ATA Appoints New Chairman at Annual Conference in Las Vegas

Arlington, Va. – The American Trucking Associations (ATA) Board of Directors named G. Tommy Hodges as Chairman during the banquet of the annual Management Conference & Exhibition on Oct. 7.

Hodges has driven trucks and owned trucking companies for most of his working life, and is currently Chairman of Tennessee-based Titan Transfer, Inc. Hodges began Titan Transfer in late 2000 as a companion to his company Goggin Warehousing, a privately-owned warehousing and distribution services company.

During his speech to the Board and conference attendees on Wednesday night, Hodges recognized the service of his predecessor, Charles “Shorty” Whittington of Grammer Industries, and implored ATA members to become more engaged in the industry than ever before. He spoke about new regulations and the need for trucking executives to be proactive, saying, “We must inform and educate people in the government about our industry and the effect any potential regulation might have on our businesses.”

Hodges also emphasized highway reauthorization, an especially important issue for the trucking industry now that the prior highway bill has been allowed to expire, potentially causing devastating shortfalls in funding for projects to fix the nation’s critical infrastructure. “At ATA, we have built our platform, developed our talking points and are making our case for a substantial improvement of the nation’s highway system,” said Hodges. “We need everyone to be engaged so that we have the best possible outcome.”

As ATA Chairman, Hodges will work closely with the Board of Directors, state trucking executives and ATA members to unite and engage the industry to demonstrate the critical role of trucking. Each year, the industry moves nearly 100 percent of consumer goods at some point in the supply chain and is the exclusive deliverer of goods for 80 percent of American communities.

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.