New study uncovers critical issues facing trucking industry

October 16, 2023

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When it comes to issues facing the trucking industry, the economy is the No. 1 concern according to a recent survey conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute.

The group’s Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry is an annual report compiled from surveys of those in the industry. This year, ATRI received more than 4,000 responses from professional drivers, motor carrier executives and other industry stakeholders. About 29% of this year’s respondents were drivers.

“Given the widespread economic challenges, it is imperative that supply chain stakeholders understand the interplay of the various issues confronting the trucking industry,” the group said. “For the past 19 years, the trucking industry has relied on the American Transportation Research Institute’s Top Industry Issues analysis to prioritize the trucking industry’s most critical issues as well as to identify preferred strategies for addressing each issue.”

In 2023, the economy was noted as the top industry concern among all respondents. Rounding out the top three were the lack of available truck parking and fuel prices.

The lack of truck parking has been a top five concern in the survey since 2015.

Some of the proposed strategies for combating the truck parking crisis include:

Advocate for a dedicated federal funding program to increase truck parking capacity at freight-critical locations
Encourage local and regional governments to reduce the regulatory burdens limiting the construction and expansion of truck parking facilities
Research the relationship between truck parking availability and highway safety

There was a difference in opinion when it came to the biggest concerns of drivers versus motor carriers. For drivers, the top three issues were compensation, parking and fuel prices. Motor carriers, on the other hand, prioritized economy, driver shortage and lawsuit abuse reform as the top three issues in 2023.

As far as owner-operators go, their top three issues were fuel prices, speed limiters and truck parking.

On top of tracking the top concerns in the industry, the Arlington, Va.-based research group also tracks the top emerging issues, which it defines as “topics that generate significant industry interest but fall just outside of the top 10 concerns.” The top emerging concerns for 2023 include: