Virus creates rough ride for Borderland truckers trying to keep store shelves stocked

EL PASO, Texas -- Truckers and freight brokers are feeling the impact of Covid-19 as they work in overdrive to stock the shelves inside stores across the country, including in the Borderland.

Johnny Angell, a trucker for more than 10 years, told ABC-7 while stopping in El Paso he has not had a break from work in about one month.

“In the last 3 weeks, I've actually gotten busier," Angell said. "I've gotten more miles now than I would normal have."

Local freight brokers, the middle man between the buyers and the sellers, are facing many different challenges. Natalia Gomez, a freight broker with Warhorse Brokerage out of El Paso, said those challenges specifically impact the efficiency of their job.

"Although there is still a very high demand of (essential) products, non-essential products have slowed down or have been completely shut down, so those clients are asking if we can extend the pay period which affects my ability to pay the carriers," Gomez said. Which means means more trucks and lower rates, she added.

Other challenges Gomez are adjusting to include border restrictions and more importantly the health and safety of the truckers.

"We might have a carrier but then that driver might not want to go to (an impacted) state and we have to call somebody else... It has slowed down things a bit in that sense where we have to take more time to cover those bases and also offer our carriers and clients a sense of safety," Gomez said.

Gomez said truckers and brokers are not just responsible for delivering product, but the best quality of product. As far as seeing items stocked up on the shelves, Gomez does not believe bigger cities are receiving more products than El Paso.

"I just think that it's the way that we as consumers have been handling the panic purchases and that we’re purchasing a little bit more," Gomez said.

Truckers like Angell agree. "We’re hauling more products into shopping centers, into Walmarts, than ever before... In the last week I’ve hauled three loads of toilet paper,” he said.

"The transportation industry is a very important thing when it comes to a health crisis like this one... Truckers really do make so many efforts to get our products (from the store) to the table that we take for granted," Gomez said.