Three of ATRI's Top 10 Trucking Issues Are Driver Problems

Diesel at roughly $7 per gallon sits at No. 1 on the American Transportation Research Institute's annual Top Industry Issues list, but three of the remaining top ten slots — the driver shortage at No. 5, driver compensation at No. 9, and driver retention at No. 10 — all point at the same bottleneck: people behind the wheel.

Gino Fontana, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Transervice Logistics, draws that distinction bluntly. Fuel tops the ranking, he writes, and fleets are "hyper-focused on improving fuel efficiency and overall operating efficiency to mitigate rising fuel costs." His concern lies elsewhere.

The driver shortage is back. It did not appear on ATRI's 2025 list, yet it has historically ranked among the industry's top concerns and has returned this year. Fontana, who has spent more than 35 years in transportation and logistics, puts the record plainly: finding qualified drivers has been an ongoing issue throughout his career, and the industry has not found a good solution. That admission — decades in, still unresolved — frames everything ATRI proposes next.

What does ATRI propose for the shortage?

ATRI's report offers several remedies. One is an industry-funded outreach program to improve trucking's public image. Fontana questions whether the industry is pulling its weight here. The public does not hold a favorable view of trucking, he notes, despite its vital economic role.

His checklist for fleets is concrete:

• Participate in career days at local schools.
• Hold open houses at facilities to show the public available employment opportunities.
• Describe the industry positively when speaking with people outside trucking.

A second ATRI suggestion: build pathways for 18-year-olds to enter carriers in non-driving roles, gain experience, and transition into truck driving positions at 21. The target population is new high school graduates, offered a defined career path rather than a dead-end first job.

Does the state-line rule still make sense?

Fontana also advocates expanding interstate CDL eligibility to drivers aged 18 to 20. Current rules let younger drivers operate within their own state but bar them from crossing borders. He concedes the case for limiting young drivers, then dismantles the geography: a driver aged 18 to 20 can legally run 200 miles between two cities in the same state but cannot drive 25 to 30 miles across a state line. A mileage restriction, he argues, would make more sense than a boundary restriction. It is a fair point — though ATRI's report stops short of endorsing it, and no regulatory change is on the table.

What about pay and retention?

Driver compensation fell four spots from last year's list, yet it remains a top concern among the drivers ATRI surveyed. Compensation is more than pay, Fontana writes, though pay matters.

ATRI recommends fleets analyze multiple compensation models — per-mile, per-hour, and percentage-of-revenue — and research programs that financially incentivize retention, safety performance, and fuel economy. Such bonuses give drivers more control over annual earnings and can tie them more closely to the company. Caveat: ATRI suggests studying these models, not that any single one outperforms.

Retention, perennially on ATRI's list, completes the trio. Hiring solves only half the problem; keeping drivers is the other half. Fontana's prescriptions are operational rather than novel:

• Conduct exit interviews with departing drivers to learn why they leave.
• Communicate regularly so drivers know their contribution is valued.
• Look beyond pay to work/life balance, advancement opportunities, a positive work environment, and feeling valued.

Can fleets act on any of this?

Fontana closes with a sober split. The industry can do little about fuel prices, but it can take steps on the driver-related items crowding ATRI's list. With diesel near $7 per gallon squeezing margins fleet-wide, labor fixes are the lever operators actually control — whether image campaigns, younger-driver pipelines, or retention bonuses move the needle enough to shift next year's rankings remains the open question.