Big machine parts for large diesel trucks and other kinds of truck replacement parts are helping to save the world in a time of unprecedented chaos. As the nation struggles to keep up with the demands put on both the economy and the health of the U.S., in fact, many would argue that the big rig drivers are the folks who are shouldering much of the burger. Semi trucks filled with groceries, medical supplies, cleaning products, and personal care items are as welcome to a community as the toy delivery that these same drivers may bring during the Christmas holidays. In a time when grocery store workers have little indication of when the most needed items will arrive at their stores, in fact, the arrival of a semi truck to the loading dock is, indeed, a little like Christmas.
Every truck arrival is another Christmas morning as workers toil around the clock to restock the shelves of many needed items.
Truck Drivers, Pharmacy Workers, and Grocery Store Employees Work Longer Hours to Provide Services
Working along side the medical professionals who are often more degreed and higher wage earners, the truck drivers of the country, as well as the retail supply chain workers, are what is keeping things going in this third month of the new decade. Governors are lifting limits on how many miles a driver can cover in a week and the amount of freight that these trucks can carry as the transportation network continues to struggle to keep up with the demands of more people sheltering in place and purchasing, and, unfortunately, some people stock piling, the most needed items as the brace for the worse.
Alongside those drivers, large chain pharmacies and grocery stores, as well as their much smaller, local counterparts, are getting bonuses, while at the same time limiting hours as these industries try to employee even more workers. Completely readjusting their hours of operation, most grocery stores are no longer open around the clock, but are instead offering their customers a revised schedule. Open for just the elderly and the immunocompromised for the first hour of the day, these stores are closing earlier to allow for shelves to be restocked and stores to be deep cleaned.
Behind all of these products that these stores are selling, of course, are the drivers who are making deliveries on schedules that are more random than ever before.
Probably never expecting that the big machine parts that they create or maintain, many manufacturing plants and diesel mechanic shops are also seeing elevated roles. And while these workers have likely always been the ones that have known just how important the trucking industry is, there are now, too, on the front lines of the economy as the nation tries to find a way to overcome this pandemic. Big truck mirrors and other kinds of big truck parts and accessories are in high demand as it is important to keep every big machine parts running and as many trucks on the road as possible.
Although the nation’s attention on these drivers is more focused than in the past, consider some of these specifics about an industry that many Americans often take for granted. Trucks move roughly 71.5% of the nation’s freight by weight, and in a time when consumer demand is so high for some items, this percentage is likely even higher. Did you also know that there are up to 2 million semi trucks operating in the U.S. and that these trucks are part of a complex network of as many as 400,000 commercial trucking companies?
From the largest big machine parts to the smallest shelves in a grocery store, the nation is seeing an unprecedented time in its history. And while we are all depending on the health care workers who are in the front scenes of this battle against a virus we know too little about, we are also deeply indebted to the truck drivers are caring the strangest of precious cargo items to stay healthy, to keep our homes and offices clean, and to help us put food on our tables.
