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“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
– Warren Buffett
Driver Shortage Tops List of Industry Concerns
Guess what’s the No. 1 concern of trucking industry executives?
If you said the driver shortage, you must be responsible for recruiting and retention.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently unveiled its annual list of the top-10 critical issues facing the U.S. trucking industry, based on a survey of more than 5,000 trucking industry executives. Thirty-two percent listed “the driver shortage” as their No. 1 concern, easily topping “hours-of-service rules,” which was the No. 1 concern of 22 percent of the respondents. “Congestion” (11.6 percent) and “fuel issues” (11.3 percent) were the only other issues to garner more than 10 percent of the No. 1 votes.
For its overall rankings, the ATRI totaled the percentage of respondents who listed an issue as their No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 concern, with each place given equal weight. Under that scenario, hours of service rules edged the driver shortage for top concern, 61.1 percent to 58.8 percent.
Here’s what the ATRI had to say about the driver shortage:
“After placing second in 2005 and first in 2006, it is clear that the driver shortage issue will remain a pressing problem for the trucking industry for years to come. The recent slowing of the economy in certain sectors has provided temporary relief for some carriers – a number of whom were forced to turn down freight orders over the last few years due to a lack of available drivers. However, over the long term, the industry still faces a significant deficit in the number of drivers needed versus the number of available drivers in the workforce.
“The industry is confronted with the fact that large numbers of current drivers will soon reach retirement age while simultaneously having to compete with other industries in a shrinking U.S. workforce. Furthermore, with the HOS rules in flux and the potential for fewer daily driving hours as a result, more drivers may be needed to haul the same amount of freight.”
Aside from hours-of-service and the driver shortage, other “Top 10” issues include: 3. fuel issues, 4. congestion, 5. government regulation, 6. tolls and highway funding, 7. tort reform/legal issues, 8. truck driver training, 9. environmental issues, and 10. on-board truck technology.
