The key to staying afloat and making the best out of any situation is to stay informed and educated about the state of the trucking industry today.
As a transportation solutions company, we want to ensure we stay up to date on any trends and emerging issues within the trucking industry in order to tackle them as they arise. We also want to make sure you stay informed about these issues so you can adapt and react in a way that can benefit your business and bottom line. Understanding the top 10 industry concerns as we’ve done in previous blogs here and here, is key to having a realistic idea of what the trucking industry looks like today and realizing what are the main obstacles we’re all encountering.
However, we must also look ahead at what are some issues that are progressively generating concern and may pose a significant problem in the near future. Here we review the three issues noted by ATRI’s report that are on their way to be top industry concerns.
First, we find that the rising Insurance Costs and Availability of good coverage policies are quickly becoming an issue for most drivers and carriers. Due to exaggerated litigations and an average 47% increase in insurance premiums over the past 10 years, fleets around the country are forced to reduce other operating costs with any and all measures, which usually end up hurting drivers the most. This issue does not exist in isolation, and the consequences of the rising insurance costs influence bigger issues like driver compensation and driver shortage, and it’s mostly related to the Lawsuit Abuse Reform.
Secondly, the HOS rules have progressively turned into a top concern, especially for drivers. Although the few exemptions implemented in 2020 addressed some of the problems with the HOS rules, this regulation has become problematic as it does not account for the realities that most drivers encounter at customer facilities and with certain sleeper berth provisions.
Finally, driver training standards are starting to become an issue as the new Training Provider Registry allows for self-certification in their system by entry-level drivers. More experienced drivers have voiced their concerns that this feature permits inexperienced drivers to be on the road before they’ve had enough training.
As these issues start to create problems, especially for drivers on the road, we must seek out alternatives and solutions to tackle them before they become bigger problems and add to the already complex climate in the trucking industry.