Many factors are involved in the trucking industry. In fact, getting freight delivered from one place to another is done with the help of many people. While the fleets, drivers, as well as vehicle manufacturers have a lot of responsibility in this process, especially in terms of fuel and efficiency, others play a role too.

How can other groups make the trucking industry more efficient? Who is involved in the process?

For one, there is the government. The government is in charge of the roads throughout the country. This means that bad road, bridge, or other conditions on the road are the responsibility of state, local, and federal government groups. Without good roads, the trucking process is less efficient. If all branches of the government helped in the upkeep of roads and including budget planning for them, the industry would benefit!

Another issue that leads to inefficient trucking is congestion on the roads. Many areas have so much traffic and, as a result, the fuel bills for trucking companies rise. In fact, according to the American Transportation Research Institute: “Congestion is estimated to have caused the trucking industry to consume an additional 6.87 billion gallons of fuel in 2016.”

Fuel costs also come into effect in terms of detention times. If drivers spend too long idling at docks to load and unload, it decreases efficiency and wastes fuel.  Therefore, another group that could improve to better the efficiency of the trucking industry is the shippers.

Along with minimizing detention, efficient packaging plays a role in the hauling process. If shippers minimize excess packaging, using smaller boxes that can more easily fit into trucks, trucks can carry more product. In addition, adjusting delivery windows to help drivers optimize routes can help.

So, essentially, if all these groups worked along with the trucking industry, hauling freight could be done more efficiently. How can we make efficient trucking?