In recent years, the Chinese economy has been steadily declining, accompanied by a comprehensive downturn in the real estate industry and severe consumption insufficiency, impacting various sectors significantly. The “Truck Driver Village” in Daying Village, Bengbu City, Anhui Province, is facing hardships and undergoing a transformation.
Daying Village is renowned as the “Truck Driver Village” in the transportation industry, where truck drivers primarily operate as individual businesses, shuttling between Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong, transporting steel materials. The village has a registered population of over 3,200 people, with more than 1,600 migrant workers, nearly half of whom are engaged in freight logistics.
One of the truck drivers, 55-year-old Shen Weijia, travels a distance equivalent to circling the Earth’s equator three times each year. He spends less than a month at home throughout the year, only returning to Daying Village during the Chinese New Year.
The freight industry made Daying Village one of the earliest prosperous villages in the area. However, in recent years, the truck drivers in Daying Village have noticed a continuous decrease in transportation fees and intensified competition for cargo sources.
In 2017, when villager Shen Biao transported steel from Shanghai to Guangdong, the freight price per ton was around 400 yuan. By 2025, it had dropped to over 200 yuan, nearly halving. Due to fierce competition and reduced cargo volume, his monthly trips between Shanghai and Guangdong decreased from five or six times to about three times.
Shen Biao mentioned that in recent years, a phrase circulating among cargo owners was “If you don’t take this price, there will be other drivers who will.” In other words, the job of a truck driver has become more demanding.
To maintain high income levels, truck drivers have no choice but to accept more orders and cover longer distances. The number of truck-driving couples has also increased because two people can drive for longer hours.
Ten years ago, truck drivers could earn 20,000 yuan per month. Shen Weijia and his wife used to dine out occasionally and stay at hotels while on the road. Nevertheless, now, the couple can only clean themselves briefly with water at service stations.
Five years ago, the high profits from truck transportation could afford Daying Village’s truck drivers to spend an additional 6,000 to 8,000 yuan per month to hire a driver to take turns driving. However, with profits now only around 10,000 yuan per month, they cannot afford the extra expense of hiring additional drivers. Hence, some drivers have resorted to working in teams with their spouses. Shen Weijia noted, “During the journey, my wife needs to stay alert beside me to prevent drowsiness or distraction.”
A few years ago, Shen Weijia’s son also became a second-generation truck driver. Despite the decreasing transport fees, being a truck driver is still considered a “high-paying profession” compared to farming.
Shen Weijia’s wife emphasized, “Under no circumstance should we let our children become truck drivers. This is a consensus among all truck driver families in the village.”
The villagers and village officials in Daying Village are also seeking new solutions in this industry-wide slump affected by falling transportation prices, such as cultivating economic crops collectively.
Reports indicate that there are 38 million truck drivers like Shen Weijia across the country, often referred to as nomads on the roads. Numerous research reports on truck drivers in recent years have shown that the declining freight prices require truck drivers to work longer hours to maintain their previous income levels.
On September 25 last year, a self-media platform, “Jingsong in the South,” revealed that driving large trucks, which was once a stable source of income, has now become a tough job. Not only are the earnings meager, but the work is also particularly grueling. To boost earnings, many drivers choose to take the national highways to save on the expensive toll fees.
The softening real estate market in recent years, along with the completion of major infrastructure projects and downgraded consumer spending, has resulted in a surplus of vehicles entering the freight market, causing intense competition and continuous decline in freight prices. This situation has made it challenging for truck drivers to decide whether or not to overload their trucks to earn more money, risking fines if caught by traffic police, tarnishing their reputation.
A survey report titled “2025 Truck Driver Employment Status Survey Report” by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, based on responses from 5,936 truck drivers on July 11, revealed that most truck drivers experienced a decline in overall income in 2024 compared to 2023. Nearly 80% of individually operated drivers reported reduced income, while about half of employed drivers faced similar challenges. The majority of truck drivers believe that the current freight rates are generally low, with individually operated truck drivers expressing a stronger sentiment, reaching 94.05%.