The American Transportation Research Institute seeks input on trucking’s top concerns

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) wants to know what keeps you up at night—but the data that comes from ATRI’s annual Top Issues Survey informs industry stakeholders and decision-makers all year long to help ease some of those worries.

Case in point: From the view of motor carriers, the industry’s driver shortage topped the annual list last year for the fifth year in a row. From the view of commercial drivers, compensation and truck parking tied at the top of the list. The ATRI findings were quoted during industry meetings and online discussions of pressing trucking issues the rest of the year and into 2022—and solutions have been sought.

Driver retention was No. 2 on the 2021 list, from the fleet perspective, while detention and delays and customer facilities were the No. 2 concern of drivers.

The trucking research organization recently launched the 2022 version of the Top Industry Issues Survey, which annually asks industry stakeholders to rank key areas of concern and share potential strategies for addressing each concern. The results of the 2022 survey will be released Oct. 22 as part of American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.

ATRI's top issues of 2021, from the motor carrier perspective and from the professional drive viewpoint. ATRI is seeking the same perspectives in its current 2022 survey.

Now in its 18th year, ATRI’s analysis not only ranks the issues overall, but it also provides insights into how critical topics are ranked differently by motor carriers and drivers. The ATRI report also allows stakeholders to monitor issues over time to better understand which issues are rising, or falling, in importance to the trucking industry.

“The annual Top Industry Issues Survey has long been a crucial part of understanding the issues facing our country’s supply chain,” said Harold Sumerford Jr., ATA’s chairman and CEO of J&M Tank Lines.

“ATRI’s research provides a chance for thousands of trucking industry professionals, from drivers to executives, to weigh in on the most important topics that affect trucking and collectively decide on the best strategies for addressing each.”

Click here to complete the survey, which will remain open until Oct. 7. More than 2,500 trucking industry stakeholders participated in the survey last year, including motor carriers, drivers, industry suppliers, driver trainers, law enforcement, and others. Nearly 25% of the survey respondents were professional truck drivers.

“I encourage my fellow drivers to take a few minutes and complete the Top Industry Issues Survey,” said Steve Fields, an America’s Road Team Captain and a professional driver for Yellow.

“Whether your top issue is truck parking, driver compensation, detention, traffic congestion or something else, it only takes a few minutes to make your voice heard and for us collectively to let the industry know what drivers are most concerned about.”