AUSTIN, Texas — The unsteady U.S. economy topped the list of trucking industry issues, the best rating because the Great Recession in 2008, based on the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual survey of top-of-mind concerns for carriers and industrial drivers.
Economic jitters replaced fuel prices at the highest of the report revealed Saturday on the American Truck Associations Management Conference and Exhibition. Fuel prices, on the rise for much of the yr aside from a temporary respite from March top June, fell to 3rd. Truck parking availability finished second, its highest finish since first making the list in 2012.
Zero-emission vehicles appeared on the list for the primary time, occupying the No. 10 position.
“It’s been a ride for the past yr. It’s been tough,” said Cari Baylor, president of Baylor Trucking, an Indiana-based 75-year-old company operating 200 trucks, 980 trailers and two terminals within the eastern and southern U.S. Baylor was acquired by Werner Enterprises in October 2022.
Rising rates of interest, higher diesel and maintenance costs, increasing pay for truckers and rising insurance premiums drove the operating cost of a truck to $2.25 per mile in 2022. That’s the primary time it has exceeded $2 in history, based on ATRI’s evaluation in a downloadable separate report.
Truck parking a hardy perennial
Truck parking, which has been a Top 5 issue since 2015, got here in at No. 2. ATRI has been studying truck parking since 1993. A congressionally directed study to have a look at the difficulty began the identical yr, ATRI President Rebecca Brewster said.
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In accordance with ATRI, truck drivers spend a median of 56 minutes a day on the lookout for parking. It found there may be only one spot for each 11 truck drivers. The parking problem has worsened since full enforcement of the electronic logging device mandate in 2018. That requires truck drivers to do all their driving inside a 14-hour window.
Reasonably than engaging in the harmful practice of parking near freeway off-ramps or squatting in retail parking lots, Baylor authorizes its long-haul drivers to pay for overnight parking if needed. Technology like highway signage with near real-time alerts of open spaces at upcoming rest stops helps, but it surely hasn’t solved the difficulty.
Driver shortage falls to lowest position since Great Recession
After fuel prices at No. 3, the remainder of the Top 10 issues were:
4. Driver shortage. It was No. 1 for five consecutive years from 2017-2021. The difficulty shows up annually. The driving force shortage, especially for over-the-road jobs, is less of a problem during slower economic times. The difficulty was No. 6 through the Great Recession in 2009.
5. Driver compensation. ATRI’s operations study showed the all-in cost of driver pay and advantages was 90 cents a mile in 2022, or 40% of total operating costs. The difficulty fell one spot from No. 4 a yr ago.
6. Lawsuit abuse reform. It first cracked the Top 10 in 2005. ATRI studies on nuclear verdicts against trucking firms helped illuminate the difficulty. Trial lawyers spend $1 million a month nationwide in search of truck crash lawsuits to pursue, Baylor said.
7. Driver distraction. The difficulty made it to No. 7 in 2018 but then dropped until the most recent study. “We see it day-after-day, eating, reading papers, reading books,” said Dean Key, a driver with Ruan Transportation. Distraction topped the list amongst law enforcement, which made up about 5% of the 4,000 trucking industry stakeholders who participated within the survey.
8. Driver retention. The difficulty dropped from No. 7 a yr ago and fell two places on the manufacturers’ list.
9. Driver detention. Delays in loading and unloading and access to restrooms and other amenities at shipper facilities ranked No. 5 amongst industrial drivers but didn’t make the carriers’ list.
10. Zero-emission vehicles. The primary-timer reflects the growing awareness of regulations in California and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency forcing fleets to adopt battery- or fuel cell-electric vehicles. In a December study on the prices of trucking electrification, ATRI found that having electric chargers in any respect 313,000 truck parking spots would cost $35 billion.
Little agreement between carriers and drivers on top issues
Carriers and drivers agreed on just three of 10 issues — the economy, truck parking and fuel prices. They ranked them in another way. Carriers place the economy first. Drivers listed it No. 7. Truck parking was No. 2 for drivers and No. 8 for carriers. Fuel prices were No. 3 for drivers and No. 5 for carriers, the closest to an identical priority.Motor carriers and industrial drivers agreed on just three of 10 critical issues facing the trucking industry. (Photo: Alan Adler/FreightWaves)
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