ATRI AT TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD ANNUAL MEETING
Starting Sunday, January 11th, the ATRI staff will be joining 12,000+ transportation professionals for the 94th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB). The meeting, which will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, draws attendees from around the world including policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions.
Findings from several of ATRI’s latest studies will be presented by the ATRI staff, who are also active in a number of TRB committees which will meet over the course of the five-day event. If you plan to attend the TRB Annual Meeting, we invite you to stop by the ATRI booth (#327) to visit with our research professionals and pick up copies of our latest research.
American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI)
Ph: (770) 432-0628
atri@trucking.org
www.atri-online.org
ARLINGTON, VA – Judy R. McReynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer of ArcBest
Corporation, has been named Chairman of the Board of the American Transportation
Research Institute (ATRI). Judy succeeds Steve Williams,
Chairman and CEO of Maverick Transportation, who recently completed his term as ATRI
Chairman. Judy McReynolds was first appointed to the ATRI Board of Directors in
June 2010 and will now chair the Board comprised of 15 trucking industry presidents
and CEOs.
As President and CEO of ArcBest Corporation, Ms. McReynolds is responsible for
managing the multi-billion dollar freight transportation and logistics services
company, including oversight of the operating companies ABF Freight, ABF Logistics,
Panther Premium Logistics and FleetNet America. In addition to her service on the
ATRI Board of Directors, Ms. McReynolds serves on numerous outside boards including
OGE Energy Corp., First National Bank of Fort Smith, the Transportation Industry
Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the West-Ark Area Council of
the Boy Scouts of America. A Certified Public Accountant, Ms. McReynolds holds a
bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Oklahoma.
“We are excited to see Judy in the Chairman’s role at ATRI and know that her
extensive industry experience and strategic leadership will serve ATRI well,”
commented Phil Byrd, immediate past chairman of the American Trucking Associations.
In acknowledging Steve Williams’ six years of service as ATRI Chairman, ATA
President and CEO Bill Graves remarked, “Under Steve’s leadership, ATRI’s research
has gained worldwide recognition for its objective analysis of key industry issues
on topics ranging from hours-of-service, CSA, congestion, highway funding and the
environment. The result is a safer, more productive trucking industry.”
ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit
research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight
transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient
transportation system.
SAN DIEGO, CA – The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research institute, today unveiled its list of the top ten critical issues facing the North American trucking industry.
Operational impacts being experienced across the supply chain from the changes to the Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules that went into effect in 2013 once again propelled the HOS rules to the top of the list in ATRI’s annual survey of more than 4,000 trucking industry stakeholders. The complete results were released at the 2014 Management Conference and Exhibition of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) meeting in San Diego, CA, the nation’s largest gathering of motor carrier executives. The ATRI Top Industry Issues report also solicited and tabulated specific strategies for addressing each issue.
Coming in a close second to the HOS rules in terms of industry concern is the growing driver shortage, which replaced the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program as the number two issue. However, a number of challenges still exist with CSA, which ranked third overall on the 2014 list.
Related to the driver shortage, driver retention moved to fourth place from seventh place in 2013 as trucking fleets work to retain their most experienced and qualified drivers. Finally, industry concern over the timing and specifics of the pending FMCSA Final Rule on electronic logging devices (ELDs) caused this issue to round out the top five industry issues of 2014.
The state of the nation’s economy, which first appeared on the top industry list in 2008 and held the number one spot for three years in a row (2009-2011), dropped to number nine on this year’s list. The 2014 list also has a first-time issue, Driver Distraction, which debuted in 10th place amid industry concern over the safety impacts of car driver use of cell phones while driving.
The ATA-commissioned survey results and proposed strategies will be utilized by the ATA Federation to better focus its advocacy role on behalf of the U.S. trucking industry and ATA Federation stakeholders.
“ATRI’s annual survey of top industry issues gives us direct insight in to all of the complex forces affecting motor carriers and drivers so that we can plan accordingly, and focus on running a safe and profitable industry,” said ATA chairman Phil Byrd, President/CEO, Bulldog Hiway Express, Charleston, SC.
“As we all know, the trucking industry constantly faces changes and challenges to how we operate safely and efficiently,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. “However, our industry has always responded to these issues with determination and ATRI’s work gives us the information to decide where to focus our energies first and foremost.”
ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system. A copy of the survey results is available from ATRI at www.atri-online.org.
Arlington, VA – The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today released the findings of its 2014 update to An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking. The research, which identifies trucking costs from 2008 through 2013 derived directly from fleets’ financial and operational data, provides motor carriers with an important high-level benchmarking tool and government agencies with real world data for future infrastructure improvement analyses.
The average marginal cost per mile in 2013 was $1.68, an increase from the $1.63 found in 2012. After the Great Recession and a sharp decline in fuel prices resulted in decreased industry costs between 2008 and 2009, costs steadily rose through 2010 and 2011, with a slight decline in 2012. The increase in average operating costs in 2013 is attributed to the ongoing driver shortage and the resulting wage increases by motor carriers to ensure retention of experienced, qualified drivers.
“Carriers have experienced significant increases in equipment and labor costs, as well as second-level line items like tolls and health care benefits. Given tightening capacity and strengthening freight demand, ATRI’s operational costs report enables carriers to evaluate business opportunities wisely,” commented Andrew Boyle, Executive Vice President of Boyle Transportation and a member of ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee.
Since its original publication in 2008, the Operational Costs of Trucking reports continue to be one of the most requested ATRI reports among industry stakeholders. In addition to average costs per mile, ATRI’s report documents average costs per hour and includes cost breakouts by industry sector. Also new this year, ATRI is publishing a one-page fact sheet with the key findings of the report.
A copy of this report and the fact sheet are available from ATRI at www.atri-online.org.
ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.
Arlington, VA – The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) today launched a new compendium of sustainable freight practices on its website, www.atri-online.org. The compendium identifies a number of sustainable practices being used by the trucking industry ranging from driver training, idle reduction and speed management to vehicle aerodynamics, tires and engine systems. In addition to identifying sustainable practices, the compendium provides research findings on the costs and benefits associated with these practices.
”Sustainable practices are an emerging focus for trucking companies. ATRI’s compendium is a great resource for gaining insight into what many of these practices are as well as the potential costs and benefits associated with them,” said Chad England, Chief Executive Officer of C.R. England. Mr. England is a member of the ATRI Research Advisory Committee.
Designed as a one-stop shop for information on motor carrier sustainable practices, the compendium also identifies how public sector practices such as congestion mitigation, research and testing, and the use of standards can advance sustainable freight practices. Research findings quantifying the benefits generated from these public sector practices are also provided.
ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.
