Fuel Costs, Driver Shortage Lead Top Trucking Concerns

he high cost of diesel fuel and a shortage of truck drivers are the leading concerns to the trucking industry, according to a new survey issued by the American Transportation Research Institute.

ATRI released a “top ten” list of trucking-industry at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition in Boston last week.

Making the list with diesel fuel costs and the driver shortage were insurance costs, drivers’ hours-of-service rules, tolls and highway funding, tort reform, regulatory redundancy and costs, congestion, environmental issues and trucking security.

In a process adopted by outgoing ATA Chairman Steve Williams and new ATA Chairman Patrick Quinn, the ATA-commissioned survey results and proposed strategies will allow ATA to better focus its advocacy role on behalf of the U.S. trucking industry, ATRI said.

“The ATRI survey information is invaluable in telling us what is important to motor carriers and which strategies ATA should pursue on their behalf,” said outgoing ATRI Chairman Jim Staley, chief executive officer of YRC Regional Transportation, a unit of Yellow Roadway Corp.

“If we’re not at the table with sound, science-based information and a common sense plan of action, then we’re going to get left behind, and saddled with solutions that have no bearing on moving America’s freight safely and efficiently,” said incoming ATRI Chairman Doug Duncan, CEO of FedEx Corp.’s less-than-truckload unit FedEx Freight.