Top 10 Concerns in the Trucking Industry for 2026

1. Economic Pressure and Freight Market Conditions

The economy continues to be one of the biggest issues for trucking. In ATRI's  Top Industry Issues survey, the economy ranked first for the third consecutive year. More than 4,200 trucking industry stakeholders participated in the survey, including motor carrier executives, drivers, and other freight industry professionals.

The economic pressure is closely connected to freight demand and pricing. ATRI described it as the third year of an extended freight recession, with operating costs reaching record levels while freight pricing remained under pressure. ATRI's 2026 operational-cost research similarly noted that freight rates were only beginning to improve while industry-wide costs continued to accelerate.

For carriers, this combination creates a difficult balance. Revenue depends on freight demand and rates, while expenses continue to come from fuel, equipment, maintenance, insurance, labor, and other operating needs. Getting more productive miles from each truck and reducing avoidable costs therefore becomes increasingly important.

2. Rising Trucking Operating Costs

The cost of running a truck remains one of the clearest challenges facing the industry. According to ATRI's 2026 Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking, the average operating cost reached $2.336 per mile, up 3.4% from the previous year. This was the highest per-mile cost in the history of the report. Costs excluding fuel increased 4.2% to $1.854 per mile.

Several individual expenses increased even faster:

ATRI reported that costs increased across all major line items. Fuel and driver pay were the only major categories that increased at sub-inflationary rates. For carriers, these numbers show why cost control is becoming more important. A few extra miles may seem insignificant on one trip, but unnecessary mileage multiplied across thousands of trips can have a meaningful effect on a fleet's operating expenses. 

Route efficiency, maintenance planning, fuel management, and minimizing avoidable delays can all contribute to better cost control.

3. Insurance Costs and Availability

Insurance remains a major financial concern for carriers. ATRI ranked Insurance Cost and Availability third in its Top Industry Issues survey, up one position from the previous year. ATRI's 2026 insurance research found that commercial auto liability insurance premiums increased 18.6% between 2021 and 2024, reaching 10.2 cents per mile. This increase outpaced consumer inflation by 5.4 percentage points. The same research found that per-mile liability losses among participating carriers increased by an average of 33.1% during that period. At the same time, heavy-duty truck-involved crash rates declined by 2.6% industry-wide.

Insurance costs therefore represent more than another operating expense. Higher premiums and liability losses can affect fleet budgets, risk-management strategies, deductibles, and decisions about safety technology and training.

4. Lawsuit Abuse and Litigation Costs

Lawsuit Abuse Reform ranked second in ATRI's Top Industry Issues survey, moving up from third place.  The concern is closely connected to insurance costs. ATRI's research examines how litigation affects motor carriers and insurance markets, while its research on trucking litigation analyzed six years of truck tort cases.

According to ATRI, its litigation research estimated 12,817 state truck-tractor tort cases in 2022 alone. The study also found that the largest half of awards, representing the cases with the greatest financial impact on the industry, increased at an average rate of 5.7% per year. For trucking companies, litigation can therefore create costs that extend beyond the courtroom. Legal exposure can affect insurance expenses and add another layer of financial uncertainty to fleet operations.

5. Truck Parking

Truck parking remains one of the most practical challenges for drivers. ATRI ranked the lack of available truck parking fourth in its survey, although it dropped two positions from 2024.

For drivers, the issue is not simply finding a space. A useful parking location needs to be accessible to commercial vehicles and provide an appropriate environment for drivers to stop and rest. ATRI's parking research examines factors such as lighting, restrooms, security, and other safety and convenience features.

Parking also has a direct connection to trip planning. Drivers have to consider where they can stop before they reach the end of their available driving time. A route that looks efficient on a map may become much more difficult if there is no suitable parking near the planned stopping point. That makes parking an important part of route planning rather than something to search for only at the end of a driving shift.

6. Driver Compensation

Driver compensation remains an important workforce concern. In ATRI's survey, Driver Compensation ranked fifth overall and remained the top concern among driver respondents.

For drivers, compensation is connected to more than the basic pay rate. Time away from home, waiting at facilities, delays, parking difficulties, and the amount of time spent on the road can all affect how drivers experience their work. There is also an important connection between driver compensation and fleet operating costs. ATRI's 2026 operational-cost report tracks driver pay and benefits as major components of the cost of operating a truck. Driver pay was one of the few major cost categories that increased at a sub-inflationary rate.

For carriers, the challenge is balancing compensation with the broader cost of operating a truck while maintaining a workforce that can keep freight moving.

7. Driver Recruitment and Retention

Finding and retaining experienced drivers remains connected to several other challenges in trucking. Compensation is one factor, but it is not the only one.

Working conditions, scheduling, time away from home, parking availability, waiting time, and the overall driving experience can all influence retention. ATRI's survey illustrates this connection: while motor carriers identified the economy, lawsuit abuse reform, and insurance as their top three concerns, drivers ranked Driver Compensation, Truck Parking, and English Language Proficiency as their top three.

For carriers, retaining experienced drivers can also reduce the costs and operational disruption associated with continually recruiting and training replacements. Workforce stability is therefore not just a human-resources issue. It can also affect fleet efficiency and day-to-day operations.

8. Congestion and Delays

Traffic congestion can affect trucking productivity, delivery schedules, fuel use, and available driving time. ATRI's annual Top 100 Truck Bottlenecks study tracks the locations where congestion has the greatest impact on truck freight movement.

In 2026, ATRI identified the interchange of I-294 and I-290/I-88 in Chicago as the nation's most congested truck bottleneck. ATRI estimated that congestion delays across the locations analyzed were equivalent to 436,000 truck drivers sitting idle for an entire year. Delays can also create problems later in a trip. When traffic takes longer than expected, drivers may have less time to reach planned fuel, parking, or service stops.

Federal Hours of Service rules add another planning constraint. Under the standard property-carrying rules, drivers may drive up to 11 hours within a 14-hour on-duty window after 10 consecutive hours off duty. This is why congestion is not simply a traffic problem. A significant delay can affect the rest of a driver's route and where they can safely stop.

9. Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Technology is becoming a more visible part of trucking operations. ATRI's survey included Artificial Intelligence in Trucking as a first-time issue in its industry-wide survey.

At the same time, the technology already used by drivers goes well beyond AI. Electronic logging systems, navigation apps, telematics, dispatch platforms, and fleet-management tools are already part of daily trucking operations. ATRI's 2026 research also continues to examine how technology can improve fleet performance. Its recent work on telematics, for example, looks at how carriers can use vehicle data to measure and improve operational performance.

For drivers, technology is most useful when it supports real decisions on the road. A navigation tool needs to consider more than distance. Truck restrictions, parking, fuel stations, weigh stations, repair shops, and other truck-accessible locations can all affect whether a route is actually practical.

10. Safety, Compliance, and Driver Training

Safety and compliance remain fundamental to trucking operations. Fleets must meet federal requirements while ensuring that drivers have the training and tools needed to operate safely.

ATRI's survey identified Driver Training Standards as a first-time issue in the overall Top 10, ranking ninth. Among truck driver respondents, it ranked seventh. Safety concerns are also reflected in ATRI's current research priorities. In 2026, ATRI launched research examining the potential safety benefits of driver-facing cameras, including their possible effects on safety and operational performance. As equipment, regulations, and technology continue to change, training becomes an ongoing process rather than something that happens only when a driver starts a new job.

For fleets, the challenge is to keep drivers prepared while also integrating new technologies and operational requirements into everyday work.

What Will Be the Top Trucking Concerns in 2026?

The official 2026 ranking will provide a clearer picture once ATRI publishes its 2026 Top Industry Issues results. For now, the available research shows an industry dealing with several connected pressures. Operating costs are at record levels, insurance remains expensive, parking continues to challenge drivers, and workforce and technology issues are evolving alongside the freight market.

Many of these concerns come together during a single trip. Fuel, parking, traffic, available driving time, repairs, and truck-accessible services all have to be considered while keeping freight moving. That makes efficient route planning and better day-to-day decision-making increasingly important. These tools cannot solve every industry-wide problem, but they can help drivers and fleets manage some of the operational pressures they face every day.

As 2026 continues, the trucking industry will be watching economic conditions, operating costs, insurance, workforce issues, and technology closely.