Sluggish Economy, CSA 2010 Top Trucking Concerns

The sluggishness of the economic recovery and the federal government's new CSA 2010 enforcement program are among the top concerns facing the North American trucking industry, according to an annual survey by the American Transportation Research Institute.

ATRI, the research arm of the American Trucking Associations, released the results of the survey of more than 4,000 trucking industry executives Sunday at ATA's Management Conference and Exhibition in Phoenix.

As was the case in 2009, the state of the nation's economy was the top concern, with about 35 percent of respondents marking it number one. However, this is less than last year, when 51.6 percent chose the economy as the number one issue. 16.3 percent ranked it as their number two concern.

The Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new regulatory framework for evaluating carrier and driver safety, debuted on the list in a close second to the economy this year. Just over 25 percent marked thi as their number one concern, and another 21 percent ranking it as number two.

Government regulation, which was the second most pressing issue last year, remained near the top of the list at spot number three, with 10.1 percent ranking it their number one concern, 12.4 percent number two.

The driver shortage returned to the top 10 list this year, in a sign that carriers have a growing concern over finding enough drivers to meet increased freight demand as the economy rebounds.

The complete list:

1. Economy

2. CSA 2010

3. Government regulation

4. Hours of service

5. Driver shortage

6. Fuel issues

7. Transportation funding/infrastructure

8. Onboard truck technology (this moved up from last year's number 10 spot)

9. Environmental issues

10. Truck size and weight (this was new to the top 10 list last year, debuting at number nine.

The ATA-commissioned survey results and proposed strategies will be used by the ATA Federation to better focus its advocacy role on behalf of the U.S. trucking industry and ATA Federation stakeholders.