Perspective: Trucking’s Strength Comes From Its Unity
ATA's Long List of Wins Is Powerful Reminder of What Our Industry Can Accomplish When We Act in Unison
Key Takeaways:
- American Trucking Associations president says the freight recession has persisted for a third year, pressuring carriers of all sizes.
- Spear credits ATA's recent policy wins, including the rollback of federal and California emissions rules and passage of a major tax bill, to its collaboration with President Donald Trump and Congress.
- The group plans to pursue tort reform, cargo theft legislation and transportation program reauthorization as top priorities to stabilize the industry and boost economic growth.
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Americans’ way of life depends on trucking. We are the engine that powers the economy. But for the third straight year, tonnage volumes are stuck in neutral. This prolonged freight recession has exerted enormous financial pressure, and everyone is feeling the pain, from independent truckers and family businesses to large fleets.
To continue to weather this slump, we must stick together and stay focused. Our unity is our strength. Over five days at the 2025 Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego, we aim to forge even stronger ties, enabling our members to chart our industry’s future.
Kick-starting growth and providing relief for motor carriers will require common-sense solutions that support truckers, cut red tape and enhance the efficiency of interstate commerce. That is the foundation of ’s policy agenda, and advancing those priorities through to adoption is vitally important.
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That is often easier said than done, but in January a swing of the power pendulum presented new opportunities — and we have wasted no time capitalizing on them. We are working closely with President Donald Trump, his administration and Congress to deliver on priorities that will help truckers and consumers.
Our relationships with these leaders are paying off. Within the past 10 months, ATA has racked up a long list of wins. Possibly the most significant — the defeat of EV truck mandates — is a powerful reminder of what our industry can accomplish when we act in unison. Last year, while much of Washington sat on its hands waiting on the election results, ATA laid the groundwork for our success. We testified multiple times on Capitol Hill and took our message directly to then-candidate Trump, who expressed willingness to help the moment he returned to the White House.
We asked, and he delivered. °ä²¹±ô¾±´Ú´Ç°ù²Ô¾±²¹â€™s Advanced Clean Trucks, Advanced Clean Fleets and Low NOx rules along with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Phase 3 greenhouse gas requirements have been eliminated, providing fleets with much-needed certainty and the ability to further reduce emissions. That’s advocacy at its best.
We built on that momentum when Congress passed Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill. ATA put our stamp on this landmark tax package to lock in tangible benefits, helping families keep more of their hard-earned dollars and allowing trucking companies to increase investments in their operations to better serve Americans.
These victories are historic game changers for ATA members, giving us more time and energy to push forward other Tier 1 priorities.
Looking ahead, we plan to ramp up our fight against billboard attorneys whose relentless attacks on trucking are driving up insurance rates and pushing motor carriers out of business. We are making tremendous progress at the state level, with comprehensive tort reform legislation enacted in 15 states. Also, we are pursuing solutions at the federal level to protect jobs, strengthen our supply chain, and restore balance and fairness to the courts.
Furthermore, ATA is advancing a bipartisan bill to crack down on cargo theft, a growing crisis that is robbing our industry of more than $18 million per day, according to the . We also are at the forefront of developing policies that will help expand a safe and qualified workforce. And we have already positioned ourselves as a leader in the debate over the reauthorization of the nation’s surface transportation programs, which will heat up next year.
McLeod Software CEO Tom McLeod discusses how the company is incorporating AI into trucking software in ways that work for carriers and brokers navigating a challenging freight market.ÌýTune in above or by going to .ÌýÌý
Despite triumphs on our priorities and encouraging progress on other top issues, truckers still need certainty, growth and a sustainable future if we are to support the U.S. economy as the long-term world leader.
Our members contribute to this cause, and ATA ensures their voices are heard in Washington. Our Call on Washington program had a record-breaking year, with nearly 400 attendees from 36 states attending nearly 500 meetings, adding over 200 co-sponsors to our priority bills in just 10 months.
This and countless other reasons are why being part of ATA makes a difference, perhaps more today than ever. The decisions we make at MCE will leave a lasting impact, not just on our industry, but on our great nation.
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