Considering that 70.5% of food in the U.S. is transported by truck, any impact to trucking costs or capacity impacts food shippers, according to Rebecca Brewster, President and Chief Operating Officer for the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), who presented fresh insights from ATRI's Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry 2023 report at FSA's Annual Conference in March 2024. With prices high in grocery aisles, the driver shortages, and echoes of challenges created by the pandemic, Brewster's observations hit home for conference attendees.

Brewster led with three issues linked to quality of life to truckers – a major theme, she said, considering that America is short 60,000 to 80,000 professional drivers today. The number one issue for truck drivers in 2023 was driver compensation. Brewster pointed out ATRI's recent Operational Costs of Trucking, or Ops Costs, report found that drivers' wage cost per mile increased 15% in 2023.

The second biggest issue for drivers was the lack of available truck parking. "Every person in this room knows where you're going to put your head down tonight and you know you're gunna be safe. That same luxury is not afforded to the men and women who deliver for us each and every day and that's an issue we've got to change," Brewster said.

Delays at customers' facilities were the fifth biggest issue among truck drivers. This is one problem food shippers have the power to change, and Brewster says it's within their interest to do so. She cited research from 2019 that found reducing average dwell time of truckers improved driver turnover rates in almost all fleet sizes and sectors.

Quality of life issues like these influence the larger issue of the ongoing driver shortage – the number two issue for motor carriers. Brewster pointed out that trucking is doing a poor job attracting new recruits to replace aging trucker generations who are retiring. She stated that trucking has a lower percentage of workers in the 20-24 age group than construction, professional services, and U.S. industry as a whole.

Fleets are increasing driver wages and benefits to attract and retain drivers, with larger fleets paying the most. Brewster observed that while fleets with fewer than 26 trucks pay the least, they also have the lowest annual turnover, per ATRI research. The finding suggests food shippers that operate fleets don't necessarily have to raise pay to attract and retain drivers who value a positive work environment and non-monetary perks.

Women represent an untapped pool of potential drivers for food fleets. Today, only 11.9% of truck drivers are female. Furthermore, ATRI’s analysis found that male truck drivers are 14% more likely to be involved in a crash than female drivers. Brewster wonders whether fleets with female drivers could leverage this fact to negotiate lower insurance premiums.

Insurance premiums were the number six top issue for motor carriers in 2023. Brewster said over the past 10 Years, ATRI has seen liability insurance premiums rise 40%. This cost is a major reason why in 2023 the cost to operate a truck passed $2 per mile for the first time, Brewster said.

Rising fuel prices, the number three issue for commercial drivers and number five issue for motor carriers, were another reason for the bump. Diesel prices increased 54% in 2023 according to ATRI’s Ops Costs report.

Rising fuel costs eventually get passed on to food shippers and ultimately to consumers. As food and beverage shippers look for costs to cut to avoid making further hikes to product prices, interest in electric vehicles (EVs) is gaining speed. Zero-emission vehicles were the number seven top issue for motor carriers in ATRI’s study.

Brewster cautioned food shippers feeling the rush to plug into EV particularly for long hauls. The U.S. is a long way from being able to completely convert the American fleet to EV. She estimates that would require chargers at every one of the nation’s 313,000 parking spots at truck stops and rest stops as well as $35 million and 40% of the current electrical generation in the U.S.

Furthermore, Brewster pointed out that increasing the range that drivers can travel so they don’t have to stop frequently to recharge will be problematic. It will require additional battery weight, which will reduce the weight of cargo that can be hauled. In other words, shippers will need more EV trucks to haul the same amount of food.

Focusing on these and other critical issues in the trucking industry helps point the way to positive changes that control transportation costs and support the driver pool that supports food chains.

Related Articles:

• Top Trucking Concerns: The Economy, Truck Parking, BEVs
• Driving Resilience through Talent, Technology
• How to Navigate Cargo Security and Food Safety Challenges
• Building Supply Chain Resiliency (and Fixing Top Challenges)

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