Economy, Government Rules Lead ATRI Survey of Truckers’ Concerns
By Neil Abt, News Editor
This story appears in the Oct. 12 print edition of Transport Topics.
LAS VEGAS — The economy and government regulations top the list of the trucking industry’s concerns, according to the latest survey from the American Transportation Research Institute.
“As the U.S. economy slowly recovers from the worst recession since the 1930s, the industry’s long-term rebound is still challenged by recalcitrant consumer confidence, high unemployment and a credit crunch,” ATRI said in its report, issued here during American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition.
“The annual ATRI survey proves invaluable in helping us chart a course of action for the future,” said outgoing ATA Chairman Charles “Shorty” Whittington.
ATRI said 51.6% of more than 5,000 responses from trucking industry executives listed the economy as the top challenge facing trucking. A year ago, the economy was considered the second-most important issue.
“Economists hypothesize that, unlike previous recoveries, freight volumes will not lead the way out of this recession,” ATRI said. “Experts attribute this to the fact that demand for goods has declined much more rapidly than in previous recessions and that existing supplies of both raw and manufactured goods remain high.”
As part of the report, executives suggested three strategies to aid economic recovery: Promote tort reform and initiatives that reduce operating costs; engage in the de-bate on health care to support policies that control employers’ costs; and pursue federal stimulus funds for freight transportation programs.
ATRI also said government regulation was the second-biggest issue on its survey list this year, with 44.6% of respondents including it among their top three concerns. Government regulation was fourth in the survey last year.
ATRI attributed the growing concern about regulation to the changes in the national political landscape and election results at the federal, state and local levels.
“Many industry stakeholders anticipate a new era of costly government mandates,” ATRI said. “Though interstate motor carriers are primarily regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, a myriad of local, state and federal regulations are increasingly imposed on the industry, with the requisite, escalating costs of compliance.”
Nearly half of the respondents said continued public outreach efforts to highlight negative effects of legislation to make union organizing easier was the best way to overcome regulation challenges. Identifying low-cost solutions to government mandates and supporting the owner-operator employee model were additional key strategies.
“On every legislative and regulatory topic, issues come and go so quickly today,” said ATA President Bill Graves. “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.”
The top issue last year, fuel prices, placed third on the survey this year — the fifth straight year it has placed as a top-three concern.
Although diesel is down more than $2 from the record last year, “price spikes and price variability create additional indirect financial challenges for motor carriers by raising the cost of petroleum-based products such as lubricants and tires,” ATRI said. It added that prices are likely to rise when the economy picks up.
Rounding out the top 10 issues were: driver hours of service, commercial driver issues, environmental issues such as anti-idling rules, tolls, truck size and weight, and onboard truck technology.
ATRI said it conducts the survey in two phases. The initial phase is designed to identify and categorize key issues and strategies from a representative sample of for-hire and private carriers.
The second part of the survey, then distributed to more than 4,000 carriers in the United States and Canada, aims to rank the importance of each issue and the preferred strategies to combat each issue. This survey includes motor carriers, commercial drivers and other industry stakeholders.
