TRUCKERS As a leading economic indicator, where do you see the economy trending? When it comes to the economy, there are fewer all-out optimists among trucking company executives in 2024 than there were one year ago. Today, only 16% of trucking company respondents see the economy trending upward, compared with 22% last year. At the same time, there are also fewer genuine pessimists. Only 6% of truckers say the economy is trending downward, compared with 12% in 2023. For most motor carriers, this is a wait-and-see period, not surprising in the midst of a tight Presidential election. Last year, 66% of truckers saw the economy hovering somewhere in-between up and down. This year, that proportion has risen to 79%.
Downward 6 %
Upward 16 %
Somewhere in between 79 %
TRUCKERS: GREATEST CHALLENGES Insurance costs and liabilities 54 % Price pressure from customers/competitors 53 % Rising equipment costs 53 % Driver-related (recruitment, retention, training) 47 % Infrastructure concerns 31 % Fuel costs 29 % Government policies 29 % Regulations and compliance 29 % Cargo theft/security 26 % Sustainability requirements 26 % Competition (intermodal, pooling, brokers) 23 % Electric vehicles 19 % Technology investment 19 % Supply chain disruption 17 % Demand for faster deliveries (Amazon e ect) 10 % Finding and retaining customers 9 % Providing capacity 6 % Autonomous vehicles 3 %
TRUCKERS What are your greatest challenges? With less demand for freight capacity in the past year, shippers have gained the power to shop around for the trucks they need at rates they’re willing to pay. That’s forced many trucking companies to compete on price. In 2023, only 37% of our trucking respondents noted price pressure from customers and/or competitors as one of their greatest challenges. In 2024, that number has jumped to 53%. That makes price pressure the second-biggest concern this year, after insurance costs and liabilities. The survey also shows a big jump in concern about cargo theft and load security. This year, 26% of trucking respondents mention that as a major challenge, compared with just 7% in 2023. That stands to reason, considering the crime wave the transportation industry has suffered in the past year. For instance, in July, researchers at CargoNet reported 771 incidents of cargo thefts in the second quarter of 2024—33% more than in the second quarter of 2023. In a growing number of cases, sophisticated fraudsters steal the identities of legitimate truckers, pick up loads from shippers, and then disappear with the goods. As they worry about rates and security, trucking companies are breathing easier about some other aspects of their operations. In 2023, driver-related costs stood at the top of the list of major challenges for truckers: 66% cited those as a concern. In 2024, we rephrased the question slightly, asking about all driver-related challenges, such as recruitment, retention, and training. Forty-seven percent of truckers name this cluster of challenges as a significant concern. This is smaller than the proportion of truckers—54%— who are concerned about insurance costs and liabilities, the top challenge listed this year. Trucking executives also are less worried about fuel costs: 29% name those as an important challenge, compared with 51% in 2023. Fuel prices have fallen slightly during the summer of 2024. Beyond that, perhaps truckers have simply grown resigned to the prices they currently pay at the pump and feel that, having built those costs into their freight rates, they have resolved the challenge for now.
40 Inbound Logistics • September 2024
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