The New American Trucker

[longknife]

I was surprised to learn this. Not that there’s a huge shortage of Over-the-Road truckers but that Sikhs are filling many of those vacancies.


Sikhs? Yeah. You know. Those people who own or run 7-11s or other convenience stores.

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. The state is home to half of the Sikhs in the U.S. — members of a monotheistic faith with origins in 15th century India whose followers are best recognized by the uncut hair and turbans many men wear. At Sikh temples in Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield and Riverside, the majority of worshipers are truck drivers and their families.

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.

I once thought of being a trucker, fascinated by the thought of criss-crossing the awesomely beautiful country. But, other things got in the way. Here’s a part I liked about this story:

“When I’m driving,” Pal says, “I see God through his creation.”

His favorite sights are the farms. You spot them in Central California while picking up pallets of potatoes and berries, or in Illinois and Indiana while driving through the corn and soybean fields.

Much more @ Sikh drivers are transforming U.S. trucking. Take a ride along the Punjabi American highway