ALBANY, N.Y. — Fleetworthy’s 2025 Trucking and Fleet Insights Report reveals key challenges fleets and owner-operators face in regard to compliance, safety and administrative-related tasks.
“With regulations in our industry constantly changing, fleets and owner-operators are spending a lot of time and money ensuring their trucks and company are staying compliant,” said Michael Precia, Fleetworthy president and chief strategy officer. “In many cases, keeping up with compliance-related tasks hampers a trucking company’s ability to grow its business. In fact, 95% of all respondents in this report said compliance challenges are holding fleets and owner-operators back from growing their businesses and offering new services. This report provides a great look into what compliance, safety, and other administrative challenges fleets are faced with and how they’re responding to them.”
According to a company press release, the report, which surveyed 300 U.S.-based employees of large (500+ vehicles) and midsize (50-500 vehicles) trucking companies and owner-operators (single truck operators), provides a glimpse into some of the greatest business administration pain points fleets and owner-operators face daily.
The report found that the increasing costs and administrative tasks required for trucking companies to maintain compliance and run efficiently are major issues impacting operations.
Key findings include:
- 96% of respondents reported reducing costs in other areas of their business to cover compliance-related expenses over the past 12 months.
- 93% of respondents face significant challenges in managing tolls, including the complexity of multiple transponders and unpredictable toll expenses.
- 35% of owner-operators said they have considered ceasing operations due to rising costs and time required to manage compliance tasks.
According to the report, the possibility of a nuclear verdict in the event of a significant accident or legal dispute is a top concern. This is especially the case for midsize and small trucking operations that have more limited resources and capabilities to maintain robust compliance records and safety programs. In the report, 35% of leaders at midsize fleets reported being very or extremely concerned about being involved in a nuclear verdict case.
Despite concerns regarding nuclear verdicts, 93% of all fleet leaders surveyed believe their organization has a strong safety culture and is well informed on all DOT regulations. Among owner-operators, 97% thought they were more aware of safety and compliance best practices and DOT regulations compared to other independent truckers on the road.
To assist with fleet and driver safety, the report found an overwhelming majority of all respondents (96%) have made some type of investment in safety equipment in the past 12 months. In addition, in-cab cameras and monitoring systems are among the top (51%) of equipment fleet and owner-operators are adding.
For more insight on compliance, safety, and administrative trends impacting commercial fleets and owner-operators, download the 2025 Trucking and Fleet Insights Report at https://fleetworthy.com/resources/the-road-ahead-2025-trucking-and-fleet-insights-report/.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
