Digital freight platforms have become a vital source of business for truck drivers in China, according to a survey report released on Tuesday.
The 2023 survey report on the employment status of truck drivers, published by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP), the only social organization of logistics industry in the country, indicates that these platforms have achieved significant market penetration, with nearly 80 percent of truck drivers in China reporting their usage.
According to the report, the majority of truck drivers are approaching or in middle age, with employment stability on the rise. The primary age range of truck drivers is between 36 and 55, making up 78.68 percent of the workforce.
In terms of cargo types, general freight remains the most common, accounting for 48.25 percent of shipments, followed by shipping on dedicated routes at 24.91 percent and express delivery that makes up 21.25 percent.
The report also reveals a growing trend toward online operations, with 59.55 percent of individual drivers now relying on internet platforms to find freight loads -- an increase of 16 percentage points from the previous year.
By the end of 2023, China had 3,069 online freight companies managing 7.989 million trucks and employing 6.476 million drivers nationwide.
"Digital freight platforms can help match trucks with cargo to reduce empty runs. This alignment of supply and demand helps lower overall logistics costs and enables new drivers to quickly find freight loads," said He Dengcai, vice president of the CFLP.
According to the expert, truck drivers are the backbone of China's road freight transport sector, with over 16 million drivers handling three-quarters of the country's commercial freight volume.
Overall, the working environment for truck drivers has improved compared to last year, and the expansion of the platform economy, which refers to tech-driven online marketplaces and similar services, has made it easier for drivers to find loads and access market opportunities, according to the report.
China’s digital freight platforms increase market penetration: survey report
An industrial matchmaking event was held Sunday in Kunming, the provincial capital of southwest China's Yunnan, drawing over 330 billion yuan (over 46 billion U.S. dollars) in investment as the region seeks to attract emerging industries from outside the province. Themed "Sharing New Advantages of Industrial Transfer, Jointly Building a Highland of International Cooperation," the 2024 China Industrial Transfer and Development Matchmaking Activities (Yunnan) focused on drawing investment into key sectors like biomedicine and information industries in Yunnan, a region rich in energy and natural resources. Financial institutes like China Development Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China Merchants Bank will provide financing services for key industrial transfer projects. "A large part of the signed industrial transfer projects is related to the biomedicine and comprehensive healthcare industry, the photovoltaic industry, the information industry, and the equipment manufacturing industry. So far, such signed projects total 903, with those of them working to strengthen, extend, and complete the industrial chains accounting for 40 percent, 20 percent, and 40 percent, respectively," said Shi Youlian, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Yunnan Province. The matchmaking event plays a significant role in helping enterprises up and down the supply chain and the industrial chain to cooperate and building Yunnan into a pilot zone of industrial transfer and an industrial hub that connects South Asia and Southeast Asia, said Jin Zhuanglong, minister of industry and information technology. "We will push for a gradual industrial transfer from east to central and west China. We will support Yunnan to take advantage of its functional positioning and industrial foundation, absorb relocated industries, and boost the development of its characteristic and competitive industries like the industries of new energy, new materials and biomedicine in an effort to enhance the region's overall strength and capacity for achieving sustainable development," said Jin.
Yunnan holds matchmaking activity to boost transfer of industry
