The truck parking shortage is arguably one of the few issues that are widely agreed upon as impacting the supply chain industry today. While government funding and legislation, such as the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, move slowly, the immediate need for safe, available space continues to grow.
At the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution Conference 2025 in Chicago, Reed Loustalot, the Chief Marketing Officer at Truck Parking Club, shared insights on how his company is addressing this critical issue through rapid expansion and a marketplace model.
Exponential Growth to Meet a Massive Need
Truck Parking Club (TPC) is defined as a truck parking marketplace where drivers can find and reserve hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly parking across the US.
The scale of the problem is substantial. While conventional estimates of the parking shortage range from 300,000 to 600,000 spaces, TPC’s analysis estimates the shortage may be as high as 1.7 million spaces based on the number of trucks needing to park daily.
To meet this overwhelming demand, TPC has grown rapidly:
• Just a year ago, TPC had approximately 700 locations; they are now up to 2,900 locations.
• The total network capacity stands at about 49,000 spaces, with approximately 1,000 new spaces being added weekly.
• Reed Loustalot noted the company's momentum, stating: “We hit a thousand in November, we hit 2,000 in May, we’ll hit 3,000, like you know, in October at some point. So rapid expansion.”
Leveraging Existing Space
Truck Parking Club was founded about three years ago after the founder realized the difficulty of building new parking due to municipal pushback, even when the property was properly zoned. The solution was to leverage existing, unused outdoor space.
TPC’s model works by listing space from third-party businesses, including trucking companies, warehouses, repair shops, and CDL schools. Businesses can list anything from one space to 500.
This system creates a beneficial ecosystem for local businesses. As the interviewer pointed out, these hosts are making a meaningful income by diversifying their revenue.
Reed Loustalot emphasized this point: “For a lot of them [businesses, like repair shops and trucking companies], meaningful income that helps supplement their main business. And so when you park with us and you pay to park with us, you’re kind of in a way kind of investing into this ecosystem of local businesses.”
Flexibility and Eliminating Real Estate Hassles
For fleets and brokers, TPC provides a flexible solution for trailer storage, drop yards, and equipment staging. This is critical, especially when shippers or receivers cannot accommodate equipment parking on site. Historically, securing such space required finding leases, calling numerous vendors, and dealing with varying, inconvenient payment methods.
TPC offers an on-demand, self-serve solution. Companies can rent a space for a month, and if it doesn't work out, there are no long-term contracts. This system allows carriers to run a drop yard in a new market without needing a terminal.
As one speaker observed, the ability to avoid being in the real estate game provides significant operational advantages: “When you’re operating in the real world, you are necessarily kind of hamstrung or you are beholden to kind of the circumstances of that area or what your capabilities are. And basically what we’re able to do is knock down a lot of those barriers.” Carriers are now able to chase business they would have never done otherwise because they don't have to sign year-long leases or worry about fumbling with sending checks every month.
Safety and Efficiency for Drivers
For fleets, providing parking through TPC is seen as a way to enhance safety, efficiency, productivity, and asset utilization.
Without accessible parking options, drivers often stop 3 or 4 hours early because they see an available spot and fear losing that time if they drive further. Even worse, the lack of parking often forces drivers into illegal and dangerous situations, such as parking on highway shoulders or ramps.
The consequence for fleets can be severe, as parking illegally creates a serious liability issue. Reed Loustalot stated plainly: “If you’re parked there, most states that’s illegal, and if you get hit it’s your fault.”
TPC's core message to fleets is simple: you have options now. The platform also simplifies the traditionally painful administrative process of reimbursing drivers for paid parking, which often causes fleets to throw their hands up in frustration.
Looking Ahead
With the market currently requiring creativity and efficiency, TPC remains committed to growing its network. Looking toward technological advancements, the company is exploring how AI can support its customer service operations. TPC plans to implement an AI voice agent to handle basic, routine information requests, similar to calling a pharmacy for a refill. This implementation would free up TPC's 24/7 customer service team, composed entirely of former drivers, to address more complex issues that require human expertise.
To learn more, visit truckparkingclub.com.