[ChiragM]

There are 3.5 million truckers in the United States. California has 138,000, the second-most after Texas. Nearly half of those in California are immigrants, most from Mexico or Central America. But as drivers age toward retirement — the average American trucker is 55 — and a shortage grows, Sikh immigrants and their kids are increasingly taking up the job. Estimates of the number of Sikh truckers vary. In California alone, tens of thousands of truckers trace their heritage to India.

Over the last decade, Indian Americans have launched trucking schools, truck companies, truck washes, trucker temples and no-frills Indian restaurants modeled after truck stops back home, where Sikhs from the state of Punjab dominate the industry. Three interstates — the I-5, I-80 and I-10 — are dotted with Indian-American-owned businesses catering to truckers. They start to appear as you drive east from Los Angeles, Reno and Phoenix, and often have the words “Bombay,” “Indian” or “Punjabi” on their storefront signs. But many, with names like Jay Bros (in Overton, Neb.) and Antelope Truck Stop Pronghorn (in Burns, Wyo.) are anonymous dots on a map unless you’re one of the many Sikhs who have memorized them as a road map to America.

Palwinder Singh wasn’t always a trucker. After immigrating in 2001 with his younger brother, he settled in Canoga Park and worked nights at 7-Eleven. After he was robbed at gunpoint, a friend suggested trucking. Better pay, flexible hours — and less dangerous. Three years later, he started driving a rig he didn’t own while getting paid per mile. Today, he has his own company, two trucks between himself and his brother — also a driver — and bids on shipments directly with suppliers. Nationally, the average pay for a trucker is just above $43,000. Pal makes more than twice that.

In recent years, corporations have pleaded for new truckers. Walmart kicked up salaries to attract drivers. Last year, the government announced a pilot program to lower the age for driving trucks from 21 to 18 for those with truck-driving training in the military. According to the American Trucking Assn., the trucker shortage could reach 100,000 within years. “Punjabis are filling the gap,” says Raman Dhillon, a former driver who last year founded the North American Punjabi Trucking Assn. The Fresno-based group advises drivers on regulations, offers insurance and tire discounts, and runs a magazine: Punjabi Trucking. Hindi- and Punjabi-language newspapers in the Eastern U.S. regularly run ads promising better wages, a more relaxed lifestyle and warm weather as a trucker out West. Talk to any group of Sikh drivers and you’ll find former cabbies, liquor store workers or convenience store cashiers who made the switch. “Thirty years ago, it was hard to get into trucking because there were so few people like us in the business who could help you,” says Rashpal Dhindsa, a former trucker who runs Fontana-based Dhindsa Group of Companies, one of the oldest Sikh-owned U.S. trucking companies. When Pal first started, Dhindsa — now a close friend but then an acquaintance — gave him a $1,000 loan to cover training classes.

The truck is fully equipped. From the road, you can see only driver and passenger seats. But behind them is a sleeper cab with a bed that’s 6-foot-7 by 3-foot-2. Pal likes to connect the TV sitting atop a mini-fridge to his phone to stream music videos when he’s alone. His favorite songs are by Sharry Maan, an Indian singer who topped charts two years ago with “Transportiye.” It tells the story of a Sikh American trucker who longs for his wife while on the road. At night, the table folds down to become a bed. Pal is just missing a bathroom and his family. The life of a Sikh trucker is one of contrasts. On one hand, you see the diversity of America. You encounter new immigrants from around the world working the same job as people who have been truckers for decades. All transport the food, paper and plastic that make the country run. But you also see the relics of the past and the reminders of how you, as a Sikh in 2019, still don’t entirely fit in.

Source: Los Angeles Times

[ninjatalli]

You forgot the most important image from the article



The quality of food at these roadside dhabas is apparently fantastic. Proven without doubt as a random user just mentioned in reply to this article on twitter

If folks in the bay area want to try the best aloo/gobi parathas, there's a pitstop south on I-5, 3 hrs away in Buttonwillow, CA--Punjabi Dhaba.

Link

On a different note, I remember a Greyhound bus ride from Chicago to Ohio 5 years ago; back then a slightly aged Pakistani gentleman was sitting next to me. Over the trip, he recounted his 20+ years of experience as a truck driver in the US of A. It was amazing to hear about the problems he faced from family as well as racism and other issues.

[AWD]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Attachment 1889299

Putt Jattan de driver truckkan de!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uqd...&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuoHk0Ia1Qg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2frSTuhMkq8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HKp...-zYqqE&index=3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-utJ_p4ne7A

[GTO]

Wherever there are jobs available, there will be Indians flocking to them . No matter which part of the planet. You really cannot catch a cab in NYC without getting a desi or Pakistani driver.

The USA immigration authorities will be a bit liberal with Indian truck drivers as there is an acute shortage of truck operators there (primarily due to low wages + awful work life on the road). When I was in the education industry, I remember how some competitors of mine had built a lucrative side business of sending Indian nurses to the USA (there was a shortage of nurses too).

[narayan]

We should stop building engineering colleges and build a few truck driving schools in India. This will help serve both the domestic and overseas markets.

Will be good if we can draw out a partnership with the US trucking association to train and certify drivers in India for maybe 5 year visas restricted to driving profession alone.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by narayan

We should stop building engineering colleges and build a few truck driving schools in India. This will help serve both the domestic and overseas markets.

...

I would go further by advocating trade schools also known as ITI. There are a lot of trades in India that don't have enough skilled and trained people. A skilled electrician, for example, can make a lot more money than a simple commerce or science graduate. But there aren't enough institutes that teach such trades and too many that offer arts, commerce and science courses.

All trades in the building and construction industry and many trades in general manufacturing industry are very much in short supply. In my opinion, part of the reason for unemployment in India is that finding skilled workers is very difficult and retaining them is equally, if not more difficult. This is why many people do not invest in new projects that would create employment.

[avisidhu]

The same community of Jatt Sikhs used to dominate this sector in India too, few decades ago. That's the reason you'll encounter transport companies managed by Sikh families in almost every city of the country. But eventually, they pulled away from the profession. I wouldn't be an authority on the reasons, but plunging margins due to competition and the Punjab related unrest in 70s and 80s might have a part to play.




And yes, the community does take to driving like fish to water Of course a whole cultural angle has now been thrown into the equation with super hit songs related to drivers and driving trucks in US/Canada, so it's become a self fulfilling prophecy in many ways.

Also, many well educated Punjabis (I know a PhD) who when they initially migrate, intend to take up driving just as a stop gap arrangement. They pay is better than most other 'survival' jobs, and of course established connections from back home help land you on the drivers seat fairly quickly. But as time progresses, most don't have the motivation to now go back to jobs which will pay far less.



But with driverless technology poised to disrupt commercial trucking more than any other segment, one wonders what will happen to these gentlemen.

[invidious]

Apparently the cricketer Harbhajan Singh when he was dropped from the Indian cricket team in the early part of his career almost migrated to the US to become a truck driver. I just wish Sanjay Manjrekar had done that and saved us from his commentary.

[captain.torque]

Adding to the above posts, the Punjabi trucking community in Canada/US is huge. How do I know this? Because every Punjabi pop singer worth his salt has at least one song dedicated to them and it not surprising that such tracks usually go on to top the charts.

These songs are usually shot in, you guessed it, Canada or US and are almost similar with the protagonist (singer) being an affluent yet hardworking trucker who drives a trailer during day and a Mustang/Camaro/Hummer at night.

From simple songs like 'bari khol ke' by the legendary singer Surinder Shinda released in the 1980s to the recent ones like 'drivery truckan di' by Ranjit Bawa... Punjabi songs sure have come a long way!

A comparison of the lyrics of the two songs:

'Bari khol ke waheguru bol ke, seat ute beja baliyeee... nava leh leya truck tere yaar ne babeya de chal chaliye' (I have opened the truck window and taken the name of Waheguru, come sit next to me my soulmate, I have bought a new truck lets go visit a gurdwara).

'Jhaja naalo aukhi hai drivery truckan di ni tanka kolo, rocketa toh aukhi hai drivery trucka di, jhajha kolo' (Driving a truck is more difficult and tiring than driving an aircraft, tank even a rocket)

For those interested to check out similar songs, here is a list of some of the popular ones:

1. Kadar by Mankirt Aulakh
2. Tankha by Ranjit Bawa
3. Tralla by Babbu Mann
4. Kharche by Gurnam Bhullar
5. Iltan by Rajvir Jawanda
6. Transportiye by Sharry Mann
7. Sade Kehra Chalde Truck by Ravinder Grewal
8. Tralla Jatt Da by Harjot
9. Pakke Truckan Wale by Nishawn Bhullar
10. Putt Jattan De Driver Truckan De by Surinder Shinda

And if you want a sneak peek into the life of an Indian trucker abroad, you can watch some of the videos of this guy. He talks in detail about his monthly earning, the working hours and the food he eats while on the road. The video is in Punjabi though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saR_c8ewXQM

[lalgudi]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

I would go further by advocating trade schools also known as ITI. There are a lot of trades in India that don't have enough skilled and trained people. A skilled electrician, for example, can make a lot more money than a simple commerce or science graduate. But there aren't enough institutes that teach such trades and too many that offer arts, commerce and science courses.

on the lack of skilled electrician or plumber. it is definitely an industry due for disruption to use the management lingo.

In the late 1980s , 2 year diploma course after 10th standard was very popular. It gave vocational training , people were immediately employable and the best could even get into engineering degree program.

Around the same time, engineering degrees offered by private colleges were getting popular. Then we had these mushrooming of engineering colleges offering degrees which helped supply the IT industry. The Mech stream people also moved to IT because they couldn't get a job in their stream, for e.g.

Now neither do we we have engineering graduates who are employable out of college nor skilled vocational certified people.

I with my physics background prefer doing most of the electrical work and plumbing work at home, when my time permits, primarily due to the nature of technicians available.

[sgiitk]

Sardarjis are natural for Truckers. So naturally they will take over. Also, the infrastructure like dhabas, and gurudwaras will follow. I wish them well. Like Motels are increasingly being referred to as Potels, given the Gujarati take over. Sat shri akal.

[Samurai]

The discussion about emigration has been to moved to this thread. Please stick to the topic on this thread.

[ninjatalli]

Three very interesting but different views on the US (and India) trucking industry dynamics

A. A crisp short "viewpoint" on the US trucking lifestyle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKXf89yNDP4

B. A slightly political but still good & open conversation on the economic sense giving the 'other side's' view of the US trucking scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGJlKVbOJpU

C. A first-hand opinionated "viewpoint" on the Indian trucking lifestyle showcasing similar problems from a profession standpoint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBOiXtnLORQ