Unmet Needs in the Trucking Industry According to survey conducted by American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the ‘Top Ten’ Trucking Industry issues are: Driver Shortage ELD: Electronic Logging Devices HOS: Hours of Service Rules Truck Parking Driver Retention Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) Cumulative Economic Impacts of Trucking Regulations on the Industry Driver Distraction Infrastructure and Traffic Congestion Driver Health and Wellness There are a number of issues that can be solved using IoT and Autonomous driving. To see how exactly it is possible to solve the issues, it becomes necessary to delve into the most pressing issues in detail. Driver …show more content…
Enforcement agencies keep track of the safety information in a database called safety measurement system (SMS). This creates an information asymmetry between the shippers, the freight brokers and the carriers. It may be relatively easier to inspect the safety score of the carrier, but there is no concrete way of clearly showcasing the driver expertise. All that can prove a driver’s expertise is her certification and years of experience which may not be visible to the shipper. Cumulative Economic Impacts of Trucking Regulations on the Industry With regulations like ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions Phase 2 (2018-2027) and Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)’ it becomes expensive and challenging for the trucking industry to provide the same service in terms of quality and service charge. The greenhouse gas emissions regulation will significantly increase the maintenance costs of the carriers. The latter regulation as we have seen in the previous section makes the driver’s life harder and contributes to the driver shortage issue. All of these regulations have a direct or indirect impact on the economics of the trucking industry. As noted earlier, more than 70% of consumer goods are transported by the trucking industry. This translates to increased shipping cost for all goods and makes the consumer products such as groceries and clothes