Opinion: Leadership, Commitment, Results

By Walter B. McCormick Jr.

From Congress ordering a “time out” on hours-of-service reform to the White House opening the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to alleviate sky-high diesel prices, we have much to celebrate as we gather in San Diego for our first Management Conference and Exhibition of the new century. With victory after blockbuster victory in recent months, American Trucking Associations has clearly emerged as the national lobbying powerhouse we set out to create.

As ATA president, I stood before the membership at last year’s meeting and said we would focus ATA on fighting and winning the high-stakes battles that are so vital to our industry. The members’ decision to adopt this focus proved wise, and the victories which we have to celebrate offer only a preview of what lies ahead if we continue to stand up for our industry and stand behind ATA.

At this year’s annual gathering, we will not, however, simply celebrate the victories ATA has delivered for the trucking industry. We will also highlight our secret weapon — our committed members. These past few months have proven not only the power of ATA, but also that ATA members are the trucking industry’s leaders. They create a strong trucking industry by supporting a strong ATA. They also regularly rise to the challenges trucking faces and provide leadership in the make-or-break battles our industry simply cannot afford to lose.

Leadership. Commitment. Results. This is the winning combination of ATA and its members. It reflects the commitment of the members to being not just strong leaders for their companies, but also for their industry.

Nowhere has the power and potential of ATA been more on display than in the recent victory on hours-of-service reform. Congress’s wise decision to order the Department of Transportation back to the drawing board represented a crucial win for our industry and for highway safety. This victory was delivered by ATA and its members — from the massive grassroots campaign to ensure members of Congress heard from trucking leaders in their districts, to the work of our affiliated state trucking association executives, to the members of the Trucking Executives Leadership Council appearing before Congress, the regulatory agencies, the DOT field hearings and the media. At every turn, ATA was highly effective in making its case that the trucking industry, and all Americans, deserve real reform, not DOT’s unworkable and unsafe scheme.

This hours-of-service campaign demonstrates the full force of this lean, results-driven machine that is the new ATA. Our success also makes clear the void a strong trade association fills. If it weren’t for our unprecedented effort, the industry today might be scrambling to respond to a burdensome new regulation — one that threatens our economy and many trucking businesses while putting all drivers at greater risk when they get behind the wheel. Fortunately, thanks to the collective hard work of ATA and its members, we made our case effectively, and Congress listened.

While we have won that battle, the war is still before us. We must continue to direct our focus on achieving real hours-of-service reform. Diesel prices will continue to be a challenge to our industry, particularly as we head into the cold winter months. We also have the threat of overly burdensome ergonomics regulations and a host of national issues that arise at the state level, such as weight-distance taxes. We will strategize about all of these issues, focusing squarely on extending our string of victories, as we gather in San Diego.

I want to thank all ATA members for making this a banner year for our industry’s efforts in Washington. I also want to thank all of our industry suppliers who are stepping forward to work with ATA to advance the industry’s interests. The Sharing the Road program and America’s Road Team, with their important messages and work, would have been a part of ATA history had it now been for suppliers Mack Trucks and Paccar stepping up to the plate. These programs help us reinforce the vital role our industry plays in this economy as well as deliver important safety messages to make sure we all are safe on the roads.

In working with our state affiliates on the new membership partnership agreements, we look forward to welcoming even more members of the trucking community into the ATA tent in the year to come. With so much at stake today, we need more trucking men and women to step forward and lead. And leadership starts with supporting a strong trade association and standing shoulder to shoulder with other leaders to protect a vital American industry and the strong U.S. economy it delivers.

This is the lesson of the year 2000: With leadership and commitment come results. Together, we can continue this strong record of success and deliver results that are good for the trucking industry, for highway safety and for your bottom line.

Walter B. McCormick Jr. is the president and chief executive officer of American Trucking Associations, Alexandria, Va.