2015 was an exciting and historic year for the trucking industry. For the first time in nearly a decade, the U.S. Congress passed a long-term highway bill — a bill that will, despite being underfunded, make trucking safer and more efficient — and it sets the stage for 2016.
Much of 2016’s most important trucking issues will flow from implementing this important legislation, including CSA reform and enhanced drug testing, to identifying key freight highway corridors.
However, there are other critical issues facing this industry: the continuing driver shortage, looming new standards for greenhouse gas emissions, ongoing challenges of hours-of-service, and implementation of new technology regulations such as electronic logging and speed limiters.
Trucking is this country’s dominant mode of freight transportation, moving roughly 70 percent of the nation’s goods. Our industry has committed to doing this not just efficiently, but safely. Safety is our highest calling and something we take very seriously.
That commitment has us looking beyond the immediate legislative and regulatory agenda toward what is next for trucking. What are the new technologies that will shape trucking well into the future? Whether it’s automation or other active safety technologies, this industry is on the cusp of tremendous change.
What won’t change is trucking’s role in the supply chain — as the vast majority of freight will still be moved by trucks. The ATA believes that because of the commitment of this industry, trucking will continue to find ways to move America forward in a safe, efficient and sustainable way.
Bill Graves, President and CEO, American Trucking Associations