Drivers, companies differ on trucking’s top issues

Findings from a survey of top trucking issues conducted by the American Transportation Research Institute were made public Monday, Oct. 7 at the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition in San Diego.

Overall survey results showed the top 10 issues in the 2019 survey to be:

1. Driver Shortage
2. Hours of Service
3. Driver Compensation
4. Detention/Delay at Customer Facilities
5. Truck Parking
6. Driver Retention
7. ELD Mandate
8. Compliance, Safety, Accountability
9. Transportation Infrastructure/Congestion/Funding
10. The Economy

Commercial drivers and the companies they drive for had considerable differences of opinion between what each saw as the leading concerns. Commercial drivers made up 35.3% of the respondent pool, which totaled 2,119.

Here’s how commercial drivers ranked the issues:

1. Driver Compensation
2. Hours of Service
3. Truck Parking
4. ELD Mandate
5. Detention/Delay at Customer Facilities
6. Speed Limiters
7. Driver Training Standards
8. Driver Distraction
9. Transportation Infrastructure/Congestion/Funding
10. Autonomous Truck Technology

Motor carriers accounted for 51.1% of those who responded to the survey.  This is how they ranked the issues:

1. Driver Shortage
2. Driver Retention
3. Hours of Service
4. Compliance, Safety, Accountability
5. Transportation Infrastructure/Congestion/Funding
6. Detention/Delay at Customer Facilities
7. The Economy
8. ELD Mandate
9. Insurance Cost/Availability
10. Tort Reform

Other industry stakeholders accounted for the remaining 13.7 percent.

Driver compensation appeared on the list of issues for the first time as did detention.