Fuel prices were ranked as the top industry concern, replacing the driver shortage, which had been the No. 1 issue for five years in a row, according to a new study released by American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI). This year, the driver shortage was the second-ranked issue, followed by the lack of available truck parking, driver compensation and the economy.
“ATRI’s list is a true reflection of what it was like to be a trucker this year,” says ATA chairman Harold A. Sumerford Jr. “High fuel prices and finding drivers were two of our industry’s biggest challenges – challenges made more difficult by the economy and the continued lack of truck parking. Thankfully, ATRI doesn’t just tell us what the issues are, it provides a number of possible solutions that decision makers can use to address them.”
From ATRI:
- Speed limiters ranked in the Top 10 this year for the first time, coming in ninth overall and fifth among commercial driver respondents.
- Over 47% of the survey respondents were professional truck drivers and 39% were motor carrier executives.
“This year’s survey had the highest number of responses to date, showing how committed our industry is to identifying the most critical concerns and more importantly, figuring out how we collectively deal with each issue,” says ATRI president and COO Rebecca Brewster.
