Truck Driver Detention: Trucking's $15B Problem Revealed

Truckers stuck waiting? A new survey by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) dropped some eye-opening facts about driver detention. Driver detention was voted fifth as a top industry issue for drivers in 2023, according to ATRI. And this problem is still prevalent today.

Key findings

• 39.3% of deliveries faced delays in 2023
• Trucking industry lost $3.6 billion in direct costs
• Productivity losses hit a whopping $11.5 billion

What's the deal with detention? It's when drivers wait over two hours at a facility to pick up or deliver freight. And it's causing major headaches for the industry.

Who's getting hit hardest?

• Female drivers (49.1% of deliveries)
• Refrigerated trailer drivers (56.2%)
• Spot market fleets (42.5%)

Time is money, and drivers are losing both

"Detention is so common that many industry professionals have accepted it as inevitable without realizing the true extent of its costs," says Chad England, C.R. England CEO.

The Ripple Effect

• 117-209 hours lost per driver annually
• 135+ million hours wasted in for-hire trucking alone
• Faster driving to make up for lost time (14.6% increase)

There are plethora of reasons on why these delays are happening, ranging from scheduling issues, lack of parking/dock space, inadequate staffing, upstream production delays and more.

Fighting back

Detentions have cost the trucking industry 135 million hours in 2023. So now, truckers are getting creative with early arrivals, better communication, and even refusing service to chronic offenders. While detention rates have dipped slightly, the costs remain astronomical. With only half of detention invoices paid, the industry's taking a major hit.

Want to dig deeper? Check out the full ATRI report for more insights on this ever growing and highly annoying issue.

Source: Transport Topics