By Al Muskewitz

You can’t have a trucking industry without truck drivers and for the fourth year in a row the driver shortage is the top concern overall – by a large margin – among the year’s American Transportation Research Institute’s annual list of top trucking industry issues.

In addition to the driver shortage, truck parking, driver compensation and retention and – for the first time in 15 years – insurance costs top the list.

“For a number of reasons, 2020 has been a tremendously challenging one for our industry and our country,” American Trucking Associations chairman Randy Guillot said in a news release announcing the results. “There are a number of issues we must address in addition to the ones put in front of us by this (COVID-19) pandemic.”

The driver shortage has been among the top two industry issues five of the last seven years. Driver compensation, new to the survey last year, moved up one spot. The ELD Mandate, the No. 1 issue in 2016, is off the overall list for the first time since appearing for the first time in 2012, although drivers place it No. 10.

In terms of the driver shortage issue, the report said freight demand is returning to pre-COVID levels and early indications are showing the shortage will soon return to the levels experienced in 2018 and 2019. Exacerbating the challenges is the number of drivers who have left the industry due to the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse as well as older drivers who retired or exited over COVID-related health concerns.

Nearly 20 percent of the respondents view expanding recruitment of women and minorities as a top strategy to mitigate the shortage. According to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, the current driver population is comprised of 6.7 percent female drivers and 41.5 percent minorities.

More than 1,000 drivers responded to the survey with truck parking, compensation and detention issues their top concerns.

Overall, a record 3,122 drivers, carriers and industry stakeholders responded to the survey.

“Having such a robust sample gives us a very accurate picture of what issues are of most concern to the trucking industry,” ATRI president Rebecca Brewster said.

Insurance costs and availability hit the list for the first time since 2015 – at No. 5 on the combined list and No. 4 among carriers. Tort reform appeared for the first time since 2011 – No. 7 on the combined list and No. 5 among carriers.

“The impacts of litigation and growth of nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry was really apparent in this year’s list of concerns,” Brewster said. “Earlier this year, ATRI quantified the growth in nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry, but even without that critical research, the fact that tort reform and insurance issues have resurfaced in the survey are a clear sign the industry is being impacted by rising costs related to litigation and insurance.”

2020 Top Industry Issues

• Driver Shortage
• Driver Compensation
• Truck Parking
• Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
• Insurance Cost/Availability
• Driver Retention
• Tort Reform
• Economy
• Detention/Delay
• Hours of Service
  

Top Issues: Drivers vs. Carriers

Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wightmediacorp.com