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AUSTIN — The sluggish U.S. economy has overtaken record fuel costs as the trucking industry’s top concern in 2023, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.
Inflation, rising interest rates and high diesel prices have contributed to the highest cost per mile on record and exacerbated a decline in demand for fares, making the economy one of the top issues for drivers and carriers, according to the annual report by ATRI. Critical Issues in Trucking Industry Research.
Trucking’s most recent past No. 1 concerns, fuel costs and driver shortages, remained among the industry’s top 5 priorities in the survey. The results were released Saturday at the American Trucking Associations 2023 Management Conference & Expo.
ATRI’s list “fully and accurately reflects the challenges we faced this year,” Ruan Transportation Management Systems president and COO Dan Van Alstine said in a statement.
“Costs were up and demand was down, all while we were working to sort out a number of labor and regulatory issues,” said Van Alstine, who serves as president of the American Trucking Associations. “Fortunately, ATRI’s analysis doesn’t just tell us what the issues are, it outlines a number of data-driven strategies the industry can take to address them.”
Top issues in transport, 2023
Theme | Rating 2023 | Rating 2022 |
---|---|---|
Economy | 1 | 5 |
Truck parking | 2 | 3 |
Fuel prices | 3 | 1 |
Missing driver | 4 | 2 |
Driver compensation | 5 | 4 |
Pipeline Abuse Reform | 6 | 10 |
Driver distraction | 7 | 2 |
Driver maintenance | 8 | 7 |
Reservation/delay at customer premises | 9 | 6 |
Zero emission vehicles | 10 | (Not in the top 10) |
SOURCE: ATRI
Advocating to reform or repeal regulations “that increase the industry’s costs without providing benefits” was the top strategy suggested by ATRI respondents for navigating difficult economic conditions.
Other suggested strategies included quantifying the consequences of the increased operating costs of trucking for the supply chain and the broader economy, as well as advocating for increased renewal and near-freezing of manufacturing to reduce reliance on international supply chains.
While drivers and carriers shared several concerns, the survey results highlighted differences in priorities between the two groups.
Top topics for motor carriers and commercial drivers, 2023
Class | Carriers | Drivers, including owner-operators |
---|---|---|
1 | Economy | Driver compensation |
2 | Missing driver | Truck parking |
3 | Pipeline Abuse Reform | Fuel prices |
4 | Driver maintenance | Speed limiters |
5 | Fuel prices | Reservation/delay at customer premises |
6 | Insurance cost/availability | Driver training standards |
7 | Zero emission vehicles | Economy |
8 | Truck parking | Broker matters |
9 | Lack of technical diesel | ELD command |
10 | Driver distraction | Autonomous trucks |
SOURCE: ATRI
Carriers focused on the economy, driver shortages and pipeline abuse reform, while drivers’ attention drew more attention to compensation, parking and fuel prices.
In particular, each group shared concerns about emerging technologies such as autonomous and electric trucks.
Zero emission vehicles entered the top-10 list for the first time this year.
“Its emergence as an industry leader is not surprising given the new focus of state and federal agencies on very aggressive timelines for transitioning the nation’s vehicle fleet away from internal combustion engines,” ATRI said in its report.
The ban on autonomous trucks, which many drivers see as a threat to their jobs, was part of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ contract negotiations with ABF Freight this year. The union also pushed to ban driverless trucks in California.
More than 4,000 trucking industry stakeholders responded to this year’s survey. Of the respondents, approximately 48% were carrier executives and staff, 29% were drivers, and approximately 23% were other stakeholders, including suppliers, driver trainers, and law enforcement.