On road to riches

Iqbal Singh Sidhu

The truck is a Punjabi cultural icon like no other. Many legendary songs have been written in its praise, films have been made with it in the lead role and any Punjabi can relate to the memory of playing with a wooden, handcrafted toy truck as a child. 

A report published in The Economist estimates that 40 per cent of California’s trucking industry is controlled by Sikhs (read Punjabis). California’s economy is almost the size of India’s economy in nominal dollar-to-dollar terms. Similar numbers can be thought of in the Canadian context. While truck driving is a semi-skilled profession, it is classified as a category C occupation in Canada, meaning it does not require more than a High School diploma. Nevertheless, it is a mid-to-high paying job. It is hazardous, especially during the treacherous winter  that remains for almost four months on Canadian roads when one slight mistake can be fatal. But it is still attractive and continues to appeal to young Punjabis looking for a job. The satisfactory pay cheques might have something to do with it.  

According to various reports, there are about 35 lakh truck drivers in the US alone, making it one of the most common jobs in the country. There are about 3 lakh truck drivers in Canada. Trucking is a well-paying job and one can expect to make anywhere between CAD $45,000 to $55,000 in Canada which is already towards the higher end of the median income spectrum; many make more.

North America is huge and being a truck driver means one expects to stay away from home for days at end, sometimes even weeks. “I like open roads and besides, it pays well and there’s no one bossing me around,” says Navi Gill, 29, of Brampton. Navi, one of the thousands of young Punjabi immigrants who have found a place in the this industry, is an owner of a small trucking firm with two trucks and hopes to expand business. “When I started out, it was because there was nothing else to do. The only other alternative was working at a factory or driving a taxi, so I chose trucking instead. Now, I have gotten the hang of it. Though it can be physically tough since you’re eating stale food and always sitting and you’re away from home for five days a week, you can get something out of it if you’re focused and hardworking.” 

“It can be tough sometimes, especially during winter when there is ‘black-ice’ on the roads, you have to be extremely cautious with the vehicle, all it takes is one slight oversteer and you’re dead,” says Navi who has been driving trucks for over four years. 

Trucking encompasses more than truck driving. There’s dispatching, directing the truck drivers to go to places and pick and drop off trailers, truck repairs and there’s truck ownership. All these branches together add up to form the trucking industry. “I am constantly busy and it’s a stressful job, but at least I get to go home at the end of the day,” says Param Ghuman, 28, a dispatcher for Day and Ross, one of the largest trucking companies in Canada. He works from a makeshift office and evening shifts directing 30-odd trucks to go pick and drop off freight here and there. Param is a computer engineer and holds a post-graduate business administration diploma, but he has found his calling in the trucking industry like a lot of his peers. 

Although trucking is generally looked down upon in the mainstream North American culture, it is quite a status symbol among immigrant communities, especially Punjabis — the cultural connotation it brings with it is probably the reason.

Before the market deregulation in the 1980s, trucking was the blue-collar road to middle class in the US. That has since changed, wages have stagnated and other sectors such as oil drilling and taxi driving have become more attractive. Yet, ‘The Truck’ continues to dominate the imagination of semi-skilled immigrants who dream of making it big in North America.  

It’s not only about driving

Trucking encompasses more than truck driving. There’s dispatching, directing the drivers to go to such and such place and pick and drop off such and such trailer, there’s truck repair and there’s truck ownership. All these branches together add up to form the trucking industry