PHOTOGRAPHER:¬� Fritz Hoffmann
ASSIGNMENT: China Portfolio MM7489
LOCATION: Duizhen, Shanxi, China
DATE: October 16

A truck driver surveys the miles long traffic jam of coal trucks he is stuck in the mining town Duizhen in Shanxi. inefficient traffic management on mountian roads creates the mess that keeps empty trucks from moving forward into the mountain mines and prevents those full trucks from coming down with the coal. The drivers told me that they had been tied up there since 3AM (6 hours). The jam up remains until traffic police come and direct the trucks. This daily occurance is an example of typical Chinese business practice where over supply (in this case too many coal trucks for the existing infrastructure) creates chaos within a particular market thereby keeping anyone, the drivers here, from profiting, let alone making a living.