The trucking industry is the backbone of the US economy, moving 70 percent of the nation’s freight tonnage safely and efficiently — connecting US businesses with markets across the country and around the world.
We are at a transformative moment for our industry, where changes in technology and the economy are poised to revolutionize how trucks move those goods.
Recognizing that rapid advancements in automated vehicle technology are moving closer to deployment, government policies for how a future with more automated vehicles will look are being developed now. It is important that the legislative and regulatory framework created be equitable to commercial vehicles — treating them not only the same as passenger vehicles, but treating them the same regardless of what state they are in.
As an industry that routinely crosses state lines, it is important that the rules of the road be the same in California as they are in Michigan. Similarly, if more automated trucks are to share the road with passenger vehicles, all those vehicles should be subject to the same general rules. We hope and expect that at the end of this process, this will be the case.
And where will those trucks be heading? If past experience is any indication, many will be carrying US goods to ports and border crossings because trucking is synonymous with trade. We believe in free and fair trade, and as such are strong supporters of the North American Free Trade Agreement, including the cross-border trucking provisions.
We believe it is imperative that if there are changes to this pact, they not harm the flow of goods between the US and Mexico — which have increased nearly 400 percent since 1995. NAFTA has worked for the US economy and for the US trucking industry, and we hope it will remain intact going forward.