For two years in a row, increasing driver shortages have dominated the concerns of the trucking industry.
It is an issue the industry has struggled with for 12 of the last 14 years the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has been conducting surveys. However, recent years have seen the concern spike. Survey results were based on responses from 1,500 motor carriers and commercial drivers this year, fueled by strong freight demand and an aging workforce.
“I’ve spent the past year traveling the country as ATA Chairman and, everywhere I go, people talk about how we’ve got to resolve our workforce challenges if we’re going to keep this nation’s economy moving forward,” Dave Manning, president of TCW, Inc., said.
The second most cited concern was the industry’s hours of service rules, on which the industry has called for increased flexibility. That is followed closely by driver retention, the electronic logging device mandate for tracking trucks, and available truck parking.