Rebecca Brewster, president and chief operating officer of the American Transportation Research Institute, said Wednesday that a driver shortage and a mandate for electronic logging devices are top concerns facing motor carriers.
Speaking to the Arkansas Trucking Association's 40 Under 40 Council, she said the concerns rank highest both in Arkansas and nationally.
The nonprofit, publicly and privately funded trucking research institute releases an annual report on the "top industry issues" as reported by carriers and drivers across the country.
This year Arkansas sent in enough responses to generate its own state breakdown of concerns.
The council was created a few years ago to further engage younger professionals in trucking in Arkansas, featuring quarterly meetings to facilitate networking and industry learning.
"My objective with the meeting was trying to bring value to the young executives in the council," said Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association. "My gut reaction was to figure out how Rebecca's analysis can enlighten them in their positions."
Brandon Clifford, a member of the council and business-development manager at Zero Mountain Logistics, headquartered in Fort Smith, said the presentation was "really beneficial."
"I thought there was some good discussion on where the focus of the industry is and where it's going," he said. "I think the focus is becoming safer, but doing it in a way that all companies can survive."
One topic of discussion was new safety technology, like in-cab and forward-facing cameras that many larger carriers are using, which present a high overhead cost for smaller carriers.
The trucking industry has faced a long-standing lack of drivers, but the research report highlights just how significant the trucking industry in Arkansas believes that lack is today, as it ranked as the top concern on the state's list. The American Trucking Associations estimates the industry is short approximately 35,000 to 40,000 drivers.
"Driver shortage and retention have always been on this list since we've been doing this survey," Brewster explained. "When the economy is good, people aren't as worried about it, but when the economy goes down, concern goes up because it's harder to find drivers."
Clifford said he thinks about the driver shortage "everyday."
"It's a national issue," he said. "It's tough. Just look at the national turnover rate."
The American Trucking Associations puts the average driver-turnover rate among truckload carriers at 95 percent.
The electronic logging device mandate remained front of mind as well, both nationally and in Arkansas, where it ranked second. As Newton explained, the placement of a concern on the list indicates the industry "wants the technology. I'm glad that the industry still wants it because it's been something we've been talking about for a while."
The industrywide electronic-logging-device mandate from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will begin in December 2017.
Business on 12/08/2016