be healthy,” said the truck driver.
However, being healthy is not easy. With long hours behind the wheel and a lack of nutritious food options, truck drivers face a variety of challenges. Several studies have shown that truck drivers are more likely than normal to be obese, diabetes, back pain and depression, and that long-haul drivers are more likely to smoke.
How the supply chain crisis unfolded
The pandemic caused the problem. The highly complex and interconnected global supply chain is in turmoil. Much of the crisis has been traced to the Covid-19 outbreak, which led to an economic slowdown, mass layoffs and a shutdown of production. This is what happened next:
Another problem with truckstop food is the cost. As of 2021, the average annual wage for a truck driver was $50,340 — significantly lower than in 1980, when the median wage was $110,000 after adjusting for inflation, according to one analysis. Wages can be particularly low for new drivers or independent contractors, as they can run into difficulties for costs such as training costs, maintenance and fuel.
“Everything is expensive,” says Anthony Johnson, who is 36 and lives in Miami. “And I don’t get paid that much to keep buying food in restaurants. And Uber Eats is even worse. I’m constantly spending $30 on things that cost $9.”
At a stop in Barstow, California, truck drivers grilled tri-tip, burgers and sausages over a portable grill in the parking lot. “If you’re going to eat three meals a day at the truck stop, it’ll cost you $75 to $100,” said Bobby Parkman, 59, a truck driver from Center Rutland, Vt.,. “This is a lot better.”
Truckers are not always able to reach truck stops or rest areas when they are not working.
The United States has a huge shortage of truck parking spaces. According to the American Trucking Associations, more than 98 percent of truck drivers have reported having difficulty finding a safe parking space. If spots aren’t available in designated areas, truck drivers must improvise and spend their nights sleeping in potentially unsafe or illegal locations, such as vacant lots or highway driveways.
For truck drivers, a good night’s sleep is essential. Driving a truck is incredibly dangerous and tired drivers exacerbate the problem. In 2020, 4,842 large trucks were involved in fatal accidents and 107,000 in injuries. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, fatigue is a factor in about 13 percent of truck accidents.
“There have been many times when I couldn’t find a place,” says Mr. Galbreath, who sometimes had to sleep on the side of the highway due to lack of parking. “You have vehicles traveling at 65.70 miles per hour on the highway.”
He continued: “You can feel them as they run past you and rock the truck. You won’t get a good night’s sleep with that.”
While truck drivers have adapted to the increasing difficulties on the road, the problems ahead appear to be more transformational.
If driverless trucks are the future of America’s highways, the trucking industry will likely pave the way for other once-essential, now-forgotten support industries, such as the companies that once served gold rush towns, mining towns, or Route 66 motorists.
“This is all I really want to do,” said Kevin Ransom, 46, who has been driving for 22 years. “I tried to weld. I’ve done carpentry work. I’ve done all kinds of manual labor, worked in the factories, and I don’t care. So I don’t know what else I could do.”
He added that he hoped it would be another 20 years before automation affected his job. “By then,” he said, “I’ll retire.”
