Autonomous

A year ago, I stood before you in Philadelphia and accepted the title of chairman of American Trucking Associations. It has been a tremendous honor to be your chairman at such a critical time for our industry.

In putting this issue together, we didn’t know whether to oooh and ahhh like children watching a Harry Potter movie or reach for antacids like baby boomers with heartburn. Engineers are weaving computer capability into vehicles in a way that seems like wizardry coming soon, while this year’s freight market continues to offer disappointment with no signs of yielding.

To readers of Transport Topics, the plight of the industry’s truck drivers is well-known. It requires a unique commitment to be away from home and travel over congested highways while complying with more and more regulatory demands.

A few weeks ago, I was on a conference call organized by a transportation industry association. Invited on the call were woman- owned trucking companies gathered to address a Small Business Administration proposed rule change. After the call, a few people contacted me to ask why some on the call were not certified women- owned businesses nor certified Women-Owned Small Business.

The Transport Topics Top 50 Global Freight Carriers is a listing of the largest truck, rail, air and ocean carriers in the world.

With trucking firms devoting more time to content marketing — the publishing of articles, videos, images and more to reinforce brand image — it’s becoming increasingly important to ensure that content is search-engine optimized.