NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 12, 2024 — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry’s non-profit research organization, has released its 20th annual Top Industry Issues report, highlighting the trucking industry’s leading concerns. This year’s list includes the Economy, Truck Parking, Lawsuit Abuse Reform, Insurance Cost and Availability, and Battery Electric Vehicles, which climbed four spots from last year.
“It’s been another challenging year for the trucking industry,” said Gregg Troian, PGT Trucking President. “Costs have continued to rise while freight demand has struggled. But we can always rely on ATRI’s analysis to not only quantify the issues but also, and more importantly, identify collective actions we can take as an industry to address them.”
The Economy and the lack of available Truck Parking retained their #1 and #2 rankings on the overall list. However, growing concern over excessive lawsuit payouts has resulted in Lawsuit Abuse Reform rising to the #3 spot this year. Insurance Cost and Availability experienced the biggest climb in ranking this year, moving up eight spots to become the industry’s #4 concern. Driver Compensation rounded out the top five.
The ongoing focus on transitioning the nation’s truck fleet to battery electric vehicles, along with the aggressive timelines and substantial costs involved, has led to Battery Electric Vehicles being identified as the industry’s 6th overall concern, up four spots from last year.
Over 45 percent of the survey respondents were motor carrier executives and personnel, while truck drivers represented 31 percent. Truck drivers identified Truck Parking, Driver Compensation, and the Economy as their top three concerns, while motor carriers ranked the Economy, Lawsuit Abuse Reform, and the Driver Shortage as their top three. The report also includes a ranking of the top concerns of motor carrier enforcement personnel.
Over 3,700 trucking industry stakeholders participated in this year’s survey, including motor carriers, truck drivers, industry suppliers, driver trainers, and law enforcement.
The complete results of the annual survey were released as part of 2024 American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference and Exhibition. The full report can be found at .
ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.
SOURCE American Transportation Research Institute