Shortage of Semiconductors Takes Toll on Truck Drivers

Choi Su-yeong (alias)’s truck has been idle since September. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — As the worldwide shortage of semiconductors is taking a toll on car manufacturing, cargo truck drivers are frustrated over maintenance delays.

Choi Su-yeong (alias), a 30-year-old dump truck driver in South Chungcheong Province, hasn’t been able to get his truck fixed since September.

“There are already four trucks lined up at the service center for maintenance. They say they don’t have the chips for the cars,” Choi said. “For three months, I couldn’t do my job, and I had to make installment payments of 7.5 million won (US$6,290) for the truck.”

Truck drivers pay for their vehicles in installments due to their exorbitant prices. They are frustrated over maintenance delays, which are preventing them from going to work, despite having to continue to make payments on their vehicles every month.

From electric control units (ECUs) to transistors, a single car requires 200 to 300 semiconductors. For high-end electric vehicles, up to 500 chips are being used.

Failures in just one of the many semiconductors are enough to shut down the whole vehicle.

“Truck drivers live on daily wages, and there are already three people I know who had to quit driving because of the chip shortage,” said Lee Hee-soo (alias), a 50-year-old truck driver with 38 years of driving experience.

M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)