CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the closing minutes of the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) annual unveiling of trucking’s top industry issues, ATRI President and COO Rebecca Brewster turned to Jason Damron, an America’s Road Team captain, with a question.
Damron was one of three panelists participating in ATRI’s annual “Big Reveal,” held Sunday, Oct. 18, during the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) 2026 Management Conference & Exhibition (MCE). The conference was held Oct. 17-20 in Charlotte.
For Brewster, who is retiring early next year, Sunday’s presentation marked the final time she would walk an MCE audience through the rankings of trucking’s Top 10 issues, based on responses to ATRI’s annual survey of industry stakeholders.
While it was no surprise that fuel prices jumped from outside the Top 10 in 2025 to claim the No. 1 position in ATRI’s 22nd annual Top Industry Issues Report, Brewster asked Damron to identify an issue that had fallen out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2012.
The answer? Truck parking.
Damron, an ATA America’s Road Team captain and veteran driver with Kansas-based Convoy Systems, confirmed that truck parking had dropped to No. 11 after ranking fourth in 2025.
With 3.3 million safe miles over his 26-year career, Damron knows firsthand the challenges drivers face when searching for a place to park. He pointed out that among professional drivers responding to ATRI’s survey, truck parking remained the No. 2 concern.
Damron acknowledged that truck parking has received increased attention in recent years, although he emphasized that much work remains.
He mentioned efforts by Truck Parking Club founder Evan Shelley and other entrepreneurs to expand parking options, along with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s announcement earlier this month of a $200 million investment in truck parking.
“When you have 3.3 to 3.6 million drivers out on the road, you’re going to have a problem,” Damron said. “I believe, too, when it comes to parking, we need the space — but it’s also got to be a safe space.
“There’s a lot of dangerous parking out there,” he added. “If I know I’m going to be delayed or whatever, then I’ll make a schedule change to where I’m not over in that area to park. Parking at night is almost impossible. If you pull into a truck stop at midnight, good luck on finding parking.”
For those reasons, Damron said he switched to driving nights approximately 10 to 12 years ago.
How the ATRI survey was conducted
At the beginning of the session, Brewster outlined the methodology ATRI used to collect and analyze responses for its annual survey.
More than 3,000 respondents from across the country and throughout the trucking industry participated in this year’s survey. They included:
- Motor carrier executives and personnel (48.5%).
- Professional truck drivers (25.8%).
- Industry suppliers, driver trainers, law enforcement, government representatives and other stakeholders (25.7%).
Participants were asked to select their three most pressing concerns from a list of 27 issues, then rank potential strategies for addressing those concerns.
ATRI used a weighted scoring system to determine the overall Top 10 rankings.
As part of the presentation, Brewster compared responses from professional drivers and motor carriers, revealing some significant differences in how the two groups view the industry’s challenges.
Brewster also noted that this year’s survey drew responses from a greater number of owner-operators than in previous years.
The following are the industry’s Top 10 concerns for 2026, with each issue’s 2025 ranking shown in parentheses. Issues that did not appear in last year’s Top 10 are identified as such.
The complete report, including detailed findings and potential strategies for addressing the industry’s concerns, is available through ATRI’s website.
A PodWheels podcast featuring the Big Reveal panel discussion is also available.
Tort reform, safety technology among panel discussion highlights
Damron was joined on the Big Reveal panel by fleet executive Ben Banks, president of TCW, and Gary Johnson, head of safety and compliance strategy at Motive.
Before turning to Banks for his perspective on tort reform efforts in Georgia, Brewster shared findings from ATRI research examining large jury verdicts against trucking companies.
“We identified seven states in our research where the median nuclear verdicts against the trucking industry ranged from $13.2 million to $213.2 million,” Brewster said. “With nuclear verdicts, non-economic and punitive damages comprised 80 percent of total awards on average. The numbers are staggering.”
Banks praised the Georgia Trucking Association (GTA) and its president, Seth Millican, for their efforts to secure changes to the state’s civil litigation laws.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation in 2025 addressing several aspects of civil litigation, including greater transparency surrounding third-party litigation funding.
Banks said the legislative changes have already made an impact.
“I have to give a shout out to Seth and the team at GTA. They hit the ground running,” Banks said, noting that the lobbying effort began not long after Millican became GTA’s president.
“We found out who our friends were in the State House and who we thought our friends were, but it was a battle all the way down to the last minute to get our caps, but we had monumental tort reform in Georgia.”
Banks pointed to reported reductions in insurance premiums in Georgia following the legislation’s passage.
“Just Google the insurance reduction in Georgia after tort reform,” Banks told the audience. “We’ve seen $400 million in State Farm reductions since then in Georgia alone. Travelers is down 10%.
“The opponents in this battle were saying, ‘Oh, it’s not going to matter. The insurance premium, they’re going to hang on to the premium.’ Now the data’s there,” he continued. “It has made a difference.”
While Banks cited those reductions as evidence of the reforms’ impact, the figures do not establish how much of the change in insurance premiums can be attributed directly to the legislation.
Banks emphasized that the Georgia effort demonstrated what trucking associations and other industries could accomplish by working together to advocate legislative changes.
“It’s got to be a team effort, and it’s got to be other (state) associations,” he said.
He recalled the large turnout of supporters at the Georgia Capitol during the legislative debate.
“It was truly impressive at the (Georgia) Capitol that day when we had all these industries show up and legislators were saying, ‘Man, we’ve never seen this many people at the Capitol.’”
Litigation concerns extend beyond motor carriers
Brewster also discussed how large lawsuit verdicts can affect trucking equipment manufacturers and other industry suppliers, not just motor carriers.
She cited a 2024 product liability case involving trailer manufacturer Wabash that raised questions about manufacturers’ potential liability when equipment is alleged to have contributed to the severity of injuries in a crash, even when the manufacturer did not cause the crash itself.
Turning to Johnson, Brewster asked how technology providers and other industry suppliers can help carriers address those risks.
“You have to have a great defense when it comes to the narratives, even down to the state levels or making legislative changes,” Johnson observed. “You have to have the ability to really explain or give that narrative down to exonerations to the data behind it.
“As suppliers of the industry, it’s always about continuing to support and how can we support at that level to make sure that we have the defense when it comes to these challenges,” he added. “Clearly, we want no accidents and we’re going to continue to support in that front and how we can make those changes.”
Johnson also emphasized the importance of current and emerging technology in helping motor carriers and professional drivers improve safety while providing data that can be used to evaluate incidents and respond to liability claims.
“We also have to be able to decipher the data, utilize that data, and then look at how do we protect the industry with the services we can provide? That’s very important,” Johnson explained.
“I think you’ll see that all the suppliers are in support of really creating the efforts or the tools needed in order to achieve that defense.”
Toasting Brewster on a career of service to trucking
Earlier this year, Brewster announced her retirement from ATRI following 34 years of service with the organization.
Before leaving the stage, she reflected on what the annual Top Industry Issues presentation has meant to her.
“I will miss the opportunity to do this every year,” Brewster told the audience. “It’s one of my favorites.”
Brewster, who will retire in February, also took a moment to recognize her successor, Page Siplon, who was announced last week as ATRI’s next president and COO.
She then saluted her ATRI colleagues, calling them “the best team of researchers this country has to offer.”
Before Brewster could leave the stage, ATA Chairman Greg Hodgen took a moment to recognize her work and career.
Hodgen arranged for two glasses of champagne to be delivered to the stage and raised a toast to Brewster.
“Thank you for all that you have done for trucking,” he said.
Greg Thompson is an award-winning writer and producer who has worked in the trucking industry in a variety of roles since 1998. With more than a decade’s worth of experience as a journalist prior entering trucking, Greg is the founder and executive producer of PodWheels.com, a podcast network dedicated to spotlighting the trucking industry.
Since 2019, PodWheels has provided specialized coverage of the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships. Over its history, the NTDC Podcast Series has provided more than 150 hours of podcast content highlighting the competitors, organizers and volunteers involved with the Truck Driving Championships at both the state and national levels. The NTDC program, which is hosted annually by the American Trucking Associations, has a history that dates back to 1937.
Beginning in 2025, PodWheels was chosen by the ATA to serve as the Official Podcaster for the NTDC. PodWheels’ coverage of the NTDC, including state competitions and other features, is available through RoadToNTDC.com.
Fuel prices is currently going up for truckers!