As the first quarter of the year winds down, it is a good time to revisit some of the challenges that the trucking industry faces in 2022. Certainly, the past few years of the COVID-19 pandemic have been more than challenging for semi truck drivers and the transportation companies that employ them.
Even now, as coronavirus restrictions are starting to ease nationwide, truck drivers still face unique pressures, problems and issues that their counterparts in other industries do not.
The Cost of Fuel Keeps Rising
With no ceiling in sight, the price of fuel keeps climbing higher by the day. Independent truckers and small carrier companies are feeling the pinch already. Grant Goodale, co-founder of Convoy, acknowledges many companies have been forced to alter their supply-chain patterns to meet their clients’ demands. Smaller carrier networks must be able to quickly adapt and offer customers more flexible capacities that better reflect real-world shortages and gaps in the supply chain.
Jacinda Duran, an OTR trucker who is clearly feeling the pinch, said that whereas in the past $800 could fill her big rig’s 250-gallon tank with fuel, she now must spend between $1,000 and $1,100 filling up. Her average fuel costs for a week of driving used to average $1,500 to $1,600. Now, she routinely pays $2,400 for the same amount.
Dangerously Deteriorated Infrastructure
The collapsing infrastructure of our country unfortunately remains an “evergreen” concern for those working in the transportation industry. The Pittsburgh bridge collapse back in January is just one example of the dilapidated tunnels, bridges and highways that truckers routinely navigate on their routes from point A to point B.
Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address just such issues affecting the crucial routes and connection points all over the United States. With funding secured and earmarked for these nationwide projects, there may soon be some improvements made.
Global Instability Worsens Supply-Chain Woes
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the gaps in the international supply chain. These caused headaches for everyone, from Fortune 500 companies to owners of mom-and-pop corner stores.
Then, the highly combustible war between Russia and Ukraine arose. Fears of igniting nuclear threats and rumbles that herald World War III further affect the pipeline of supplies shipping from Eastern Europe and Asia to the Americas.
Keep on Truckin’ Remains Relevant Message
If you’re old enough to remember R. Crumb’s ubiquitous (and apparently misinterpreted) late-1960s directive to “Keep on Truckin’,” you will understand how apt it still is over a half-century later. Despite the high fuel prices, bad roads and uncertain international events, truckers succeed most when they manage to keep it between the lines and on-time.
Sources: kdvr.com, yahoo.com, abcnews.com
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