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Driver Shortage, Insurance Cost, Top Trucking Industry Concerns

Finding truck drivers, especially as the current group ages and more people are reluctant to spend time from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, is the trucking industry’s biggest challenge.

That’s the finding of the latest annual American Transportation Research Institute survey of the biggest issues facing the industry.

Motor carrier chief executives also echo the same problem as they report third-quarter financial results to industry analysts and investors.

Trucking rates are going up because the industry can’t find enough drivers to meet freight demand.

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Truck stops keep pace with pandemic and prepare for a long winter

To help drivers keep socially distant from others, travel centers are focusing on mobile apps and grab-and-go food; truck stops are also stocking up with supplies to help truckers get through for the cold months.

As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues — even accelerating in most states — truck stops are keeping up with drivers’ needs while keeping them and staff as safe as possible. The facilities are accomplishing this by making sure that everyone is adhering to best practices guidelines, updating and expanding the use of mobile apps and offering more grab-and-go foods to help drivers spend less time inside.
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The reasons behind trucking’s rising insurance rates

The largest driver of increased rates right now is available insurance capacity. Distracted driving, the commercial truck driver shortage, nuclear verdicts, and litigation funding have also compounded the problem.

Over the last 10 years, commercial trucking insurance rates have skyrocketed. Despite those rate increases, however, insurance companies are experiencing losses, which means the transportation insurance industry is seeing continued deterioration and availability in capacity.

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Heavy-duty truck orders rebounding from COVID slump

After the early pandemic days of uncertainty, when OEMs shut down production, heavy-truck build levels plummeted. But production has recovered quicker than in past recessions, and demand has set up the industry for a booming future.

Half a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic first started shutting down local, national and worldwide economies, it created uncertainty for truck makers and buyers. Now the truck market appears to be making a V-shaped recovery from the nadir of spring as fleets focus on fall orders to prepare for a potentially busy 2021 that could spur high demand over the next three years.

“We have a flash recession caused by a natural disaster. Normally natural disasters are regional. This natural disaster was not only countrywide but worldwide,” Don Ake, the FTR Intelligence vice president for commercial vehicles, said during a recent FTR Engage virtual session on commercial vehicle supply.

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Trucking economist: ‘Recession likely over’

ATA economist Bob Costello believes the pandemic recession has ended, but not before it changed the future U.S. economic landscape by reshaping consumer habits in a way that has benefited the trucking industry — unlike past recessions that hampered it.

“The recession is likely over.”

Bob Costello, the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) chief economist, delivered this promising, unofficial news to virtual attendants of the 2020 McLeod Software User Conference during a Sept. 30 presentation on the economy.

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What truckers need to know about new HOS rules

The new hours of service rules officially take effect on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 12:01 a.m. EDT across the country, which means they will go into effect at 9:01 p.m. PDT on Sept. 28. Here’s a look at what’s changing and how it affects you.

New federal hours of service (HOS) rules — designed to give commercial drivers more flexibility — take effect across the U.S. at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

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Small-business truckers get Congressional backing in battle against higher insurance rates

U.S. Senator Steve Daines encouraged his colleagues to sign a letter opposing an unnecessary increase in federal liability insurance requirements for motor carriers.

A group of U.S. Senators have said that small-business truckers and other industries that rely on trucking cannot bear the financial burden of a policy that could end up in the next transportation reauthorization bill. U.S. Senator Steve Daines encouraged his colleagues to sign a letter opposing an unnecessary increase in federal liability insurance requirements for motor carriers.

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FMCSA proposes pilot program to pause 14-hour clock

Regulators are requesting public input on a Split Duty Period Pilot Program, which would allow commercial drivers one off-duty break up to three hours that would pause a truck driver’s 14-hour driving window.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is seeking public comment on a pilot program that would create hours of service (HOS) regulatory relief by allowing participating drivers to pause their on-duty driving period with one off-duty period up to three hours.
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What drivers need to know about new HOS rules

Four major updates to hours-of-service rules for commercial drivers take effect on Sept. 29, changing how long-haul drivers are required to take breaks and extending the distance short-haul drivers can travel in a day.

In just over a month — at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 29 — revised hours-of-service rules go into effect for commercial drivers across the country. The new rules create more flexibility for drivers while keeping a focus on highway safety, according to Joseph DeLorenzo, the acting associate administrator for enforcement at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

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Tips to get through Brake Safety Week 2020

Bendix offers tips to help fleets and drivers during the annual CVSA inspection blitz during Aug. 23-29 in the U.S. and Canada, focusing on brake system hoses and tubing.

There can be no compromise when it comes to the safety of commercial vehicle braking systems. But statistics show there is a need for support: Last September, during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA’s) 2019 Brake Safety Week event, it was reported that 13.5% of the commercial vehicles inspected were removed from roadways because of brake maintenance-related violations.

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