Diesel Tops Trucking's Worry List Again, ATRI Survey Finds

Diesel prices at the pump have taken the top spot on trucking's list of industry concerns, according to the American Transportation Research Institute's latest annual survey of carriers and drivers. The finding lands as operators continue to absorb some of the most volatile fuel costs in the sector's recent history.

ATRI, the research arm of the American Trucking Associations, fields its survey each year to rank the issues that weigh most heavily on trucking companies and professional drivers. Respondents place pump price first this cycle, pushing fuel back to the front of an agenda that in softer freight markets has been dominated by driver shortages, rates and parking.

The ranking matters beyond the cab. Diesel is the single largest controllable input for most truckload carriers after labor, and every additional cent per gallon flows straight into linehaul economics.

Why does pump price lead the ranking now?

Freight demand has softened across North American truckload markets, which has stripped carriers of the pricing power they enjoyed in 2021 and 2022. In a loose market, operators cannot easily recover fuel costs through surcharges, because shippers and brokers push back on rate increases when capacity is abundant.

That dynamic leaves smaller carriers — who make up the bulk of the industry and often lack the surcharge programs of large fleets — exposed to each swing in the wholesale diesel price. For a typical Class 8 tractor burning fuel across a full duty cycle, even modest pump moves translate into thousands of dollars per truck per year.

The survey result signals where operator sentiment sits: with freight rates under pressure, the cost side of the ledger is what keeps owners awake.

What does it mean for shippers and forwarders?

For shippers, a fuel-cost ranking at number one usually foreshadows friction over fuel surcharge tables at contract renewal. Carriers feeling squeezed on diesel will argue for faster-moving, more granular surcharge indexes; procurement teams will resist.

For forwarders and brokers, the message is that carrier cohorts most sensitive to pump price — small fleets and owner-operators — are the ones most likely to reprice loads quickly or decline freight when diesel spikes. Capacity from that segment can thin with little warning during fuel run-ups.

For carriers, the ranking confirms that cost discipline, fuel purchasing strategy and equipment efficiency remain the levers that decide survival in a downcycle.

What comes next?

ATRI publishes the full ranked list each year, and industry watchers will parse how concerns such as driver shortages, truck parking and the economy stack up beneath fuel. With diesel markets still subject to refinery, inventory and policy shocks, pump price looks set to stay near the top of trucking's worry list for the next survey cycle.