In the past, we talked about the biggest challenges in the US trucking industry as well as how the recession is impacting the trucking world. But once you dive into the vast ocean of trucking news, it is quite easy to see that there’s a lot more issues and challenges than it meets the eye. Some of them are known very well, some could be persisting for decades while others can be overlooked. Let’s take a quick look at which problems are still persisting in the US trucking industry that requires attention and strong solutions.
Table of contents:
Harsh Detention Frequency & Length
Persisting Truck Parking Issues
Drug Abuse Problem In The US Trucking Industry
Harsh Detention Frequency & Length
When approximately 60% of the drivers say they are delayed at least three times a week at minimum, it is a sign that indicates a deep-rooted, yet overlooked issue within the US trucking industry that needs to be solved.
Even though more than half of the truckers who experience detentions receive payments for it, still a large part doesn’t or is afraid to ask for one.
Other reports and trucking news also say that the detention frequency and length have increased over the years which impacts driver productivity, compensation and regulatory compliance negatively.
Persisting Truck Parking Issues
Of all the problems and difficulties that truck drivers are facing today, for some, it might be a surprise but parking shortage is something more than serious. And it delivers a plethora of issues not only for the US trucking industry but everyone else too.
Various trucking news addressed the issue multiple times, and it seems like a variety of factors such as inadequate state funding, greater shipping demand and hours-of-service driving restriction limiting drive-time windows are making it harder to overcome the problem.
Currently, there are less than 400,00 parking spots for approximately 1.5 million truck drivers on the road at any given time. It results in drivers spending hours searching for an empty parking space that leads to productivity decrease and around $4,600 in lost wages per year.
Drug Abuse Problem In The US Trucking Industry
While drug abuse problems in the US trucking industry is receiving more and more attention, it could potentially hit driver availability strongly. An area already having a hard time keeping up with the demand.
Trucking Alliance Managing Director Lane Kidd said “We have a huge drug abuse problem in the trucking industry, and should actually purge an estimated 300,000 commercial drivers to clean it up. No wonder truck accidents are on the rise” which speaks volumes in the trucking news about the current issue.
And the tricks to overcome the system are plentiful for drug-related drivers today. However, the new Clearinghouse program that is set to go live in 2020 plans to tackle the issue by housing all the positive drug and alcohol tests meanwhile carriers and state licensing agencies will be required to query the site before hiring a driver or issuing a driver’s license.
