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
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 41,118, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement released on Thursday.
During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 34 people and wounded 96 others, bringing the total death toll to 41,118 and injuries to more than 95,125 since the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last October, it added.
Israeli military operations are continuing across Gaza and the West Bank.
At least 19 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to Palestinian security and medical sources.
An Israeli warplane struck a residential house in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing three people, said Palestinian medical sources.
Seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli aircraft in two attacks on the Zeitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, according to local sources and eyewitnesses.
The Civil Defense Authority in Gaza reported in a press statement that its crews recovered the body of a Palestinian woman and a seriously injured person following an Israeli attack near Zeitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City.
In Rafah, southern Gaza, Civil Defense crews recovered the bodies of four people, three of whom were from the same family, after they were targeted by a missile in the Al-Zahour neighborhood in the center of the city. The bodies were transferred to the hospital, according to a separate statement released by the Civil Defense Authority.
Medical sources reported that the bodies of four people were transferred to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, following the bombing of a residential house in the city.
On the same day, the Israeli army also conducted military operations in Tulkarm, and Tubas in the northern West Bank, destroying infrastructure and Palestinian homes.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it has "dismantled" Hamas' Rafah Brigade in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
The military stated that its troops killed more than 2,000 "militants" in Rafah, including Mahmoud Hamdan, commander of Hamas' Tel al-Sultan Battalion in the city.
It added that its operations destroyed approximately 13 kilometers of tunnels buried beneath Rafah and about 80 percent of the underground tunnel routes along the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.
Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 41,118: health authorities
