HOS Again Tops ATRI’s Survey Of Pressing Industry Concerns

This story appears in the Oct. 28 print edition of Transport Topics.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Changes to the federal hours-of-service rule topped the 2013 survey of critical issues facing the North American trucking industry, the American Transportation Research Institute reported.

After placing as the No. 2 concern for the past two years, HOS reached the top of the list for the first time since 2007 — the year a federal court vacated portions of the rule.

It topped the government’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, which slipped one spot on the list. Rounding out the top five concerns were: the driver shortage, the economy and the pending electronic logging mandate. 

ATRI is part of American Trucking Associations.

“ATRI’s annual survey of top industry issues makes it easier for us to keep track of all the complex forces affecting motor carriers and drivers so that we can focus on running a safe and profitable industry,” former  ATA Chairman Michael Card said in a release issued during the federation’s Management Conference & Exhibition here.

Card is president of Combined Transport, based in Central Point, Ore.

The HOS rule was cited by 30% of survey respondents as the most significant issue facing the industry. An additional 28% listed it as the second- or third-largest concern.

ATRI said, “The high level of concern over HOS stems primarily from the December 2011 final rule issued by [the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration], which changed several key provisions,” such as reduced flexibility of the 34-hour restart and the mandatory 30-minute rest break.

ATRI conducted the survey during the summer, at the same time the HOS rule changes took effect.

Steve Williams, ATRI’s chairman, said the issue would still be No. 1 if first taken today because the “impacts are now just truly starting to be felt.”

ATRI President Rebecca Brewster said an ATRI study previously found the restart change alone was expected to cost trucking $189 million, and 39% of respondents recommended the group continue studying the effects the rule changes are having on productivity, safety and overall industry operations.

Other frequently mentioned approaches were additional research to further develop strategies for fatigue management, and continued industry advocacy for flexibility in the sleeper-berth provision. 

“With 3.1 million truck drivers, many in the industry . . . feel that a one-size-fits-all HOS approach may not provide enough flexibility to meet the needs of such a large and diverse industry,” the ATRI report said.

Last year’s top concern, CSA, placed a distant second to HOS this year, with 18% of respondents naming it the top issue and 42% listing it among the top three.

While there remains general industry backing for the program, ATRI said the greatest concerns focus on the lack of crash accountability in CSA scoring and the inability of scores to accurately predict the carrier’s safety performance.

The group also said nearly half of respondents would like to see a push for a crash-accountability determination process that removes nonpreventable crashes from carriers’ scores.

A shortage of qualified drivers ranked third in the 2013 survey, with 13% of total respondents listing it as the main concern.

The report said there is a “divergence of opinion” regarding the shortage, with carrier executives naming it the greatest concern but driver participants not listing it in their top 10.

The leading method to combat the shortage was to examine the competitiveness of driver pay and benefits.

The report said that “many in the industry, including ATA President Bill Graves, feel that driver pay will have to be addressed if the industry wants to reduce the driver shortage.”

ATRI also said the economy placed fourth on the list, down from ranking as the No. 1 concern from 2009 to 2011.

“The economic recovery, even with the more recent slowdown, has reduced this issue’s significance relative to more pressing concerns,” ATRI said.

The electronic logging device mandate, expected to be issued within the next several months, was fifth on the list, which ATRI said was the highest rank of any issue related to onboard truck technology in the nine-year history of the survey. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was forced to vacate a proposed ELD rule in 2011 after a court determined not enough attention was given to potential driver harassment issues.

Besides harassment, the upcoming mandate is expected to address ELD performance standards and requirements related to HOS supporting documents.

Rounding out the top 10 issues: the shortage of truck parking; driver retention; fuel supply and prices; highway infrastructure, funding and congestion; and driver health.