Truckers make the world go round. From food items, through clothing, all the way to critical gear and equipment, everything that our society needs to function correctly is, at one point or another, delivered to its final destination by truck.
The supply chain is much more complex than most people think. Aside from all of the strategic, logistic, and economic implications, one of the most overlooked factors affecting deliveries are the road conditions and facilities available to truck drivers. Parking, in particular, plays a major role.
According to numerous sources, the US has found itself in a truck parking shortage. If it goes on for too long, this shortage can have dire consequences for supply chain management, and, perhaps more importantly, the safety and well-being of truck drivers.
Truck Parking Shortage: Key Facts
- The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association reports that there is currently a shortage of over 40,000 parking spaces nationwide
- To put things into perspective, for every 11 truckers currently on the road, there is only 1 available parking spot
- Over 50% of Americans are unaware of the truck parking shortage and its potential consequences
- More than 90% of truckers claim that the shortage of parking spots is having a negative effect on their quality of life while on the road
The Impact of Truck Parking Shortage on the Industry
The availability of safe and legal truck parking is more important to the logistics of global supply chains than you might think. Without enough spots to take a break at, truckers are forced to make decisions that are detrimental both to themselves and the shipment they’re currently transporting.
Delayed Deliveries
When a truck driver finds themselves unable to make pit stops within the recommended time frames, they’ll have to drive for much longer stretches of time, which in turn inevitably leads to a prolonged period of rest whenever they do find an available parking spot. The result? Delayed deliveries of shipments. In most industries, even the slightest hiccup can set an entire supply chain way off schedule, resulting in product shortages and production delays.
Logistical Challenges
Every single delay is accounted for, with no small challenge to the fleet managers, who are responsible for organizing the flow of trucks and their shipments in a timely manner to meet deadlines.
Without enough parking spots, they’ll have to plan different, often longer routes to ensure that there will be enough places for drivers to stop at. Longer routes mean even further delays, and with the scale of the truck parking shortage reaching such vast proportions, fleet managers find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Increased Environmental Impact
Fewer parking spots mean more trucks having to stay on the road for extended periods of time. This, of course, means an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The impact of an additional few hours of driving time for one truck may seem insignificant. However, we need to bear in mind that for every trucker who snags an available parking space, there are ten other drivers who need to stay on the road.
With an average of 8 million trucks being en route at any given time in the US, the truck parking shortage is a perfectly avoidable and unfortunate problem that contributes to a fair amount of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Larger Costs
The increase in expenditures due to the truck parking shortage affects everybody along the supply chain, from the drivers themselves all the way to distribution companies. Truckers are oftentimes forced to park at places where rest stops are not permitted, and run the risk of receiving a hefty fine. Their employers, on the other hand, might be subject to refunding the shipping costs to clients.
Finally, the cost of the shipped materials needs to be factored in, as well. In many cases, truckers transport time-sensitive goods, such as event equipment or merchandise, which simply goes to waste when not delivered in time, incurring significant costs on the client’s side.
Truck Drivers Face a Truck Parking Shortage, and It’s Putting Them at Risk
We know that the truck parking shortage affects everyone along the supply chain. From distributors through manufacturers, all the way to the customers, the lack of parking spaces for truckers causes delays that result in significant costs for everybody.
Of course, the ones who suffer the most from this situation are the truck drivers. Shipment delays aside, the lack of available rest stops makes truckers’ jobs more difficult and dangerous than it already is.
There are strict rules regarding how long a trucker can drive for:
- For every 8 hours of driving, they need to take a 30-minute break
- After 14 hours on duty, a trucker needs to rest for at least 10 hours
These rules are not just a bureaucratic requirement. They are there to protect the well-being and safety of truck drivers in the United States. However, in order for them to be able to get their much needed rest, they need to have a safe, legal place to park their truck. These days, this is easier said than done, leaving many truck drivers forced to ride on for much longer than 8 hours at a time, frequently exceeding their on-duty time far beyond the 14 hours.
Without getting enough rest, one’s ability to drive safely decreases substantially. This, in turn, creates unsafe road conditions, putting the truckers and everybody around them at risk of totally avoidable accidents. Even if they do manage to drive safely over prolonged periods of time, it comes at the cost of increased stress levels, which is greatly detrimental to a person’s physical health.
Simply put, the truck parking shortage is everybody’s problem. We simply cannot afford to have whole fleets of trucks being operated by overworked drivers who’ve been driving for way too long through no fault of their own.
Truck Parking Shortage Solutions
How do we go about solving this massive issue? The US Congress has proposed a fix in the form of allocating $775 million to creating new truck parking spots and expanding the existing ones under the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act of 2021. You’d think that such a truckload of money (pun very much intended) would at least alleviate the problem a bit, right?
And yet, fast forward two years later, and the truck parking shortage is still raging on, affecting millions of currently active truckers in the US. It’s clear that the Federal government isn’t doing enough to resolve the shortage despite earmarking hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars for the cause.
This is not to say that the public sector is completely useless. There have been certain state-wide solutions that seem to work quite well in terms of helping drivers find a parking spot, such as:
- The Truck Parking Information Management System: States like Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Iowa, among others, have implemented a digital system that gives truck drivers the ability to look up up-to-the-minute information about the availability of parking spaces along the main routes. It seems to work quite well, as evidenced by the fact that California, New Mexico, and Texas are working to implement this system, as well.
- Property conversion in Arkansas: Arkansas is a state where the truck parking shortage is particularly high. The state’s Department of Transportation has distributed significant amounts of funding to properties like welcome centers and inspection stations so that they can add truck parking spots to their facilities.
- Local investments in Canada: Provincial governments in Canada have radically increased their funding for building new parking spaces along the major freight routes, as well as expanding the spaces available at the ONroute travel plazas.
As you can see, local governments are more than capable of deploying effective solutions to the truck parking shortage crisis, greatly helping countless truckers in dire need of rest stops. While these efforts are definitely a step in the right direction, more still needs to be done. This is where private solution providers step in. Governmental programs are important, but business initiatives have proven far better at expanding trucking infrastructure and making things easier for drivers on the road.
Truck Parking Club: a Quick, Convenient Way to Find Parking
Here at Truck Parking Club, we strive to help drivers find conveniently located truck parking near their current location. If you’re a trucker, our website or mobile app will help you quickly locate a parking facility with a variety of amenities. We keep on expanding our available parking spaces through cooperation with property owners across all of the United States.
If you own a vacant property and want to monetize it without too much hassle, contact us! We can help you transport it into a vibrant truck parking facility, turning it into a steady, reliable source of passive income. All you’ve got to do is create an account with Truck Parking Club and list your property as a host. By working with us, you’ll contribute to alleviating one of the most pressing issues that the trucking industry faces today.
How to Find a Parking Spot With Us
On the road and struggling to find a rest spot? With Truck Parking Club, you can find an affordable, convenient parking space in a matter of minutes. There are a few ways to go about it. You can:
- Use our Android or iOS application to book a spot
- Head over to our website and find a space on the map
- Call (888) 899-7275, inquire about availability in your area, and make the arrangements on the phone
Truck Parking Club: a truck parking shortage solution that works
Final Thoughts
On average, American truckers spend 56 minutes per day looking for an available parking spot. With ever-growing supply chains and consistently rising demand for the transportation of goods, the truck parking shortage is a problem nobody can afford.
It endangers not just truckers but all drivers and weighs heavily on the budgets of transportation companies and manufacturers alike. The pressing need for rest stops requires unique, innovative solutions. Solutions such as the Truck Parking Club. Join us today and help us make the American trucking industry safer and more efficient for all!
The information published herein is for general informational purposes only. Truck Parking Club does not make any representations or warranties about the completeness, reliability, legality, and accuracy of this information. Any reliance placed on such material is strictly at the user’s own risk. Truck Parking Club shall not be responsible for any losses or damages incurred in connection with the information published herein.
