Truckers once again have ranked truck parking as the number one issue they face in the course of doing their jobs, according to a new survey released over the weekend.
However, the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual Critical Issues in Trucking survey found that carriers ranked the economy as their number one concern. The economy was also the top issue when all responses were ranked.
The results of the annual survey were released as part of 2024 American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition going on in Nashville. The full report can be found at ATRI’s website here.
Truckers’ complete list of top 10 critical issues include:
- Parking
- Driver compensation
- The economy
- Detention/Delay at customers’ facilities
- Speed limiters
- Broker issues
- ELD mandate
- Fuel prices
- Autonomous trucks
- Driver training standards
There was a difference of opinion between company drivers and owner-operators.
The number one issue for company drivers was driver compensation, but for owner-operators it was the economy.
Number two for both company drivers and owner-operators it was truck parking.
Third for company drivers was detention/delay at customer facilities bur for owner-operators it was broker issues.
Fourth for both company drivers and owner-operators was speed limiters
Fifth for company drivers was the economy, but for owner-operators it was fuel prices.
The carriers’ list of critical issues includes:
- The economy
- Lawsuit abuse reform
- Driver shortage
- Insurance cost/availability
- Driver retention
- FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability
- Truck parking
- Battery electric vehicles
- Driver distraction
- Diesel technician shortage
The overall ranking of issues — truckers, carriers and others combined — was:
- The economy
- Truck parking
- Lawsuit abuse reform
- Insurance cost/availability
- Driver compensation
- Battery electric vehicles
- FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability
- Detention/Delay at customers’ facilities
- Driver shortage
- Driver distraction
Motor carrier enforcement personnel also weigh in on the survey. Their tope five critical issues included:
- Driver distraction
- Hours of service
- FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety and Accountability
- Driver training standards
- Marijuana legislation
“Without question, this has been another tough year for the trucking industry,” said Gregg Troian, PGT Trucking president. “Our costs continued to climb while freight demand struggled. But each year we can count on ATRI’s analysis to not only quantify the issues, but more importantly, what we can collectively do as an industry to address each.”
ATRI said over 3,700 trucking industry stakeholders participated in this year’s survey, including motor carriers, truck drivers, industry suppliers, driver trainers, and law enforcement among other groups.
Over 45 percent of the survey respondents were motor carrier executives and personnel, while truck drivers represented 31 percent, according to ATRI. The report also includes a ranking of the top concerns of motor carrier enforcement personnel.
