Truckers have once again identified the lack of available truck parking as their biggest challenge on the job, according to a new survey published over the weekend.

However, the American Transportation Research Institute’s annual “Critical Issues in Trucking” survey found that for carriers, the top concern is the state of the economy, which also ranked as the top issue across all responses.

The survey results were released during the 2024 American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition in Nashville. The complete report is available on ATRI’s website.

The top 10 critical issues for truck drivers are as follows:

  1. Parking
  2. Driver compensation
  3. The economy
  4. Detention/Delay at customer facilities
  5. Speed limiters
  6. Broker issues
  7. ELD mandate
  8. Fuel prices
  9. Autonomous trucks
  10. Driver training standards

There were differences in priorities between company drivers and owner-operators.

  • Company drivers cited driver compensation as their number one issue, while owner-operators highlighted the economy.
  • For both groups, truck parking was the second most pressing issue.
  • Company drivers ranked detention/delays at customer facilities third, while owner-operators pointed to broker issues.
  • Both groups agreed that speed limiters were the fourth biggest concern.
  • Company drivers listed the economy fifth, whereas owner-operators identified fuel prices.

Carriers, on the other hand, had a slightly different list of concerns, with the top five being:

  1. The economy
  2. Lawsuit abuse reform
  3. Driver shortage
  4. Insurance costs/availability
  5. Driver retention

When looking at the combined responses from drivers, carriers, and others, the overall top issues were:

  1. The economy
  2. Truck parking
  3. Lawsuit abuse reform
  4. Insurance costs/availability
  5. Driver compensation
  6. Battery electric vehicles
  7. FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program
  8. Detention/Delays at customer facilities
  9. Driver shortage
  10. Driver distraction

Motor carrier enforcement personnel also participated in the survey, and their top concerns were:

  1. Driver distraction
  2. Hours of service regulations
  3. FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program
  4. Driver training standards
  5. Marijuana legislation

“Without question, this has been another tough year for the trucking industry,” said Gregg Troian, PGT Trucking president. “Our costs continued to climb while freight demand struggled. But each year we can count on ATRI’s analysis to not only quantify the issues, but more importantly, what we can collectively do as an industry to address each.” 

According to ATRI, more than 3,700 individuals from various sectors of the trucking industry took part in this year’s survey. Participants included motor carriers, truck drivers, industry suppliers, driver trainers, law enforcement, and other groups.

Motor carrier executives and staff made up over 45 percent of the respondents, while truck drivers accounted for 31 percent. The report also features a separate ranking of the top concerns identified by motor carrier enforcement personnel.