Bottom line equals top concern

A surprise to no one, the freight recession is top of mind for motor carriers, owner-operators and company drivers.

The American Transportation Research Institute’s annual Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry survey confirmed that sentiment, as the results suggested that the economy is the top area of concern.

Even more, the bottom line was the main area of focus for carriers, owner-operators and company drivers. Trucking companies and owner-operators both voted for the economy as the No. 1 issue, while company drivers said that driver compensation was the top concern.

Nearly 4,000 stakeholders – including motor carrier executives, truck drivers, industry suppliers, driver trainers and law enforcement – weighed in on what industry problems worry them the most.

With the current freight recession nearing its third year, trucking industry stakeholders identified the economy as their top concern for a second consecutive year. Although the economy as a whole is improving by most measures, certain factors that directly affect the trucking industry are not. The Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cut may change that, but the trickle-down effect may take a while.

In the meantime, trucking operational costs are rising while employment in the industry continues to decline after a surge of new entrants in the wake of the pandemic. All of this is being exacerbated by a presidential election causing economic uncertainty heading into the new year.

ATRI identified a few strategies to address economic concerns:

• Reforming and repealing ineffective and burdensome regulations that increase costs without providing benefits
• Renewing 2017 federal income and corporate tax cuts that expire next year
• Re-shoring and near-shoring of equipment and parts manufacturing

At a distant second on stakeholders’ list of concerns is truck parking, a problem within the trucking industry that never seems to go away.

Despite the U.S. Department of Transportation investing in truck parking, government funding has barely put a dent into solving the issue. Private sector investors have stepped up to the plate but at the cost of paid parking at facilities that have very few amenities.

One solution to the truck parking crisis is dedicated funding at the federal level. The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act aims to do exactly that. Meanwhile, state DOTs could tap into existing funding sources to address their parking issues. At the local level, governments could reduce regulatory hurdles that stifle truck parking expansion.

Ranking as the third-most concerning issue is tort reform. Nuclear verdicts against the trucking industry have raised concerns for several years, but a pair of massive verdicts just 24 hours apart earlier this year heightened those worries. A St. Louis jury ordered trailer manufacturer Wabash to pay $462 million. That was followed by Daimler Truck North America getting hit with a $160 million verdict for a nonfatal crash.

Trucking industry stakeholders are advocating for tort reform in several areas, including damages caps in several states. Other areas of reform include third-party litigation financing and medical costs billed versus medical costs actually paid.

Critical issues included this year that were not present last year include insurance cost/availability, battery electric vehicles and Compliance Safety Accountability. “Driver shortage” dropped several spots to ninth overall, its lowest ranking in the 20 years ATRI has conducted the survey. Ranked third last year, fuel prices are not included in this year’s list.

Drivers vs. carriers

The general results reflect critical issues identified by all trucking stakeholders. However, that list is much different when broken down by truck drivers versus motor carriers.

Most of the overall concerns are included in the list of motor carriers’ top concerns. For truck drivers, several issues pop up that are not included in the industrywide list.

For example, speed limiters rank fifth among truck drivers, followed by broker issues, the ELD mandate, fuel prices, autonomous trucks and driver training standards. None of those issues crack the top 10 among motor carriers. And while truck parking is the top concern for drivers, it ranks only seventh among motor carriers.

Broken down further between company drivers and owner-operators, the issues are mostly consistent but the prioritization differs. The top five concerns among owner-operators and company drivers include:

Top five owner-operator concerns

1. Economy
2. Truck parking
3. Broker issues
4. Speed limiters
5. Fuel prices

Top five company driver concerns

1. Driver compensation
2. Truck parking
3. Detention time
4. Speed limiters
5. Economy

A bill in the House and Senate would attempt to directly improve driver compensation and value a truck driver’s time.

The GOT Truckers Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require that truckers receive overtime compensation when they work more than 40 hours in a week. The exemption was created to prevent truck drivers from being encouraged to work excessive hours. However, the opposite has happened. It is common for truck drivers to work 70 hours in a week while receiving a base pay similar to what someone would make in a 40-hour week.

Although the bill would apply only to company drivers, OOIDA contends that forcing shippers and receivers to value a trucker’s time would create change throughout the industry.

Truckers can help address most of the above issues by encouraging their lawmakers to support related legislation, including current bills on the topics of electric trucks, speed limiters, truck parking, broker fraud and driver pay. Tell your lawmaker about all those bills by going to FightingForTruckers.com. LL