TruckDriversMoneySavingTips

08/30/2026

Short educational video about interstate highway numbers in the United States
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1PVeGQduEx/

08/24/2026

From an email from The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), sent on August 24, 2026, with the link below:

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Trucking Industry Asked to Rank Top Concerns

Washington, D.C. – The American Transportation Research Institute, the trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization, today launched the 2026 Top Industry Issues Survey. The annual survey asks trucking industry stakeholders to rank the top issues of concern for the industry along with potential strategies for addressing each issue.

Now in its 22nd year, ATRI’s annual analysis not only ranks the issues overall but also provides insights into how critical topics are ranked differently by motor carriers and truck drivers. The report also allows trucking stakeholders to monitor issues over time to better understand which issues are rising, or falling, in criticality.

“For more than two decades, the Top Industry Issues list has been essential reading for any professional seeking to gain deeper insight into the current state of trucking. Compiled annually by ATRI, this report provides a crucial snapshot that identifies trucking’s biggest challenges, sets our priorities, and focuses the ATA Federation’s advocacy to develop commonsense solutions. Just as important, it serves as a valuable guide for influential policymakers who want to understand how they can best support the men and women who keep America moving,” said ATA Chair Greg Hodgen, Groendyke Transport, Inc. Chief Executive Officer.

“ATRI’s annual survey gives all truck drivers a collective voice. If your top concern is the lack of truck parking, driver compensation, detention at customer facilities, driver training, infrastructure or something else, this is your chance to bring those issues to light and have your voice heard. I encourage you to please take a few minutes to complete the online survey and encourage your peers to do so also,” said Bob Bramwell, an America’s Road Team Captain and professional truck driver for ABF Freight.

The results of the 2026 survey will be released October 18, 2026, as part of the American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Industry stakeholders are encouraged to complete the 2026 survey available by clicking here. The survey will remain open through October 2, 2026.

ATRI is the trucking industry’s 501c3 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.

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Atlanta, GA • Minneapolis, MN • Washington, DC
TruckingResearch.org
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Link (after clicking through):
https://www.research.net/r/2026-TII-Survey

08/21/2026

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.08.22 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 22, 2026, written by Vicki Simons.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.

1. Regarding Language, National Debt, and Records:

Language

This is part of "General qualifications of drivers " 49 C.F.R. 391.11(b)(2):

Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records;

Now for the most recent articles on this topic...

- CVTA: FMCSA moves to strengthen enforcement of ELP -- and safety

- Postal Service contract drivers faulted for English-language violations

- Three guilty in 'No English' CDLs-for-bribes scheme

- Trucking fleet owner speaks out on importance of DOT's ELP proposal

National Debt

Are you aware that the U.S.
#20260822

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.08.22 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 22, 2026.

08/21/2026

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.08.15 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 15, 2026, written by Vicki Simons.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.

1. Regarding Performance and Surveillance:

Performance

This is the first time -- at least in recent years -- that I've seen the word "performance" used in relation to delivery and transporation.

In my post "Your Driver Manager or Fleet Manager is the Key to Your Paycheck," I described how my now-late husband Mike got "cheated" out of a "performance bonus" -- offered by his trucking company -- because of an "unwritten rule" about which he had known nothing.

The article goes on to say that, later on, the company did away with that bonus.

What about now?
How are performance metrics measured?
Are truckers paid extra for meeting them?
If not, why not?

Please share your thoughts through the form below.
#20260815

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.08.15 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 15, 2026.

08/21/2026

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.08.08 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 8, 2026, written by Vicki Simons.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.

1. Regarding Enforcement, Inspections, Language, and Operations:

Enforcement

Please ensure that you as a trucker are qualified, authorized, and have all legal paperwork to do your trucking job.

- Report outlines results of nationwide crackdown on bad actors in the trucking industry over the last year

- Truck enforcement sweeps hit 32 drivers, 45 vehicles across US

- Truck enforcement sweeps sideline 30 drivers, 49 vehicles across US, Canada

- Trump Administration Expands Homeland Security's Role in Trucking Enforcement

Inspections

If you keep yourself and your rig in perpetual readiness for an inspection, you'll never be caught off-guard.
#20260808

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2026.08.08 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 8, 2026.

08/21/2026

Feedback on this in the comments, please?

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1ANDrMwRM6/

A driverless truck company just put a price on the driving itself — 85 cents a mile
Date: August 4, 2026
SOURCES
Aurora Launches Second-Generation Driverless Trucks in U.S. to Meet Customer Demand https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260722856350/en/Aurora-Launches-Second-Generation-Driverless-Trucks-in-U.S.-to-Meet-Customer-Demand
Aurora races toward scale with new driverless hardware (FreightWaves) https://www.freightwaves.com/news/aurora-autonomous-truck-production
Aurora unveils its second-generation autonomous trucks (Transport Topics) https://www.ttnews.com/articles/aurora-second-gen-truck
Aurora says lower operating costs a draw to prospective customers (Trucking Dive) https://www.truckingdive.com/news/aurora-says-lower-operating-costs-a-draw-to-prospective-customers/819539/
Aurora Rolls Out Next Generation of Driverless Trucks for Commercial Freight (Heavy Duty Trucking) https://www.truckinginfo.com/news/aurora-rolls-out-next-generation-of-driverless-trucks-for-commercial-freight
Aurora Innovations, Inc. Form 8-K, Filed July 29, 2026 https://ir.aurora.tech/sec-filings/all-sec-filings/content/0001828108-26-000075/aur-20260729.htm

08/18/2026

Heads-up:

Diesel at $102 Over Crude: The Economy's Canary Is Dead, and Inflation Will Follow

Diesel at $102 Over Crude: The Economy’s Canary Is Dead, and Inflation Will Follow The most important number in the American economy right now is not the stock market, the jobs report, or even the price of crude oil. It is the diesel crack spread — now $102 over crude. That figure is so far […...

08/10/2026

The webpage version of ATRI's most recent email newsletter is viewable here:

ATRInsider August 2026 | Volume 22, Issue 4
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/ATRInsider-Newsletter---August-2026.html?soid=1104335014579&aid=TfmgmftJ1Bg

With slight formatting changes for easier reading:
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This year’s analysis quantified what we all have been experiencing: costs continued to climb during the worst trucking industry recession in history, although we’re starting to see some – albeit slight – improvement in operating margins.

With an average cost per mile of $2.336, the industry experienced our highest operating cost to date in ATRI’s annual report.

If you exclude fuel, our costs rose by 4.2 percent over last year’s report to $1.854 per mile.
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You may download (with registration):

Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update
https://truckingresearch.org/2026/07/analysis-of-the-operational-costs-of-trucking-2026-update/

Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update