Has the truck parking situation significantly improved over the past two years?

New data from Trucker Path suggests significant improvements when it comes to truck parking availability, but do the numbers reflect the reality most truckers face every day?

In recently released data, Trucker Path compared truck parking availability from November 2021 to November 2023. Overall, numbers have improved.

Parking during the lunchtime hours of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. has improved. In November 2023, 64% of Trucker Path users indicated there were “many spaces available” during those hours. That is an increase from 48% in November 2021. And only 9% reported this year that there were no spaces available, down from 17% two years ago.

When it comes to nighttime truck parking, Trucker Path’s data suggests the situation has improved greatly. In November, 38% reported many spaces available from 7 to 10 p.m.

Although that number is not great, it is a vast improvement compared to 2021, when only 17% reported plenty of truck parking available at night. More than a quarter this year reported no spaces available at night, which also is an improvement from November 2021, when more than half indicated they could not find a parking space at night.

A closer look

As an increase in percentage, those numbers look great. However, a deeper dive into the world of truck parking reveals that not much has changed in the past two years in terms of parking capacity.

To start, the freight situation is much different than it was two years ago. For the most part, volume is down compared to 2021. This is supported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ employment data released each month.

According to the latest employment data, trucking jobs are down by nearly 26,000 for the year. And in November, only 700 trucking jobs were added to the economy. This suggests that employers are content with the number of drivers hauling their goods, as demand is slowing down.

Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, took a look at Trucker Path’s truck parking data.

“This is interesting data to look at,” Pugh told Land Line. “Although common sense would say there is much more parking available from 11-2 since truckers are working at those times. Another thing to keep in mind is the fact freight volume is way down since 2021, which should equal … less trucks on the road, which would also allow for more spaces. With all of this, it still shows how safe parking is still a huge issue for the American trucker. Take a trip anywhere in America and drive late into the night and just see how many truckers have to settle for an unsafe place to lay their head down at night.”

Attention at the federal level

Just earlier this week, the issue of a national truck parking crisis was the topic of a two-hour discussion with transportation officials and stakeholders during the latest National Coalition on Truck Parking meeting. Based on the presentations given, progress is being made, but we are still a long way from where we would like to be.

For example, Alison Nealon, a transportation planner for Caltrans, mentioned that the Golden State completed its statewide truck parking study last February. However, she noted that there is a long period between the completion of a parking study and actually pouring concrete to add capacity.

California is not an outlier in this situation. Many states are in the study phase when it comes to addressing their truck parking problem. That means it may be a few more years before those states begin building more parking spaces.

This idea was supported by an observation made by Darrin Roth, American Trucking Associations’ vice president of highway policy. He said that although federal grants are being issued for truck parking for the first time, only a handful of applications have been approved.

“In addition, nearly all federal aid highway money is available for parking expansion,” Roth said. “It’s tens of billions of dollars. Yet again, only a small number of parking projects have been funded from formula dollars. I’m really interested in knowing what’s preventing states from utilizing these resources.”

Just last month, the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure spent a significant amount of time discussing the national truck parking crisis during a hearing on roadway safety challenges and potential solutions.

Long story short: Federal lawmakers, state DOT officials and stakeholders agree that there is a problem.

Truck parking improvements

As evidenced in Trucker Path’s data, there likely are more truck parking spots today than there were two years ago.

In the public sector, transportation officials are making some progress. In Wyoming, for example, officials announced the addition of 200 truck parking spaces on Interstate 80 between Laramie and Rawlins. Meanwhile in Nevada, a project also on I-80 will add 50 spaces.

However, the vast majority of truck parking is provided by the private sector. As documented in The Parking Zone column in Land Line Magazine, new truck stops are popping up every month.

That’s definitely progress, but the pace is not fast enough to meet demand. There currently is only one truck parking spot for every 11 trucks on the nation’s roads. Although the private and public sectors are adding more spots, they are only making a dent in the overall problem.

Take with a grain of salt

There’s little doubt that Trucker Path’s data is accurate, but one should look at the bigger picture before interpreting that data to mean a significant increase in truck parking spaces.

The freight landscape for much of this year has been based on fears of a recession fueled by high inflation. Consequently, consumer demand has been low, putting fewer trucks on the road.

Conversely, in 2021, the economy was in rebound mode following a pandemic that had shut down activity significantly.

In the short term, freight capacity may be relatively sluggish, but that is a normal part of economic cycles. In the long term, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics projects freight activity will grow by 50% in tonnage between 2020 and 2050. Trucks carry the majority of that freight.

Although Trucker Path’s data reveals improvements in truck parking today, that situation likely will change if we don’t see meaningful improvements in capacity soon. LL