The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research institute, today unveiled its list of the top ten critical issues facing the North American trucking industry.
The state of the nation’s economy tops the list in ATRI’s survey of more than 5,000 trucking industry executives. The complete results were released at the 2009 Management Conference and Exhibition of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) meeting in Las Vegas, the nation’s largest gathering of motor carrier executives. The ATRI Top Industry Issues report also solicited and tabulated specific strategies for addressing each issue.
Government regulation, which has been on a steady climb since the inaugural survey in 2005, came in as the second most pressing issue this year. In addition to the economy and government regulation, other “Top Ten” issues include fuel, congestion, Hours-of-Service and the environment, among others. Truck size and weight appeared for the first time in the 2009 survey as a key productivity issue that many industry stakeholders feel must be addressed.
The ATA-commissioned survey results and proposed strategies will be utilized by the ATA Federation to better focus its advocacy role on behalf of the U.S. trucking industry and ATA Federation stakeholders.
“The annual ATRI survey proves invaluable in helping us chart a course of action for the future,” said ATA Chairman Charles “Shorty” Whittington (Grammer Industries, Grammer, IN).
“On every legislative and regulatory topic, issues come and go so quickly today,” said Bill Graves, ATA President and CEO. “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.”