Editorial: Champions Help Trucking Thrive

This is an excellent time to stop and remember all of the people who work together to make trucking the thriving, core industry that is so vital to keeping the nation’s economy humming along.

In recent weeks, we’ve seen the culmination of the monthslong contest to identify the country’s best drivers at the National Truck Driving Championships, and we’re about to witness the crowning of the best truck technicians at the TMC SuperTech championship. And, on Sept. 15, National Truck Driver Appreciation Week will begin.

More than 400 drivers competed in Salt Lake City for the Grand Championship, and the competition resulted in a couple of firsts. The Grand Champion winner was Gary Harms, a driver for Wal-Mart Transportation, the first time a driver from the retail giant’s truck fleet has won. And Con-way Freight driver Ina Daly was the first woman to win a championship; she took home the top award in the Tank Truck division.

But make no mistake — while it seems like a cliché to say that every one of the competitors in all classes is a winner, in this case it’s literally true. To get to the national championships, drivers had to win their class at the state level, and that’s no mean feat.

There are a lot of great drivers in our industry, most of whom do not enter driving contests, but all of whom are the winners who keep their companies on the road every day of the year. We’ll have a chance to honor all of our drivers during NTDAW Sept. 15-21, and a number of fleets are planning special ways to thank their drivers.

It takes more than drivers, of course, and literally it is skilled technicians who keep trucks on the road. As we know, trucks have become fantastically complex pieces of high-technology equipment, consisting of carefully calibrated systems interwoven with each other, and fixing them usually involves sophisticated detective work even before the first wrench is turned.

The Technology & Maintenance Council’s SuperTech competition celebrates the skills that a modern truck technician must have to do the job, and in the eight years since it was established, SuperTech has become the trucking industry’s premiere showcase of technical talent and know-how. TMC SuperTech 2013 will be Sept. 9-12 in Pittsburgh.

But important as drivers and technicians are, let’s not forget all our employees for whom there is no contest. There’s no competition for top dispatcher, for best programmer, sales person or receptionist. We don’t officially recognize our accountants, billing clerks, secretaries or yard jockeys. Without our management information support staff, there would be no one to turn to when our computers lock up or decide to have a mind of their own.

So, for all those whose hard work and dedication every day help to keep the lifeblood of the economy flowing, we thank you.