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Truckers line DC’s Constitution Ave. in protest of low shipping rates during pandemic

Dozens of tractor trailers are parked on and around Constitution Avenue this weekend, and don’t be surprised if you hear them blaring their horns and making a ruckus.

But it’s not because there’s a big delivery set to happen here. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

The truck drivers have brought their rigs to D.C. in protest, saying low shipping rates could put many of them out of business.

It’s another part of the economic fallout stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, where an initial boom in freight shipments has now subsided.

That decline has left many of them with no shipments to drive or offers to drive at unsustainable rates.

According to , many of the drivers are blaming what are known as brokerage firms, which sort of act as middlemen, matching up drivers with freight loads.

Similar protests are being held in other cities around the country as well.

The one in D.C. is scheduled to continue until Monday.


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John Domen

John has been with ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ since 2016 but has spent most of his life living and working in the DMV, covering nearly every kind of story imaginable around the region. He’s twice been named Best Reporter by the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association. 

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