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CAPITOL RECAP | HIGHWAY ANGELS | TLA MICROSITE
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION o f t h e TruckLOAd Carriers AssOCIATION
Power
Team
Lorie Tudor is one of two
women driving the future of
transportation in Arkansas
In this issue
NO AGREEMENT, NO SURPRISE
Trump, Biden far apart on trucking industry issues | 6
FADING FAST
Hope for new highway bill dwindling amidst bickering | 14
SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM
Industry must be passionate about retaining PR gains | 20

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
FIRST VICE CHAIR
SECOND VICE CHAIR
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
VICE CHAIR TO ATA
TREASURER
AT-LARGE OFFICER
John Culp, President
Maverick USA
AT-LARGE OFFICER
Karen Smerchek
Veriha Trucking, Inc.
AT-LARGE OFFICER

Phone: (703) 838-1950
Fax: (703) 836-6610
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Dennis Dellinger, President and CEO
Cargo Transporters, Inc.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
PRESIDENT
John Lyboldt
jlyboldt@truckload.org
VP - OPERATIONS AND EDUCATION
James J. Schoonover
jschoonover@truckload.org
MANAGER - GOV’T AFFAIRS
Kathryn Sanner
ksanner@truckload.org
FIRST VICE CHAIR
Jim Ward, President and CEO
D.M. Bowman, Inc.
SECOND VICE CHAIR
John Elliott, CEO
Load One, LLC
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
Josh Kaburick, CEO
Earl L. Henderson Trucking Co., Inc.
AT-LARGE OFFICER
John Culp, President
Maverick USA
AT-LARGE OFFICER
Karen Smerchek, President
Veriha Trucking, Inc.
publication are not necessarily those of TCA.
In exclusive partnership with:
1123 S. University Ave., Ste 325, Little Rock, AR 72204
Phone: (800) 666-2770 • Fax: (501) 666-0700
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Bobby Ralston
bobbyr@thetruckermedia.com
MGR. - DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
Hunter Livesay
hlivesay@truckload.org
VICE PRESIDENT - GOV’T AFFAIRS
David Heller
dheller@truckload.org
VP-MEMBERSHIP OUTREACH
Zander Gambill
zgambill@truckload.org
SENIOR DIRECTOR - OUTREACH
Marli Hall
mhall@truckload.org
TREASURER
David Williams, Executive VP
Knight Transportation
VICE CHAIR TO ATA
Joey Hogan, Co-Pres. & Chief Adm. Officer
Covenant Transport
SECRETARY
Pete Hill, Vice President
Hill Brothers Transportation, Inc.
AT-LARGE OFFICER
Ed Nagle, President
Nagle Toledo, Inc.
AT-LARGE OFFICER
Jon Coca, President
Diamond Transportation System, Inc.
GENERAL MGR. TRUCKING DIV
Megan Cullingford-Hicks
meganh@thetruckermedia.com
PRESIDENT’S PURVIEW
Letter of Appreciation with John Lyboldt | 4
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
No Agreement, No Surprise | 6
Four More Senate Races | 8
Capitol Recap | 10
TRACKING THE TRENDS
Fading Fast | 14
Going Nowhere| 16
To Grow or Not to Grow | 18
Sustaining the Momentum | 20
Power Team | 22
Tip of the Iceberg |26
A CHAT WITH THE CHAIRMAN
A Word of Encouragement with Dennis Dellinger | 28
TALKING TCA
Those Who Deliver with CRST International | 34
Incentive Compensation with Beth Carroll | 36
Safety & Security Meeting Recap | 38
TCA Safety Professional of the Year |40
Member Mailroom: Showcasing Expertise |41
TCA Logbook |42
New Members | 46
Interactive Sessions for Safety Professionals | 46
T H E R O A D M A P
EDITOR
Lyndon Finney
lyndonf@thetruckermedia.com
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Kris Rutherford
krisr@thetruckermedia.com
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER
Meg Larcinese
megl@thetruckermedia.com
PRODUCTION
Christie McCluer
christie.mccluer@thetruckermedia.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Wendy Miller
wendym@thetruckermedia.com
STAFF WRITER + PRODUCTION
Linda Garner-Bunch
lindag@thetruckermedia.com
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Sam Pierce
samp@thetruckermedia.com
PRODUCTION MGR. + ART DIRECTOR
Rob Nelson
robn@thetruckermedia.com
For advertising opportunities, contact Meg Larcinese at
megl@targetmediapartners.com
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REACHING TRUCKING’S
TOP EXECUTIVES
“Truckload Authority provides us with
PROFESSIONAL CONTENT on
the LATEST HAPPENINGS in our
industry. It gives our team A MUCH
MORE IN-DEPTH LOOK at the
people and the issues that shape truckload
today. There is a good reason it is called the
‘Truckload Authority.’”
- John Elliott
CEo load onE, llC
TRUCKING’S MOST ENTERTAINING
EXECUTIVE PUBLICATION
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 3

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER | TCA 2020
President’s Purview
A Letter of Appreciation
from The Eastern
Transportation Coalition
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our industry and our country in ways that
we could not have predicted. Despite our collective desire to forge ahead with industry
events — such as our Fall Business Meetings and Fourth Annual Call on Washington —
we’ve opted to mitigate risk by moving our business meeting to a virtual format. For our
Call on Washington events, once feasible, our team will work with Hill offices to set up
small group meetings with key members of Congress. Visit truckload.org for further
updates on those two important events.
Each TCA member company should have received a government affairs contribution
invoice via mail. The staff and I are committed to representing your best interest on
Capitol Hill and are steadfast in delivering truckload’s message to our lawmakers and
their staff. Your support will help us do just that. We appreciate your continued
involvement and passion.
John Lyboldt
President
Truckload Carriers Association
jlyboldt@truckload.org
To further demonstrate the importance of our industry and voice, I wanted to share a
letter I recently received from the Board of the Eastern Transportation Coalition.
Dear John:
As the nation’s supply chains face unprecedented challenges related to COVID-19,
one of the most critical factors has been the ability to meet customer and public health
needs in a reliable and timely manner. While each modal component of the transportation
system has been an important player during this time, the trucking industry has
been at the very heart of it.
On any day, but certainly over these last several months and continuing, the industry
collectively and truck drivers specifically, ensure that critical supplies reach the doors of
America’s businesses, homes, and medical facilities. The drivers have accomplished this
not only with great diligence and dedication, but often with great personal sacrifice.
The undersigned, as the Executives of our respective state agencies and comprising
the Board of the Eastern Transportation Coalition, give recognition and thanks for
the outstanding professionalism and commitment of the trucking industry and its hardworking
and dedicated individuals during this time. The Coalition, a partnership of State
Departments of Transportation and related agencies, acknowledge and appreciate the
role that the truck drivers and the trucking industry play every day in the well-being of our
states’ and the national economy. With trucks carrying a significant portion of the
6.5 billion tons of freight moving in our corridor annually, this event has shown an even
greater emphasis and importance to that role.
As we move ahead on the road to recovery from COVID-19, please extend our
sincere gratitude to your industry members — the companies and the dedicated drivers.
As our individual states and as the Eastern Transportation Coalition collectively, we will
reach out to you and your members to discuss how to further support the critical role the
trucking industry plays in moving goods in this corridor and throughout the nation.
Sincerely,
The Eastern Transportation Coalition
“
As we move
ahead on the road
to recovery from
COVID-19, please
extend our sincere
gratitude to your
industry members
— the companies
and the dedicated
drivers.”
4 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

Motor Carrier Appreciation Letter – Signatures
The Eastern Transportation Coalition (I95CC) Executive Director & Executive Board
Patricia Hendren
Executive Director, TETC/I95CC
Jennifer Cohan (TETC Chair)
Secretary, Delaware DOT
Russell McMurry (TETC Vice Chair)
Commissioner, Georgia DOT
Gregory Slater (TETC Vice Chair)
Secretary, Maryland DOT
Kevin Thibault (TETC Vice Chair)
Secretary, Florida DOT
Bruce Van Note (TETC Vice Chair)
Commissioner, Maine DOT
John R. Cooper
Director, Alabama DOT
Joseph Giulietti
Commissioner, Connecticut DOT
Stephanie Pollack
Secretary, Massachusetts DOT
Diane Scaccetti
Commissioner, New Jersey DOT
Marie Therese Dominguez
Commissioner, New York State DOT
Eric Boyette
Secretary, North Carolina DOT
Yassmin Gramian
Secretary, Pennsylvania DOT
Christy Hall
Secretary, South Carolina DOT
Clay Bright
Commissioner, Tennessee DOT
Joe Flynn
Secretary, Vermont AOT
Stephen Brich
Commissioner, Virginia DOT
Shannon Valentine
Secretary, Virginia DOT
PRESIDENT’S PICKS
Word of Encouragement
During COVID-19 pandemic, TCA Chairman
Dennis Dellinger strikes a positive note.
Page 28
Those Who Deliver
CRST has the largest team
fleet in the industry.
Page 34
TCA 2020 Truckload Authority 5

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER | TCA 2020
Legislative Update
NO AGREEMENT,
NO SURPRISE
Trump, Biden far apart on trucking industry issues
By Cliff Abbott
In a year that has already seen a pandemic accompanied by an
economic collapse, U.S. voters will select the president and
vice president, along with 35 Senate seats and all 435 House
of Representative seats in an election that could have historic significance
to the trucking industry.
Most polling data puts Democratic challenger Joe Biden and his
running mate California Sen. Kamala Harris ahead of incumbents
Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Those polls were taken prior to
Biden announcing his running mate on August 11.
In the Senate, Republicans hold a majority of 53-45, plus two
independents who caucus with the Democrats. Twenty-three of the
35 contested seats are currently held by Republicans, with only
12 by Democrats. Four incumbent senators, three of them Republican,
have announced retirement plans. A change of four seats
could give Democrats control of both houses of Congress, since
they already enjoy a comfortable 234-197 advantage in the House.
Economy: Polar opposite
views on tax cuts
It’s no surprise that the parties are divided on many issues,
including some that could have a great impact on trucking. The
Trump campaign claims credit for an economy that set records
for low unemployment and the longest period without a recession
in U.S. history, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps
the largest issue of the upcoming election is how to return
the economy to pre-pandemic levels.
Republicans credit personal and corporate
tax cuts initiated by the Trump administration
for the booming economy.
Their platform, a continuance
of the platform
adopted for
the 2016
election, cites tax cuts as a primary economic stimulator.
The proposed Democratic platform calls for a reversal of Trump
administration tax cuts, including corporate taxes, as well as
increases on estate taxes. Other proposed tax actions would increase
the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
It should be noted that the official platforms of each party are
generally finalized and voted on at their respective conventions.
How that will work this year, given COVID-19 risks, has yet to be
determined.
Democrats want significant
changes to labor laws
The Democratic platform calls for some significant changes to
labor laws that would impact the trucking industry. The platform
proposes a raise of the minimum wage to $15 an hour which may
impact the non-driving employees of some carriers.
Also proposed is 12 weeks of paid family medical leave for every
employee for health issues, including childbirth.
The impact of wage and medical-leave changes will be even
greater if another Democratic proposal is adopted. The platform
addresses “misclassified employees,” an issue that has already
impacted carrier relationships with independent contractors in
California and other states. The platform calls for national passage
of legislation similar to the “AB5” law that went into effect in
California on January 1, 2020.
The platform also calls for adoption of the Protecting the Right
to Organize (PRO) Act, which passed the House in February. This
would weaken or eliminate “right to work” laws and ease approval
of union representation for employees.
Little hope for infrastructure
bill in near future
Infrastructure is a huge area of interest to trucking where the
parties vary widely. Both parties pontificate about the terrible condition
of roads and bridges, and both claim something must
be done. The disagreement comes with the details.
In his early days in office, Trump proposed
a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that
gained little support. Republicans
said it was far too expensive.
Democrats
6 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

claimed it didn’t provide enough
funding for “green” initiatives, as
well as economic justice projects and
other party favorites.
With the election looming, Democrats in the House put
infrastructure on the table with the INVEST in America Act, a $494
billion proposal that addressed mostly transportation-related issues.
The bill gained wide support in the industry until it was amended to
include a requirement to raise the current $750,000 minimum financial
responsibility level for carriers to $2 million.
Then the bill was folded in to the $1.5 trillion Moving America Forward
Act, which the House approved along party lines in early July.
Senate Republicans accused the Democrats of pandering to their liberal
base, vowing that the bill would not be taken up in the Senate.
A few weeks later, Trump announced that his administration is
working on a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal that has not yet been
formally presented to Congress.
Truckload Carriers Association Vice President of Government Affairs
David Heller addressed the Moving America Forward Act. “The
Senate will need to weigh in, but they are tied up with another stimulus
package,” he said. “I don’t see an infrastructure program getting
done before the election.”
Heller pointed out that there were 13 continuing resolutions extending
MAP-21 before the current infrastructure policy, the FAST
Act, was approved. “I think that’s what will happen with FAST,” he
said, “and they’ll try to get a deal done when the new Congress
comes in.”
Parties differ on
energy dependence, too
The parties differ on energy independence, too. Democrats call
for building 500 electric charging stations, along with investment in
alternative energy resources. Republicans call for the greater use
of current American energy resources such as coal and natural gas.
Both parties have called for increased spending to make highspeed
internet accessible to more Americans.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looms large in both
platforms, with Democrats vowing to strengthen environmental safeguards
while Republicans complain of regulations that they say add
an unreasonable burden to the permitting process. Recently, the
White House took credit for reducing or eliminating 850 government
policies that they claim were impediments to economic recovery.
While a plan for economic recovery is crucial, COVID-19 infection
rates continue to rise. It isn’t known yet if infection can reoccur, and a
vaccine is still to come. Each party’s plan for ending the pandemic will
determine when true economic recovery can begin.
The Democratic platform calls for making COVID-19 testing widely
available and free to everyone. The pandemic is cited in calls
for universal health care and expansion of Medicaid programs.
Republicans favor using the power of the marketplace. Their platform
pledges to restore control to the American people.
With Congress tied up in bickering over another economic stimulus
package, topics like infrastructure, labor law, and energy independence
remain for later discussion. Even in these strange times,
however, the positions of both parties are clear enough to make decisions
about whom to support in the voting booth.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 7

By Kris Rutherford
Texas
Incumbent John Coryn (R)
vs. M.J. Hegar (D)
A force in Texas politics since 1977, John Coryn is seeking
reelection to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate. First elected in
2002, he is considered among the most reliable conservative
voices in Washington.
M.J. Hegar is a political newcomer, a decorated U.S. Air
Force pilot who served three tours in Afghanistan. She has
championed opening military combat roles to female soldiers
and highlights military service on her campaign website.
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) polling average indicates
Coryn is holding a 10-point lead over Hegar, an average
that has held since the Democratic runoff gave Hegar a
slight boost. Still, based on the latest polling, 20% of voters
remain undecided. Heading into the final weeks of the race,
Coryn is standing by his conservative Senate voting record
that has made him overwhelmingly popular among Texans,
while Hegar is appealing to socially liberal voters, including
Hispanics, which she hopes will carry her to victory based on
the immigration plank in her platform.
8 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

Iowa
Incumbent Joni Ernst (R)
vs. Theresa Greenfield (D)
After a 22-year military career, in 2014 Joni Ernst became the
first female voted to represent Iowa in federal office. Unopposed
in the 2020 Republican primary, Ernst is now battling for a second
term against Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield. Having
lived her life on an Iowa farm and working as a single mother,
Greenfield has the experience to resonate with fellow Iowans.
In the most recent polling data released by Spry Strategies,
Greenfield holds a 2-point lead over Ernst with 12% of voters
undecided. Numerous other polls conducted since early June
have shown the race to be tight, with Greenfield consistently
holding the same two-point edge.
Alabama
Incumbent Doug Jones (D)
vs. Tommy Tuberville (R)
If name recognition is important in political races, former
Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville would
handily defeat most any resident of Alabama. Tuberville has taken
a socially conservative agenda on the campaign trail.
Incumbent Doug Jones has been in the Senate since 2017
when he won a special election. Jones’ positions are generally
socially liberal; however, the Birmingham News describes him
as a “moderate Democrat,” noting his primary focus is on health
care and the economy.
Recent polling data indicates Tuberville holding an 8- to
10-point advantage over Jones.
Georgia
Incumbent David Perdue (R)
vs. Jon Ossoff (D)
Business-leader-turned-Senator David Perdue arrived in the
Senate in 2015 with promises to break the gridlock and offer
change. Perdue has become known as a staunch supporter of
President Trump and serves on Senate committees.
Democrat Jon Ossoff, 33, is challenging Perdue. Ossoff’s career
has included time as an investigative journalist.
Recent polls show Perdue holding a 3- to 7-point lead over
Ossoff, with RCP indicating a 5-point running average in favor of
the incumbent.
Tca 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 9

COMPILED BY LYNDON FINNEY, CLIFF ABBOTT & THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Trucks and trade top the list of articles in this edition’s Capitol Recap. Leading off is the effort to encourage Congress
to suspend the federal excise tax on large trucks. Created in 2017 to help fund World War I, the tax now tacks on
some $18,000 to the cost of a $150,000 tractor. As for trade, the United States, Mexico, and Canada have reached an
agreement that supports North American manufacturing and mutually beneficial trade. Under the agreement, Mexicodomiciled
trucks can still enter the United States under certain conditions.
DEMOCRATS SEEK SUSPENSION OF FET
Fifty-five Democratic members of the House
of Representatives have called on House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional
leaders to temporarily suspend the federal
excise tax (FET) on the sales of heavy-duty
trucks and trailers during the COVID-19 crisis.
The July 20 letter, signed by Rep. Chris
Pappas (D-NH-1), noted that the domestic
trucking industry had played an important role
in ensuring the delivery of vital medical supplies
and essential consumer goods nationwide.
The names of 54 other members of Congress
were also listed on the letter.
“Like other important industries that employ
millions of Americans, the trucking industry
has been impacted by the severe economic
consequences of the pandemic,” the letter said.
“To ensure this essential industry can more
quickly recover, and to save jobs in the trucking
industry, we urge you to temporarily suspend
the 12% federal excise tax on heavy-duty trucks
and trailers in future coronavirus recovery
legislation.”
The letter followed action taken by the
American Truck Dealers (ATD), an offshoot of
the National Automobile Dealers Association
(NADA), to dedicate a week in June as
“Suspend the FET Week.”
A letter to Congressional leaders written by 55
Democratic members of the House and signed by
Rep. Chris Pappas, (above) said suspension of the
FET on new heavy-duty trucks and trailers would help
the original equipment manufacturers.
ATD asked trucking industry stakeholders to
advocate for the suspension of the heavy-duty
trucks through 2021.
ATD said the COVID-19 pandemic brought
heavy-duty truck sales down 62.5% in May
2020 compared to the same time a year ago.
The letter sent to Pelosi noted that throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic, truck sales have
plummeted below 50% of prior year sales.
“Major truck and trailer investments are being
delayed and deferred,” the letter noted. “Truck
factories and showrooms have been closed, and
thousands of employees have been furloughed.
Immediate relief that extends until the end of
2021 is essential to supporting the workers in
this industry. As a targeted, temporary stimulus
measure, we urge that this relief be provided
without hurting the already strained Highway
Trust Fund.”
The ATD said the FET has grown from 3%
to 12% since it was instituted in 1917 to help
fund World War I, and with many fleet tractors
ringing registers for around $150,000, it tacks
an extra $18,000 onto most Class 8 trucks.
Suspension of the 12% FET on new heavyduty
trucks and trailers during this critical
time could help fleets purchase new trucks
and trailers; support U.S. truck and trailer
manufacturing, supplier, and dealership jobs;
and advance Congress’ goals of improving
highway safety and reducing emissions, the
letter said.
“We urge you to suspend the FET until
the end of 2021 in upcoming coronavirus
legislation as the best and fastest way to help
save or restore trucking-related jobs and
jumpstart the economic recovery of this vital
sector,” the letter concluded.
NEW TRADE AGREEMENT NOW IN EFFECT
On July 1, the United States-Mexico-
Canada Agreement (USMCA) went into effect
replacing the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA).
In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) said the agreement will facilitate
more efficient trade, stronger enforcement,
and more economic opportunities for North
America. The USMCA includes updated rules
regarding origin, customs administration and
trade-facilitation provisions, intellectual property
rights protections, and fair labor conditions.
“The USMCA completely replaces
NAFTA and marks the beginning of a new
era of American prosperity,” said CBP Acting
Commissioner Mark Morgan. “Thanks to
President Donald Trump’s leadership and
his ability to secure the bipartisan support of
Congress, the USMCA delivers a tremendous
win for American businesses and consumers.”
CBP Office of Trade Executive Assistant
Commissioner Brenda Smith described the new
SEE TRADE, PAGE 12
CBP will continue
to work closely
with the trade
community, our U.S.
government partners, and
our Mexican and Canadian
counterparts to ensure a
smooth transition.”
— BRENDA SMITH
CBP OFFICE OF TRADE EXECUTIVE
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
10 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

In the past, for Mexican carriers to obtain U.S. authority, they needed to meet the same requirements as U.S. carriers. That remains in place with USMCA.
MEXICAN TRUCKS CAN STILL ENTER U.S. UNDER USMCA
For years after the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect
on January 1, 1994, the trucking industry in the
U.S. worried about one particular provision.
NAFTA called for the lifting of restrictions
prohibiting Mexican carriers from operating
in the U.S.
Canadian carriers were already allowed to
operate within the U.S. while Mexican carriers
were only allowed to operate in clearly defined
“commercial zones” near U.S.-Mexico border
crossings.
Since NAFTA was designed to lift trade
barriers between the participating countries, it
was a given that Mexican trucks would soon
be granted the same privileges in the U.S. The
treaty specified access to Mexican trucks by
the year 2000. It didn’t happen.
For Mexican carriers to obtain U.S.
authority, they needed to meet the same
requirements as U.S. carriers. This included
things like meeting insurance requirements,
a driver-licensing system comparable to the
U.S. CDL system, adequate drug-testing
and accident-reporting programs, vehicle
inspection standards, and more.
Reciprocation was also a possible issue.
The problem wasn’t U.S. carriers having
the authority to operate in Mexico. Trucking
infrastructure in Mexico, the network of
fueling, parking and repair facilities, was
simply inadequate for U.S. carriers to operate.
There was opposition from trucking
groups, too, such as the Teamsters Union and
the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers
Association (OOIDA), who expressed concern
about loss of U.S. driving jobs. Environmental
groups such as the Sierra Club and safety
advocates like Public Citizen also opposed
allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. highways,
creating an odd confederation on the same side
of the issue.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of
Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
struggled to comply with the provisions of
NAFTA while ensuring that Mexican carriers
met the same safety standards as U.S. carriers.
One year after NAFTA went into effect, the
U.S. refused to lift restrictions on Mexican
trucks, angering Mexico’s government and
threatening the NAFTA agreement. NAFTA
remained in effect while the dispute was argued.
In 2001, a NAFTA dispute settlement
panel found the U.S. to be in violation. The
following year, the FMCSA put in place
an interim final rule allowing cross-border
operation. Opponents took to the courts to
have the FMCSA rule set aside. The issue was
decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which
upheld the rule.
In 2007, Congress required that a pilot
program be implemented to ascertain safety
and compliance levels of Mexican carriers.
Two years later, however, Congress voted to
remove funding for the pilot program. In 2011,
with a new Congress and president in place,
another pilot program began.
In 2015, data accumulated through the pilot
program was reported to Congress, which
gave the go-ahead for FMCSA to begin issuing
operating authority to Mexican carriers.
The U.S. Inspector General reported that the
program results were invalid due to the low
number of participating carriers, but that the
carriers that did participate had safety records
comparable to U.S. carriers. Only a few dozen
Mexico-based carriers received authority to
operate in the U.S.
Finally, after two-and-a-half decades,
NAFTA was replaced by the new United
States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA),
which has been characterized as “NAFTA
2.0.” The final ratification of the agreement
took place in Canada on March 13, 2020, and
it went into effect on July 1.
Like NAFTA, the USMCA allows
Mexican carriers to obtain operating
authority in the U.S. but allows the U.S. to
cap the number of Mexican carriers granted
authority and to halt granting of such
authority if it is determined the practice is
causing material harm to U.S. interests.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 11

AASHTO: CURRENT ROAD PROJECTS IN PERIL
The American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has
urged congressional leadership to consider that
state departments of transportation (DOTs)
across the country need an “immediate infusion”
of at least $37 billion to prevent disruptions to
planned transportation projects, keep workers
employed, and enable the nation’s mobility
network to fully support economic recovery
from the COVID-19 pandemic.
While AASHTO said the near-term
financial need for state DOTs remains the
same in fiscal year 2020 — roughly $16
billion — data compiled over the last three
months indicate state transportation revenues
will not fall quite as much over the longerterm
as initially projected at the beginning of
the COVID-19 outbreak.
“This change in estimated loss is mainly
due to a less severe outlook for FY 2021
from our members compared to earlier this
year,” noted AASHTO’s 2019-2020 President
and Missouri Department of Transportation
Director Patrick McKenna, and the group’s
Executive Director Jim Tymon, in the letter to
Congressional leaders.
“That being said, the recovery period is
now expected to be longer than originally
anticipated,” they added, pointing out that the
requested $37 billion in emergency funding
“will prevent further disruptions to planned
transportation projects and allow state DOT
employees and transportation construction
workers essential to planning and delivering
these projects to remain on the job.”
However, overall state transportation
revenue losses will still be extremely steep
over the next five years, McKenna and
Tymon emphasized.
Projections
continue to show
decreases in state
motor fuel tax and
toll receipts as nationwide
vehicle traffic reduction
bottomed out at about
50% during the height of
the pandemic.”
— AASHTO LEADERSHIP
IN A LETTER TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
“With millions of Americans following ‘stayat-home’
orders, many state DOTs are facing
severe losses in revenues, including dedicated
revenues on which state transportation
programs heavily rely,” they said.
“Projections continue to show decreases
in state motor fuel tax and toll receipts as
nationwide vehicle traffic reduction bottomed
out at about 50% during the height of the
pandemic,” McKenna and Tymon added. “As a
result, the ability of state DOTs to carry out their
core functions, including capital construction
programs, is threatened.”
AASHTO and 39 other transportation
organizations also made a similar appeal to
Congressional leaders in a separate letter.
“The need for federal funding for state
DOTs remains urgent,” that coalition of groups
said in their letter. “[That] funding will also
preserve the core capabilities of state DOTs that
are critical to implement a robust, bipartisan
surface transportation reauthorization
bill, which can serve as a platform
AASHTO President and Missouri Department of
Transportation Director Patrick McKenna, left, says a
$37 billion infusion is needed for highway projects to
prevent disruptions in construction.
for national economic recovery and growth.”
For example, on July 16, the Wyoming
Department of Transportation announced that
it would delay 11 construction projects and
review local transportation programs due to
“long- and short-term funding issues” caused
by reductions in fuel tax revenues, petroleum
market revenues, and other fees — with the
COVID-19 pandemic creating “additional”
budgetary impact.
According to Wyoming DOT Director
K. Luke Reiner, that “delay” will reallocate
about $436 million over the next six years
from new capacity improvement efforts to asset
maintenance projects.
The Oregon Department of Transportation
also reported similar fiscal issues resulting from
the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that its July
revenue forecast now estimates the Oregon’s
State Highway Fund will lose $170 million in
revenue for 2020 and 2021.
TRADE, FROM PAGE 11
trade rules as “the new global standard,” adding that USMCA will
help CBP carry out its mission of trade facilitation and enforcement.
“CBP will continue to work closely with the trade community, our
U.S. government partners, and our Mexican and Canadian counterparts
to ensure a smooth transition from NAFTA and support the prosperity
of the U.S. economy, American workers, and public safety,” she said.
In the months before the implementation of USMCA, CBP has
worked to prepare the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for the transition.
In March, CBP launched the USMCA Center, an online resource
that provides an overview of the agreement along with information
about regulations and implementation, compliance guidance, and
more. Compliance guidance is available in a variety of mediums,
including videos, webinars, and fact sheets. The USMCA Center also
offers a chatbot to help users find answers to common questions.
CBP’s Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee
(COAC) launched two working groups to hear concerns and
recommendations from the private sector on USMCA implementation
and the specific new criteria for the automotive rules of origin.
USMCA establishes a federal review process that would restrict
unsafe carriers from operating beyond dedicated Border Commercial
zones. In addition, the agreement requires the inspector general of
the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to review actions
taken by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to ensure that each
Mexico-domiciled motor carrier with operating authority complies
with federal motor carrier safety laws and regulations. The USDOT
is required to conduct a survey of all existing grants of operating
authority to, and pending applications for operating authority from,
all Mexico-domiciled motor property carriers for operating beyond
the Border Commercial Zones, including OP-1 (MX) and OP-1
operating authority.
USMCA is expected to increase annual U.S. exports to Canada and
Mexico by a combined $33 billion above the current NAFTA baseline.
The agreement is also expected to increase the U.S.’s gross domestic
product by $68 billion, stimulating broad sectors of the economy that
the trucking industry services, such as agriculture and manufacturing,
according to published reports.
12 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

TRUMP LOOSENS NIXON-ERA
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
President Donald Trump has said he is rolling
back a foundational Nixon-era environmental
law that he says stifles infrastructure projects,
but which is credited with ensuring decades
of scrutiny of major projects and giving local
communities a say.
The National Environmental Policy
Act, which became law in 1970, changed
environmental oversight in the U.S. by
requiring federal agencies to consider whether
a project would harm the air, land, water, or
wildlife, and giving the public the right of
review and provide input. Trump said the
new final rule will promote the rebuilding of
America.
“Together we’re reclaiming America’s
proud heritage as a nation of builders and a
nation that can get things done,” said Trump.
Major changes to the law include limiting
when federal environmental reviews of
projects are mandated and capping how long
federal agencies and the public must evaluate
and comment on any environmental impact of
a project.
Opponents criticize the efforts as a cynical
attempt to limit the public’s ability to comment
on proposed projects under one of the
country’s most well-established environmental
protection laws.
“This may be the single biggest giveaway
to polluters in the past 40 years,” said Center
for Biological Diversity Government Affairs
Director Brett Hartl. The Center works to save
endangered species.
Trump has highlighted his deregulatory
push as a way to boost jobs and cut the red
tape that can often delay projects, particularly
the construction of new infrastructure. On the
other hand, environmental groups believe the
regulatory rollbacks threaten the country’s
natural resources and make it harder to fight
global warming. With the congressional
infrastructure bill seeing no traction in
the Senate, the president is relying on his
deregulatory push to demonstrate progress.
“We won’t get certain projects through
for environmental reasons. They have to be
environmentally sound,” said Trump. “But
you know what? We’re going to know in a
year. We’re going to know in a year and a half.
We’re not going to know in 20 years.
Opponents of the changes believe they will
have a disproportionate impact on minority
communities as more than 1 million African
President Donald Trump has made slashing
government regulation a hallmark of his presidency
and held it out as a way to boost jobs.
Americans live within a half-mile of natural
gas facilities. According to a 2017 study by
the Clean Air Task Force and the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, these communities will face a cancer
risk above the Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA) level of concern from toxins
emitted by those facilities.
“Trump is taking away the last lines of
defense for front-line communities and
continues to demonstrate a total disregard for
our environment and for those demanding
racial and environmental justice,” said Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
WATCHDOGS QUESTION YRC LOAN
Congressional watchdogs are questioning the federal government’s
decision to award a $700 million coronavirus relief loan to a struggling
trucking company on grounds its operations are critical for maintaining
national security.
YRC Worldwide provides transportation and logistics services,
such as delivering food, electronics, and other supplies to military
locations around the country. The U.S. Department of Defense is a
major YRC client. The department, however, sued YRC in 2018 for
overcharging the government for freight carrier services and making
false statements.
Under terms of the coronavirus relief loan, U.S. taxpayers, through
the Treasury Department, will take a 30% stake in the company. YRC,
based in Overland Park, Kansas, will be required to maintain its payroll
at the current level of an estimated 30,000 trucking jobs, and to limit
executive compensation, dividend payouts and share repurchases.
The Congressional Oversight Commission also recently reported
that taxpayers appear to be at risk of losing money on the investment.
YRC has had financial problems for years, well before the onset of
the pandemic, and has been at risk of bankruptcy, the report said. The
money is scheduled to be repaid by September 2024.
The congressional monitors said they questioned the decision to deem
YRC’s business critical to national security and the process for reaching
that decision. It is the first and only loan made under the national security
portion of the treasury’s corporate aid program, which has made several
billions of dollars in loans to major airlines and smaller air carriers. The
national security section, with an available pot of up to $17 billion, had
The Congressional Oversight Commission says the federal government’s $700
million coronavirus relief loan to YRC Worldwide could put taxpayers at risk of
losing money.
been expected earlier this year to be earmarked for hard-pressed aircraft
maker Boeing or for General Electric.
To qualify for the national security aid, companies should be
performing under defense contracts of the highest national priority or
operating under top-secret security clearance. YRC apparently did not
meet either of the criteria but qualified under a “catch-all” provision
allowing a recommendation and certification from the secretary of
defense or the director of national intelligence to be sufficient.
The five-member oversight commission was appointed by
congressional leaders of both parties to monitor the spending of
some $2 trillion in economic aid enacted by Congress this spring and
directed by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 13

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER | TCA 2020
Tracking The Trends
Hope for new
highway funding
bill dwindling
amidst D.C.
bickering
Fading Fast
By
Cliff Abbott
The year 2020 has been a strange year for several reasons, but there’s
one factor that is as normal as can be. Political posturing and bickering
in Washington haven’t slowed down at all, even while Congress was
shut down over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hopes that Congress would pass an election-year highway funding
bill to replace the FAST Act that expires on September 30 are dwindling
as legislators continue to battle over another round of economic
stimulus payments. But Truckload Carriers Association Vice President
of Government Affairs David Heller isn’t surprised.
“Between MAP-21 and the FAST Act, there were 13 continuing resolutions
issued,” he explained. “I don’t see an infrastructure program
getting done before the election.”
Both parties have expressed concern over
America’s crumbling infrastructure. Presi-
“
dent Donald Trump claimed the issue during
his presidential campaign and has made
several attempts to stimulate infrastructure
legislation. “Infrastructure Week,” an annual
period designated by Trump to focus
on the issue, has turned into a “‘Groundhog
Day”-style fever dream doomed to be
repeated,” the New York Times said in a
May 22, 2019 article.
The same article states, “Long ago, the
political and pundit class began to recognize
any mention of infrastructure-themed events
as a catchall joke symbolizing any substantive
— if pie-in-the-sky — policy objective destined to go nowhere.”
The need to address infrastructure is clear. The most recent “Report
Card” from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) claimed
that it would take $420 billion to bring current roads up to acceptable
standards, plus another $123 billion for needed bridge repairs. That’s
$543 billion, just to fix roads and bridges. That was in 2017. The next
Report Card will be published in 2021.
The last few attempts at an infrastructure bill have indeed gone
nowhere. That will also be the fate of the most current attempt, the
massive $1.5 trillion Moving America Forward Act passed on a partisan
vote by the House of Representatives on July 1. It was the Democratic
response to an attempt by Senate Republicans to include a $287
billion infrastructure initiative in the first COVID-19 economic stimulus
package.
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman
John Barrasso (R-WY) attempted to get his bill (S. 2302) added as
an amendment to a stimulus bill that had already been passed by the
House. This move was opposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck
Schumer (D-NY).
The Moving America Forward Act, on the other hand, started as a
$494 billion infrastructure bill in the Highways and Transit Subcommittee
of the House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure. Dubbed
House Democrats
appear addicted to pointless
political theater. So naturally,
this nonsense is not going
anywhere in the Senate.”
the Investing in a New Vision for the
Environment and Surface Transportation
in America Act, or INVEST in
America Act, the bill quickly gained
support from trucking industry
organizations.
During the markup phase in committee,
where amendments are considered,
the committee voted to add
an amendment that would increase
— Senate Majority Leader
minimum financial responsibility
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
levels for motor carriers from the
current $750,000 level to $2 million.
The amendment passed, and industry groups began pulling their support
for the Act.
TCA’s Heller questioned the $2 million amount. “We looked at $2
million, and we wonder where that comes from,” he said. “If we’re
looking at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since 1984, the amount
should be $2.3 million, so we wonder why they rounded down.”
Heller also said that any discussion of increasing minimum financial
responsibility limits should include a discussion on tort reform or some
limits on “nuclear” jury verdicts.
14 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

Before that discussion could take place, House Democrats folded the
INVEST in America Act into the much larger Moving America Forward
Act. The enlarged bill includes $100 billion for school building and improvements
at high-poverty schools, another $100 billion to build or repair
existing low-income housing, $100 billion for broadband internet
infrastructure, $65 billion in water infrastructure, $70 billion to expand
renewable energy in the nation’s electrical grid, $30 billion for hospitals,
and $25 million for the U.S. Post Office to acquire a zero-emissions fleet.
Also included are $100 million for transit projects, slanted toward zeroemissions
equipment and $29 billion for Amtrak.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal
(D-MA-1), in a June 18 address, touted the bill’s ability to “create new
green, good-paying union jobs.” He said, “An investment of this magnitude
has been necessary for years, but it’s more urgently needed than
ever as we work to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.” Addressing Republican
opposition, he said, “We fully expect them to meet us at the
table and get this groundbreaking legislation signed into law.”
Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-9), a co-sponsor of the legislation,
said this after the bill cleared the House: “Our roads are cracked, our
bridges are crumbling, our water mains are exploding, and our planet is
warming at unprecedented speeds. The legislation we passed invests in
American transportation and energy with a keen eye on the future.”
Pascrell also touted the inclusion in the larger bill of his “Incentivizing
Offshore Wind Power Act,” which has failed to gain passage in every
session of Congress since 2009.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wasn’t as enthusiastic.
“House Democrats appear addicted to pointless political theater,”
he said. “So naturally, this nonsense is not going anywhere in the Senate.
It will just join the list of absurd House proposals that were only drawn
up to show fealty to the radical left.”
McConnell claimed the legislation was a “thousand-page
cousin of the Green New Deal, masquerading as a highway bill.”
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee
on Environment and Public Works, slammed the House bill, saying,
“There’s nothing bipartisan about it. It’s completely partisan.”
A June 29 letter to the House of Representatives from the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce lamented the partisan nature of the bill, pointing out
that “other congressional committees have demonstrated that bipartisan
consensus is possible on surface transportation reauthorization.”
He called the addition of proposals beyond core surface and water
infrastructure programs “subtraction through addition.”
On June 29, the White House issued its opinion of the bill in a statement
of administrative policy. “This bill is problematic for several reasons.
It is heavily biased against rural America. It also appears to be
entirely debt-financed. And it fails to tackle the issue of unnecessary
permitting delays, which are one of the most significant impediments to
improving our infrastructure.” The statement also said the bill “is full of
wasteful ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives.”
Trump gave a clear message that the bill will be vetoed if it crosses
his desk.
In response to White House claims that the legislation is entirely debtfinanced,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) said, “With the interest
rates where they are now, there’s never been a better time for us to
go big.”
The White House noted that Trump has repeatedly called on Congress
to send him bipartisan infrastructure legislation. “Unfortunately,
H.R. 2 is not a serious proposal and fails to answer his call,” the statement
concluded.
The size and scope of an infrastructure bill to replace the FAST Act
may well depend on who controls Congress and the White House after
the November elections. Chances of anything getting done before then
are fading fast.
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TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 15

GOING NOWHERE
Republicans gear up to halt Democrats’ bill with hefty insurance minimum
By Cliff Abbott
No one would deny that liability insurance for bodily injury and
property damage is a necessary part of any trucking business. Controlling
the cost of such insurance, however, is a struggle for carriers
of every size. The struggle is harder when politicians get involved,
as some did this year with the INVEST in America Act, a five-year,
$494 billion funding plan to maintain and improve transportation infrastructure
put forth by Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Before the act left the House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, an amendment proposed by Rep. Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia
(D-IL-4) to increase the minimum financial liability requirement for
motor carriers to $2 million was voted into the bill.
The bill, with the liability requirement, was subsequently passed on
to the full House, where it was incorporated into the $1.5 trillion Moving
America Forward (MAF) Act. That bill was passed by the House on
July 1 and sent to the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky made it clear
that the MAF Act was going nowhere. “It will just join the list of absurd
House proposals that were only drawn up to show fealty to the radical
left,” he said on the floor of the Senate chamber.
In the meantime, insurance costs for carriers continue their upward
trajectory. “Insurance premiums have been rising through the roof,”
said Truckload Carriers Association Vice President of Government
Affairs David Heller. “Usually, there will be at least a few carriers that
see their premiums go down,” he explained. “This year, if you’ve seen
a decrease, you’re kind of a unicorn.”
Heller cited an informal poll of TCA membership that asked for the
percentage of premium increase they had experienced this year. “That
poll shows an average premium increase of 15% this year,” he said.
“Of course, it’s been going on like this for years.”
A national research study, released in June, noted that liability
insurance premiums had increased 35% to 40% for carriers deemed
an “average to marginal” risk.
Despite significant investment in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
(ADAS) collision-mitigation and lane-departure warnings, as well
as in-cab video-recording systems, many carriers face the annual dilemma
of budgeting for the latest round of liability insurance increases.
This year, while carriers struggle to remain solvent during the
economic collapse resulting from COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns,
slowdowns, and restrictions, the timing of a demand to further increase
insurance costs seems questionable at best.
“It’s not the right time to force this on the industry,” added Heller.
“We support minimum liability insurance requirements, but what that
number is appears to be open to discussion.”
That’s the other part of the financial responsibility argument. What
is the right amount? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) prompted a discussion on the topic when it published an
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in November 2014. The notice
only said that the agency was “considering” an increase in minimum
levels of financial responsibility and was seeking comments. In
the 90-day comment period, 2,182 comments were submitted.
Most of the responses were from small trucking companies or
single truck owner-operators, who were overwhelmingly opposed
to any increase. A comment by the Owner-Operator Independent
Drivers Association (OOIDA) pointed out that the organization’s
Risk Retention Group reported that 98.6% of the carriers insured
were already insured at a level of $1 million, rather than the required
$750,000 minimum.
The OOIDA submission contained another statistic that was also
mentioned in several other comments: Approximately 98% of
insurance-related cases settle before trial at the current minimum levels
of financial responsibility. In other words, the minimum liability
requirements often serve as a cap for litigation settlements, assuring
98.6%
of insured carriers reported
to already be insured at
$1 million
rather than the required
$750,000
liability minimum
Source: The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
(OOIDA) Risk Retention Group
16 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

plaintiffs, and their legal representation, a sizeable award without the
risk of going to trial.
It’s no wonder that many of the comments submitted in favor of
increased minimum liability requirements were from trial attorneys or
attorney associations.
Several comments came from insurance
brokers or associations, including a letter
from the 1,400-member National Association
of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). An
increase in the minimum financial liability requirements
would put many of their members
at risk, the letter explained, because of the
potential for increased payouts.
After considering the comments and available
data, the FMCSA withdrew its proposal
for an increase in June 2017, citing “insufficient
data” as the reason. It should be noted,
however, that the proposal, published during
the Obama administration, was withdrawn
during the Trump administration, under a different
set of political appointments.
Garcia’s attempt to move the issue
through legislation has at least reignited the
discussion over liability requirements. That debate, however, must include
more than simply raising the amount, according to Heller. “Any
discussion on increasing minimum liability requirements should include
something on tort reform or addressing the nuclear verdicts the
industry is being hit with,” he explained.
The aforementioned recent national study pointed at “nuclear
verdicts,” unreasonably large jury awards against carriers, as a reason
“
It’s not the right
time to force this on the
industry. We support
minimum liability insurance
requirements, but what that
number is appears to be
open to discussion.”
for a 51.7% annual increase in award amounts between 2006 and 2019,
while the annualized inflation rate for the same period was 1.7%.
“Runaway verdicts are increasing in both size and numbers,” said
Clay Porter, a partner in the Cincinnati law firm of Porter Rennie Wood
and Kendall. “The study documents a frequency
in excessive awards that, while not
— David Heller, TCA Vice President
of Government Affairs
surprising, tells us that the trial system has
gotten completely off track.”
As July came to a close, a coalition of more
than 60 trucking trade associations, led by
OOIDA and including 20 individual state associations,
sent a letter to leaders and members
of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation expressing their
disapproval of any increase in required minimum
financial liability amounts as it considers
its own infrastructure legislation.
If any action is taken this year on minimum
financial limits, it isn’t likely to be tied to an
infrastructure bill. “It won’t get done, due to
the ever-increasing struggle to dig out of the
virus and economic firestorm,” added Heller.
A continuing resolution to extend the
provisions of the current FAST Act is the most likely outcome.
“Between MAP-21 and the FAST Act, there were 13 continuing
resolutions issued,” he said. “I think that’s what will happen with
FAST, and they’ll try to get a deal done when the new Congress
comes in.”
Before that happens, carriers will need to brace for another round of
liability premium increases.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 17

To GROW
your fleet or to
NOT GROW your fleet
The ‘dos and don’ts’ of
deciding whether you should expand
By Lyndon Finney
As the president of a trucking fleet, you are sitting in your
office that overlooks the parking lot at your terminal.
You cast your eyes on the gleaming red tractors that adorn
the asphalt.
Your thoughts go back to 2017, when the trucking industry
was doing OK but not necessarily great, and you thought to
yourself that it might be best not to grow your fleet lest you
be caught with excess capacity in 2018.
Then came 2018. The demand for trucks to carry the available
freight shot through the roof and you regretted your decision
not to expand.
Now, in 2020, you are in a situation similar to the one you
found yourself in mid-2017.
In mid-2020, the industry finds itself somewhat stable in
the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After falling 10.3% in April and another 1% in May, the
American Trucking Associations’ freight tonnage index
jumped 8.7% in June. Most industry stakeholders believe that
when the COVID-19 crisis begins to subside — hopefully
that will be in late 2020 or early 2021 — the economy will
expand substantially, and while it won’t reach the level it did
in 2018, the amount of freight to transport will plentiful.
You want to be ready to capture your share of that freight,
so you ponder: Is this the time to expand my fleet and if so,
where do I start?
“The first piece of advice I would give a company is to
ask the question, ‘Do you have the right strategic partners?’”
said TCI Capital Senior Vice President of Business Development
Scott Franzen. The Edina, Minnesota-based business
provides factoring solutions to small to midsize companies
“
When companies fail, it’s
usually because they don’t have
either a good CFO or CPA who
understands trucking. If you don’t,
you are doomed to fail whether you
have five or 5,000 trucks.”
— Scott Franzen, TCI Capital Senior Vice
President of Business Development
18 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

“
—
Ask yourself, ‘What’s my
comfort level for delegating?’
because that sets the upward limit
of how much you grow.”
Avery Vise
FTR Vice President of Trucking
across the U.S. “When companies fail, it’s usually because
they don’t have either a good CFO or CPA who understands
trucking. If you don’t, you are doomed to fail whether you
have five or 5,000 trucks.”
Readily available financial resources are also important,
he shared.
“It costs a lot of money to buy even one truck and to get
it operating,” said Franzen. “There’s the down payment, and
then you have operating costs such as driver pay and fuel,”
he said. “Then remember you will have to wait 30 to 60 days
to get the first payment from the shipper on the load the new
truck is carrying.”
Another consideration of whether to expand is to answer the
question, “Does it fit into my proactive business plan?” added
FTR Vice President of Trucking Avery Vise. “Too many trucking
companies start with the premise, ‘My dad was a trucker,
so I’m going to buy a truck or two, and I’m just going to keep
on adding trucks as long as I can get freight and find drivers.’
They never ask the question, ‘So who is my customer base?’”
Being willing to give up total control of your operation is
important, too, Vise noted.
“A lot of owners of smaller carriers want to remain fully in
charge of the operation, pretty much everything from A to Z,”
he said. “That’s fine, as long as you understand that means you
are limiting your growth. A single person can’t run a 300-truck
operation.”
To grow a fleet of any size you have to “ask yourself,
‘What’s my comfort level for delegating?’ because that sets
the upward limit of how much you grow,” said Vise.
It’s a right time-wrong time business decision, not an emotional
decision, about whether it’s a good idea or bad time to
expand, added ATBS President and CEO Todd Amen.
“We’ve just been through a crazy time (the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic), so this is probably the worst time to expand
— but then in some ways it could be the best time,” he said.
To make the correct decision, a fleet owner needs to
understand the market, added Amen.
Building
BUSINESS VALUE
The Tenney Group’s President and CEO
Spencer Tenney, along with key members of his
team, hosted a series of Truckload Live Distance
Learning workshops focusing on building business
value. The insightful 90-minute workshops
ranged from topics such as financial reporting to
operations, leadership, culture, and offsetting expenses
through acquisitions. For more information
or to access recordings of the workshops,
email truckloadacademy@truckload.org.
“Do I have customers that will pay me enough money
to generate a profit? Do I have good relationships with the
customers I will be relying on? What’s the revenue I’ll be
able to generate? What are my assets going to cost me? Do
I have cash for a down payment? Can I get a loan for the
rest of the cost? Do I have the cash to make the down payments?
Can I survive another downturn in the economy?”
Amen questioned. “And if you can answer those questions
honestly and say it could be a great time to expand, maybe
you should. Used truck prices are way down and new trucks
aren’t being sold.”
Perhaps TCI Capital’s Franzen summed it up best:
“You’ll know when the time is right to grow,” he said. “If
you have the business, if you’ve done your homework, and
have all these things in place; if you have the drivers, then the
time might be right.”
Amen said companies that successfully grow are the ones
that do it methodically.
“They are cautious. They’ll put 20% down on a truck
instead of 5%,” he said. “They’ll have a maintenance reserve
in place before they put that truck into operation, and
they plan for the downside because trucking has its ups and
downs,” he noted. “The ones that fail just shoot from the
hip every day. They’re just putting out every fire that pops
up as quickly as they can, until the fires get too big and put
them out of business. They just have no forethought or planning
or cash reserves or anything else. They are really just
gunslingers.
“Just make sure your decision is based on business and not
emotion,” Amen concluded.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 19

Sustaining the momentum
By Lyndon Finney
Ed Nagle was talking with a reporter about
trucking and the lack of respect shown to the
industry and especially its drivers, who are the
face of the industry.
“I’m a little biased, OK?,” he said.
The voice of the president of Nagle Toledo is
filled with passion.
“I’m an outspoken advocate for drivers and
the honorableness of their profession. So, if
the conversation starts to go awry with respect
to that person’s perspective of the industry
and especially the drivers, I correct them quickly. I don’t even
give them the opportunity to go down the wrong path before I start
educating them,” he stated.
“I can tell you that for the past 30 years we’ve been competing with
farming every year for the lowest job status in the country because
people take us for granted. People said we were an inconvenience to
them,” Nagle exclaimed.
Nagle was speaking in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that
resulted in grocery shelves being stripped bare by Americans who
feared they might not be able to find food to feed their families and
stock their homes with necessities of life — especially toilet paper and
hand sanitizer.
It didn’t take long for the average citizen’s attitude toward trucking
to change dramatically.
Instead of constantly reading about trucks being involved in
wrecks and causing road congestion, trucking was treated to
Industry must be
passionate about
retaining
PR gains made
during pandemic
headlines extolling virtues of the industry.
“Truckers step up as coronavirus pumps
demand for necessities…” read a March 28
headline in the influential Washington Post.
“Truckers brave coronavirus outbreak to
deliver goods: ‘If we stop, the world stops,’”
was the headline in the nationally distributed
USA Today.
“‘Risking My Life’ to ‘Truck In Milk, Wine
and Hand Sanitizer,’” read a headline in the
New York Times touting the story of trucker
Joseph Morales, who puts on a mask and
gloves while making deliveries but worries about coming in contact to
an unmasked person who coughs on him.
“Now all of a sudden you were starting to see news stories, Facebook
and Twitter posts. People were highlighting the virtues of trucking.
People were making lunch bags for drivers who couldn’t find a
place to eat,” shared Nagle. “It was really nice to see people really
start to wake up.”
Even the White House took note, holding two events extolling the
heros of trucking.
“In the war against the virus, America’s truckers are really the foot
soldiers that are carrying us to victory,” President Donald Trump said
at a gathering in mid-April. “Truckers are playing a critical role in vanquishing
the virus, and they will be just as important as we work to get
our economic engine roaring.”
The industry was even hoping that the rising public opinion of
trucking might slow the growing number of “nuclear verdicts,” those
20 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

Opposite page: President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine
Chao honored truckers with a special ceremony on the White House lawn in April.
Above: Nagle Toledo President Ed Nagle says the industry could benefit from more
public outreach programs like Trucker Buddy International.
large jury awards against the industry that have been increasing in
both frequency and size.
While in 2006 there were only four cases with awards in excess
of $1 million, in 2013 there were more than 70, according to a published
national trucking research report. There was a 235% increase
in cases with verdict sizes of at least $1 million between 2005 to 2011
and 2012 to 2019.
From 2017 to 2018 alone, the average size of verdicts grew by 483%.
Unfortunately, people tend to have short memories, said Nagle.
“Once the supply crisis passes, and I think it’s almost to this point
now, people are getting back to taking us for granted,” he added.
“They fail to recognize how important trucking is to our way of life.
A month ago, they were singing our praises. Now they’ve forgotten
about us.”
How can the industry build on the “positive press” it received in the
early weeks and months of the COVID-19 crisis — which has now
extended to almost half a year — and keep trucking front and center?
Promoting the industry has to become a way of life regardless of
the medium or venue, said Nagle, who admits to being the biggest
cheerleader for trucking.
He encourages those that have the financial resources to do so
consider paid promotion. Don’t focus on how much money a driver
can make, but rather emphasize the humanness of the industry by
pointing out how important trucking is to the quality of life in America.
Nagle likes the idea of more community outreach efforts such as
Trucker Buddy International.
And, he said, it’s going to take everyone involved in the industry
working collaboratively to promote trucking and thus sustain a
momentum of positive imagery.
“You don’t have to go around citing a bunch of statistics,” he said.
“Just proactively talk about the benefit of trucking to our way of life
and our standard of living. It’s not that hard.”
Unfortunately, many in the industry are just “doing a job” and don’t
care much about promoting the industry, he believes.
“But when you are passionate about trucking because you believe
in the value of our industry to our way of life, then you should jump
on it and don’t ever stop,” he stated.
“It has to be on our consciousness 24 hours a day, whether you are
sitting in your office or whether you are playing golf with your buddies,”
he said. “If a derogatory statement comes up about trucking,
jump in there and defend the industry and put a stop so such talk.”
And do it passionately, he quickly added.
www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 21

Lorie Tudor
POWER
team
Lorie Tudor and Shannon Newton
are driving the future of
transportation in Arkansas
By Linda Garner-Bunch
In March, Lorie Tudor took the reins as director of the Arkansas
Department of Transportation (ARDOT), becoming the first woman
in the state’s history to hold the top spot and making ARDOT one of
13 woman-led transportation agencies in the U.S.
The move also made Arkansas one of only two states with women
at the helm of both the transportation agency and a state trucking
association; Shannon Newton has headed up the Arkansas Trucking
Association since 2014. The other state is New York, where Marie
Dominguez was appointed transportation commissioner in 2019 and
Kendra Hems serves as the president of the Trucking Association of
New York.
While Tudor and Newton entered the transportation arena in different
ways, both have become deeply rooted in the trucking industry,
and the pair work together to ensure the safety of professional drivers
and to effect legislative changes that will have a positive impact
on motor carriers, their employees, and the transportation industry
as a whole.
“I consider it a partnership,” explained Tudor. “The trucking industry
is one of the largest providers of revenue for our roads and
bridges. Truckers need a good transportation system. We’re committed
to providing that for them and to keeping the roads safe.”
Newton also views the combined efforts of ARDOT and the Arkansas
Trucking Association as a valued partnership.
“We collaborate heavily on legislative priorities — what the transportation
department’s are, what ours are and how they align —
and typically there’s a lot of overlap,” shared Newton. “We have an
incredible working relationship with our DOT.”
“
It’s up to us — the DOTs —
to provide a quality ‘workspace’
(highway) for the trucking
industry to operate. We take that
responsibility very seriously.”
— Lorie Tudor, Director of the
Arkansas Department of Transportation
22 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

In addition to partnering on highway funding, truck parking, driver
safety, and other issues, ARDOT and the association work together
to help make sure motor carriers and professional drivers are well
informed and compliant with various regulations.
“Together, we’re performing a huge function for the citizens of the
U.S. and for Arkansas,” added Tudor.
From an entry-level clerk to a civil engineer
Tudor, who is now a registered professional engineer, joined
ARDOT (then the Arkansas Highway Department) in 1981, filling an
entry-level clerical position that required experience with word processors,
a technology few people were familiar with at the time. Having
previously worked for a start-up computer firm, Tudor said, she
had an advantage over other applicants.
“Having that skill opened the door for me as the age of the personal
computer really began, and I had more knowledge about computers
than most,” noted Tudor. “It gave me an advantage and I moved up
through the organization, holding various positions.”
By the early 1990s, she had held about 10 different positions within
the department and was serving as the federal-aid bookkeeper. At
that point, she said, it was time for a change.
“After working at the Department for 13 years, I knew I had reached
that ‘glass ceiling’ that is in place for most folks without a college education,”
she explained, adding that while there were several women
employed at the Department, very few served in managerial roles.
Tudor decided to return to school and seek a degree in civil engineering
— a field she never would have envisioned before her
experience at ARDOT. In fact, she shared, as a high schooler, she
had dreams of becoming a nurse, a career that was the “norm” for
women in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Her experience at ARDOT
reshaped her goals, however.
“At the Department, I worked with and for some amazing engineers
and I learned what a great profession engineering is. I learned
that I enjoyed the work; I loved problem-solving and making things
better,” she said. “(By the 1990s), engineering was no longer a ‘mystery’
career that only men chose. I considered myself just as capable
as the engineers I worked with.”
Tudor enrolled at the University of Memphis, one of only four
women in her class at the Herff College of Engineering. Because she
was married and had two children at the time, a 5-year-old daughter
and a 13-year-old son, Tudor elected to make the approximately 166-
mile drive from central Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee, to attend
classes rather than temporarily move closer to school. She credits
her husband, Jeff Tudor, in helping her achieve her educational goals.
“I couldn’t have done it without my husband. He was such a supporter,
and such a help with my son and daughter,” recalled Tudor,
adding that she often left for class at 4 a.m. “He made sure they
got up, got their breakfast, got my daughter’s hair fixed, got them to
school … he was just great, and he was behind me 100%.”
She has high praise for the engineering instructors at the University
of Memphis. “They were outstanding and very helpful; they were
committed to the success of the students. I received an amazing education,”
she stated. “It was a great experience, and I made a lot of
wonderful memories.”
In the fall of 1997, Tudor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
civil engineering and returned to ARDOT to serve as an engineer
in the planning branch. Once again, she rose through the ranks,
becoming the Department’s deputy director and chief operating
officer in 2014.
Shannon Newton
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 23

“I never thought I would become director one day, especially since
the previous director, Scott Bennett, is younger than me. It came as a
surprise,” she said.
“My goal was and is to have a rewarding and meaningful career and to
make a difference,” she continued. “My goal for the transportation system
is to keep it in a state of good repair and able to meet the needs of the
traveling public and commerce. Both are equally important in our focus
for the future.”
Tudor noted that mobility is the key to success in the trucking industry,
adding that ARDOT’s goal is to collaborate with members of the industry
to help ensure that goods can be transported through the state in a safe
and effective manner.
“It’s up to us — the DOTs — to provide a quality ‘workspace’ (highway)
for the trucking industry to operate. We take that responsibility very seriously,”
she explained.
As elsewhere in the nation and the world, the COVID-19 pandemic
has had an undeniable impact on Arkansas, and Tudor said the trucking
industry remains vital to economic recovery.
“The health pandemic has cast a different light on the transportation
industry. Many segments of our economy were negatively impacted, but
the trucking industry kept the supply chain moving. ARDOT’s role in making
this possible was to keep our crews working so maintenance and
construction could continue to keep our highways operating,” said Tudor.
“But the real heroes were the truck drivers who made sure medical
supplies got to where they were needed the most, who made sure
grocery-store shelves stayed stocked,” she concluded.
Incorporating an accounting role into trucking leadership
As a high school student, Newton said, she dreamed of becoming an
accountant — and that’s exactly what she did … with an unexpected twist.
“It’s somewhat unusual for someone at 18 to know what it is they’re going
to do and to not change their mind,” she said with a laugh, adding that
she graduated from the University of Central Arkansas’ College of Business
with a double major in computer information systems and accounting.
While trucking was not a field she had ever considered, Newton said,
she was approached by Maverick Transportation LLC, a carrier based in
North Little Rock, Arkansas, during an on-campus recruiting event.
“I had a great interview and a good experience with their recruiter. I
wanted to work in an accounting department, specifically in payroll, and
they offered me that opportunity,” she recalled.
“I really had no knowledge of the trucking industry. They did a good
job of informing me about the size of their company and the opportunities
available and how integral (trucking) is to the economy,” she continued.
“It seemed like a great place to go to work. They wanted me and I wanted
to go to work there.”
Newton was hired as Maverick’s DOT payroll coordinator, where her
responsibilities included conducting payroll orientation for newly hired
drivers.
“So, there I was at age 22 or 23, every Monday morning, standing in
front of between a dozen and two dozen new-hire truck drivers, orienting
them to the process of how their payroll was going to work,” she said. “It
put me in a position where I was forced to take ownership in a process
and be comfortable with the drivers — and I truly loved it!”
While working at Maverick, Newton said, she started to realize that
there was much more to the trucking industry than just trucks.
“I was fresh out of college and not really in tune with what was going
on in politics or outside my department,” she shared, adding that the
state trucking association sometimes held board meetings at Maverick. “I
knew we had to clean our desks and show up on time, and I knew there
was some degree of reverence to the work the association was doing
exhibited by my employer, someone I trusted.”
“
I want to be worthy of the
position, and I want to make the
industry proud, and I want to
accomplish the goals that make
the industry better, regardless of
whether I’m a man or a woman.”
— Shannon Newton, President of the
Arkansas Trucking Association
As Newton’s knowledge of the issues facing the trucking industry grew,
she became more interested in how those issues were addressed. That
interest led to her first position with the Arkansas Trucking Association
in 2004, serving as the organization’s director of corporate services. In
late 2008, she was promoted to vice president of the association by thenpresident
Lane Kidd.
The most compelling aspect of Newton’s new role was the opportunity
to take part in the organization’s visits to Washington to call on lawmakers.
“That was really my first taste of getting to sit in those small conference
rooms (with legislators) and learn about the issues, and to understand
that we’re here to build those relationships and make sure we communicate
issues that are important to the industry,” she explained. “Then,
when it’s time to make a decision, the information is not foreign (to them);
you’re not trying to rush and get it in front of policymakers.”
In 2014, Newton, a wife and mother of two children, was named the
organization’s first female president.
While the Association was preparing to fill the vacancy left by Kidd,
Newton said she had two questions in the back of her mind about applying
for the promotion as a woman in a male-dominated field.
24 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

“First, did they feel I was competent and that I could do the job? And
second, how could I dispel any sort of fears or preconceived notions
that they might have about me being a female?” she shared, adding
that in addition to representing truckers, her job entails working closely
with legislators and lobbyists, also predominately male.
“I want to be worthy of the position, and I want to make the industry
proud, and I want to accomplish the goals that make the industry
better, regardless of whether I’m a man or a woman,” she shared.
While Newton said she has typically “shied away” from speaking
out as a woman in the trucking industry, of being seen as “different”
because of her gender, her viewpoint has changed in recent years.
“Growing up, (gender limitations) were never a thing for me,” she
said, explaining that both her mother and grandmother worked full
time, not from necessity, but because they chose to do so. Because
of this, she noted, her achievements as a woman had never seemed
“exceptional” to her.
“In the time I’ve been in this position, though, I have been exposed
to young people, particularly young girls, who didn’t have the same
opportunities that I did,” she stated. “I have come to know and understand
that other young girls don’t always see successful women; they
don’t see women in positions of authority or leadership.”
Because of this, Newton said she now advocates for young women
to be open to possibilities and to not place limitations on themselves.
She also notes that networking and building relationships is different
for women.
“I don’t ever forget that I’m not ‘one of the boys.’ It’s not that anyone
intentionally excludes or dismisses women; it’s that I don’t golf. I don’t
hunt. I don’t smoke cigars,” she explained.
“It’s those inherent opportunities that you think of when you’re talking
about networking and relationship-building, or spending time with
policymakers, or with executives, trying to get insight about their business
or what issues are keeping them up at night,” she said. “I have to
work harder to manufacture those scenarios, those settings in which
to build those types of relationships. It just looks different. It means
cocktails and dinners and things of that nature that are maybe a little
less traditional.”
While Newton’s younger self might not have ever envisioned a career
in the trucking industry, she has thrived on her road to success.
“People say, ‘Once you get into trucking, you never get out,’ and that
would be an accurate reflection of my experience,” she concluded.
IN GOOD COMPANY
In addition to Arkansas and New York State, women drive major transportation and trucking organizations
throughout the U.S. and its territories. Here’s the breakdown:
AMERICAN SAMOA
Taimalelagi, Claire Tuia Poumele
Director, Department of Port Administration
COLORADO
Shoshana Lew
Executive Director, Colorado DOT
DELAWARE
Jennifer Cohan
Secretary of Transportation, Delaware DOT
IOWA
Brenda Neville
President and CEO, Iowa Motor Truck Association
KANSAS
Julie Lorenz
Secretary of Transportation, Kansas DOT
MASSACHUSETTS
Stephanie Pollack
Secretary and CEO, Massachusetts DOT
MINNESOTA
Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Commissioner, Minnesota DOT
MISSISSIPPI
Melinda McGrath
Executive Director, Mississippi DOT
NEVADA
Kristina Swallow
Director, Nevada DOT
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Victoria Sheehan
Commissioner, New Hampshire DOT
NEW JERSEY
Gail Toth
Executive Director, New Jersey Motor Truck
Association
NORTH CAROLINA
Crystal Collins
President, North Carolina Trucking Association
OREGON
Jana Jarvis
President, Oregon Trucking
Associations Inc.
PENNSYLVANIA
Yassmin Gramian
Secretary of Transportation, Pennsylvania DOT
SOUTH CAROLINA
Christy Hall
Secretary of Transportation, South Carolina DOT
WASHINGTON STATE
Sheri Call,
Executive Vice President,
Washington Trucking Associations
WEST VIRGINIA
Traci Nelson,
President, West Virginia
Trucking Association Inc.
WYOMING
Sheila Foertsch
Managing Director, Wyoming
Trucking Association Inc.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 25

Tip of the
ICEBERG
Industry learning
the true value of ELDs
By Lyndon Finney
Dear Wikipedia:
Since you have become perhaps
the most widely Googled “encyclopedia”
in the United States with
the disappearance of the bestknown
printed volumes (R.I.P.,
World Book Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia
Britannica), I want to
call your attention to a shortcoming
in your article on electronic logging
devices (ELDs). Since you encourage
readers to improve your articles,
I want to do just that.
You accurately say an ELD is
“electronic hardware that is attached
to a commercial motor vehicle engine
to record driving hours. An ELD monitors
a vehicle’s engine to capture data
on whether the engine is running, whether
the vehicle is moving, miles driven, and
duration of engine operation.”
Your shortcoming is found in the fact that
you do not mention how the trucking industry
is using the data created by an ELD to improve
the industry in many other arenas, such as visibility
into driver behavior and safety, GPS truck
tracking, vehicle diagnostics, route analysis, and
accident detection.
I hope the information below will help add to
your article. It comes from two executives based on
interaction with motor carrier executives.
Sincerely,
A grateful trucking stakeholder.
“Wow. Where do I begin? First and foremost, in its very basic state,
[ELDs] track compliance with the hours of service, but it does so, so
much more,” said David Heller, vice president of government affairs at the
Truckload Carriers Association.
“Where the value comes in is getting everybody onto a digital platform,” said
Doug Schrier, vice president of product and innovation at Transflo, which offers a portfolio of mobile,
telematics, and business process automation software for the transportation industry. “You have the ability
to automate more than 120 different activities from the time a driver leaves the house until they return.”
Put simply, ELDs provide motor carrier executives and state and federal regulators a glimpse into the day
of a driver.
26 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

In fact, Heller said information from ELDs are directly responsible
to forging hours of service rules.
“For instance, if you look at the reason for the new HOS rule
that goes into effect September 29, that rule is based on data
that was generated through ELDs,” Heller noted. “By looking at
that data and interpreting that data, we obviously have developed
a rule that makes more sense for today’s drivers. What’s
more, a new HOS rule based upon data generated by ELDs can
not only benefit the driver, but also benefit the nation because
these drivers can be safer because they’re afforded flexibility to
operate in a safe space.”
“Yeah, absolutely,” Schrier said when asked if he felt ELD data
influenced the development of the new HOS rule, pointing to the
flexibility for the driver to use different sleeper berth combinations
and the ability to stop the clock for adverse conditions.
“Think about it,” he said. “You’re running into Chicago.
You’re going to hit the perimeter of Chicago at 4 o’clock and
you need to deliver a load the next morning. You have some
really tough decisions to make because of the lack of flexibility
with the current rule. I’m either going to have to sit in
traffic today and fight it tonight to get inside the city before I
take my 10-hour break and hopefully, I can find parking or I
hang outside the city.”
Now, the driver has the option of extending the 14-hour window.
Both Heller and Schrier are
hopeful that ELDs can help develop
a regulation dealing with driver
retention, an issue that ranks high
on the American Transportation
Research Institute’s Top 10 List of
Industry Concerns.
It’s a problem drivers often complain
about when talking with their
driver manager, both men say.
“Detention is something that has
been bought off by auditing companies
or the freight payer,” Schrier
said. “With an ELD, pretty much
every second of a truck’s movement
is tracked, and it shows you
were in the proximity of the yard at
“
With an ELD, pretty
much every second of a truck’s
movement is tracked, and it shows
you were in the proximity of the
yard at your appointment claim.”
your appointment claim,” helping to refute the shippers’ and
receivers’ claim that detention was the fault of the driver.
Solving the detention issue with the help of ELD data is a
safety issue, too.
“Studies show drivers drive faster after getting out of a detention
event,” Heller said.
Carriers tend to forget how they can use ELD to enhance fuel
consumption through better utilization of routes, Schrier said.
“Of course, the ELD will give them the route they took, and we
work with commercial navigation systems to produce the data,”
Schrier said. “One of the safest miles is a mile never driven.
The ELD will help do two things. First, it will make sure the
driver has the correct route, and second, that it is the optimal
route. You don’t want to have a driver have an accident on a
road they shouldn’t have been on. You hear about these unnecessary
accidents all the time.”
Heller said utilization of ELD data could be expanded into
other areas, such as driver training.
“Think of the expanded training opportunities that you can
provide the drivers,” he said. “ELDs coupled with cameras
through a telematic-typed base system with cameras can record
hard braking, lane-departure incidents, or even more so, what
the driver’s viewpoint is out the window. Coupled with ELDs,
these systems can give a roadmap
of sorts to show what kind of driving
aspects you may need to freshen
drivers up on. Twenty years
— Doug Schrier,
vice president of product and innovation at Transflo
ago, I don’t think anybody ever
thought these things would ever
be possible. But here we are in a
world where we can provide the
training techniques to drivers to
improve upon their performance.
It will take time, but the industry
will get better at using ELD as an
opportunity to reduce accidents on
our roadways.
“We’ve only reached the tip of
the iceberg when it comes to using
ELD-produced information to better
our industry,” he concluded.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 27

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER | TCA 2020
A Chat With The Chairman
A Word of
Encouragement
Never confuse faith that you will prevail
in the end with the discipline to confront
the facts of your current reality
Foreword and Interview by Lyndon Finney
Little did anyone know that the 82nd annual convention Truckload 2020: Orlando would
provide the last bit of “normality” for the Truckload Carriers Association this year. Just after the
convention ended, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world — as the saying goes — like a ton of
bricks. Everyone hoped the pandemic would be short-lived, but that hasn’t been the case. TCA
Chairman Dennis Dellinger suddenly found himself leading an Association by means of emails,
texts, telephone calls, and virtual meetings. And lead he did. In his third “chat,” Chairman Dellinger
brings members up to date on the Association’s accomplishments of the past two months,
touches on key industry issues such as a proposed highway bill, talks about how trucking has
been thrust into the spotlight as a result of the pandemic, and closes with a word of encouragement
as the industry continues to face the unknowns of dealing with an unprecedented pandemic.
28 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

Sponsored by
Tca 2020 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 29

Sponsored by Mcleod software
McLeodSoftware.com | 877.362.5363
Mr. Chairman, you are now halfway through
your term. Give us an update on how you think
things are going and what is on the agenda
during the last half of your term.
Our work at TCA has continued much the same as
that of our industry. My agenda this year was broad
and included engagement, image, and advocacy. As
an industry deemed vital, our drivers have been lifelines
for many communities throughout our nation
when other industries were forced to step back. Our
drivers have been thrust in the limelight and have
been recognized as heroes. It is now our responsibility
to keep the momentum going and determine how
to get publicity outside our industry for those recognition
programs we operate within the Association.
COVID-19 has forced us to look at how we operate
daily and how we remain relevant as an Association.
The staff has never taken its eyes off the ball as they
have overcome obstacles that have allowed them to
communicate and deliver pertinent information critical
to the membership. COVID-19 will force us to find
alternatives to accomplish our desired goals for the
balance of the year, but I stand confident the staff and
membership will prevail.
As we speak, you are in Asheville, North
Carolina, for the annual officers’ retreat.
What precautions did you take to ensure the
safety of the participants?
Let me begin by saying I was excited that we were
able to hold the meeting in Asheville and showcase
the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and its
illustrious greenery. We had much discussion prior,
on both the practicality of holding the meeting and
the safety of those participating. There were ongoing
communications for months between TCA staff and
those responsible at the Biltmore properties. The staff
at the Biltmore was great to work with, proposing
their respective guidelines in accordance with those
mandated by (North Carolina) Gov. (Roy) Cooper’s
office. As a result, we met in an outdoor environment,
under a tent, and wore masks when leaving our
seats. Everyone handled the requirements in stride,
allowing us to focus on the task at hand.
In June, TCA held its annual Safety & Security
Meeting as a virtual rather than in-person
event. The number of registrants was far more
than the attendance when the conference is
held in person. Share with members some of the
highlights of the event.
The interest received from our virtual event was
tremendous. In fact, this meeting generated nearly
1,200 registrants. Some of the highlights included
comments from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Acting Administrator Jim Mullen in our Fireside
Chat, moderated by Dave Nemo, host of Radio Nemo
on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking. Our “Safety in the
Round” conversations, though virtual, still provided
beneficial insights, and the CEO Panel, in which I participated
with some of my fellow officers, generated a
lot of buzz. Honestly, the overall meeting was a success
and demonstrated to us that there is still a need
for industry interaction, even with COVID-19 spreading
across the country.
30 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org Tca 2020

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Both the annual Call on Washington and
the Fall Business Meeting were scheduled for
September but because of the COVID-19 crisis, the
Call on Washington has been canceled and the
Fall Business Meeting will be a virtual event.
Since they can’t come to Washington, would
you encourage TCA members to contact their
Congressional delegations via phone, text,
email, or mail?
One of the things that COVID-19 has shown this
nation is how instrumental the trucking industry
and its professional drivers have become as we
battle this virus. While our nation deals with
recovery efforts, Congress is certainly still pressing
forward on meaningful legislation such as highway
reauthorization and stimulus packages that have
supported many carriers during this pandemic. In
noting that, it is important our members continue
to foster their relationships with those that govern.
We have always insisted that we have a story
to tell, and it is more important today than ever
before to tell it. Developing alternative methods
of communication outside of an annual visit to
Washington has proven to be extremely beneficial
toward fostering relationships with our friends on
Capitol Hill, so we can best communicate the effect
any potential legislation will have on our industry.
In fact, once this pandemic is behind us, I would
encourage inviting your senators and representatives
to visit your terminals to help them gain a
better understanding of how the rules and regulations
affect your company.
What are some of the discussion points they
should make in those communications to
legislators?
To start, any discussion should begin with the
desire to have a multiyear infrastructure bill to
replace the FAST Act and make the Highway Trust
Fund become more self-sustainable. One thing this
pandemic has demonstrated is that the freight delivery
model is more expedient with less traffic on the
roads, and any infrastructure plan should come with
the ability to repair our infrastructure so that traffic
can move more freely. Additionally, movement on hair
testing as an alternative to urine-based drug testing
protocols is essential to support our industry’s zerotolerance
policy. Other issues like suspending the FET
on equipment purchases and finding ways to
increase truck parking availability would be extremely
beneficial to the truckload sector of our industry.
Quite frankly, once this issue lands on the desks of
our membership, the new rules concerning hours
of service will be upon us. These rules have been
developed based upon the data generated by ELDs
and should be viewed as a mere start, not an end.
These devices are telling a story, and flexibility is the
answer.
As the pandemic lessens and life begins to
return to normal, how can the trucking
industry sustain the extremely positive image
that has been created during recent months?
There is no doubt the professional truck drivers,
who represent the tip of the spear in the fight
against COVID-19, have received unprecedented
and well-deserved accolades for their willingness to
deliver the supplies our nation desperately needs.
But, it is up to us to continue that positive
momentum. Taking advantage of such image-building
programs like Highway Angel and Driver of the
Year have proven that we can continue providing
our drivers with the kudos they so richly deserve.
I think carriers will find similar programs at their
state trucking association as well in an effort to
continue recognizing our drivers who refused to
give in to this virus.
32 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org Tca 2020

The House Transportation & Infrastructure
Committee recently passed the Investing in a
New Vision for the Environment and Surface
Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act
that includes huge expenditures for roads and
bridges. This bill was later incorporated within
the larger Moving America Forward Act recently
passed by the House. While this legislation is
unlikely to pass the Senate in its current form, is
this at least a start in coming up with a highway
reauthorization bill to replace the fasT Act that
expires at midnight September 30?
It is important that these conversations continue
to permeate throughout the halls of Congress, but we
must still be cognizant of the fact that the House and
Senate are widely divided when it comes to some of
these issues. If you remember the last time we transitioned
from MAP-21 to the FAST Act, there were 13
continuing resolutions passed prior to settling on what
will be expiring at the end of September. We have
been given every inclination that any highway reauthorization
that gets passed will most likely traverse down
the same road we experienced last time around.
The INVEST in America Act includes an
amendment that would raise the minimum
liability insurance requirement from $750,000
to $2 million. What is TCA’s position on this
increase?
TCA policy is to support a minimum level of liability
insurance, though what that level of insurance is
remains to be seen. It is fair to point out, the level
has not been raised since its introduction in 1980,
and most carriers have reported receiving increases
to insurance premiums over the past few years.
However, the increase to $2 million seems random
at best, and the reality is that any changes to the
minimum levels of insurance should accompany tort
reforms, so that nuclear verdicts can be addressed.
A push to suspend the Federal Excise Tax (FET)
on Class 8 trucks has garnered support from 55
Democratics. does TCA support the suspension
— or complete deletion — of the FET on Class 8
tractors?
TCA does support the suspension of the FET as
a response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and
assistance with any federal recovery efforts. We believe
the suspension of the FET would serve as an
extremely effective policy to spur the sales of newer,
cleaner trucks, which would retain jobs in the trucking
sector and help rebuild the economy. Due to the
pandemic, truck sales are expected to plummet by
50% in 2020. In order to help jumpstart the economy
as the virus ebbs, suspension of the 12% FET
would immediately spark the purchase of new heavy
duty trucks and trailers, as well as assist in saving
nearly 7.8 million American jobs in trucking.
On a personal note, the covid-19 pandemic
has dealt a blow to our country and our
beloved trucking industry.”Would you like to
offer a word of encouragement to Americans
and especially members of the trucking
community?
I wish I could be more original in offering up
encouragement without being overly simplistic, but
it is only faith, knowing things will get better, that
calms my angst and fear of the unknown we face
with the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeling helpless does
not allow us to make good decisions in our companies
or our Association. Early in the pandemic a
co-worker sent me a short video that the author, Jim
Collins, sent his readers, which has helped to guide
me. Jim shared that if he had one piece of advice
during these times, it would be a comment he refers
to as the Stockdale Paradox. You must never confuse
faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can
never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront
the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever
they might be. Take time to read about Vice
Admiral James Stockdale and the context in which
he spoke these words.
Tca 2020 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 33

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER | TCA 2020
Talking TCA
Those
Who Deliver
with CRST International
PROFILE
By Sam Pierce
Hugh Ekberg was approached three different times
to join CRST International before he finally agreed.
“I didn’t know anything about trucking, and it
wasn’t until I met with the owners in Iowa that I
finally agreed to it,” shared Ekberg. “It really piqued
my interest, because of their strong position in the
market, and the private-owner structure that was
designed to run and lead the business.”
Ekberg grew up in an engineering family — his
dad and brothers were engineers and in the steel
business. Ekberg worked in manufacturing most of
his career and had always focused on operations, working on the front
end on the sales and marketing side.
In 1999, he was hired by Hirsh Industries, a furniture-manufacturing
company out of Des Moines, Iowa, as the company’s president. He also
worked for The Weitz Company, a large construction company based in
Des Moines, that serves nationwide.
Ekberg was the president of Kohler Co. until he was hired by
CRST in 2016. He began at CRST as the chief operating officer and
was promoted to president and CEO on October 1, 2018.
CRST was founded in 1955 and has had the same ownership since.
Ekberg said that with the same family owning the company, it has
grown successfully and has fared well through acquisitions brought on
by the company. He said CRST has the largest team fleet in the industry
and this has been achieved through acquisition and development.
According to Ekberg, CRST has 6,000 trucks, with 1,500 in the
team business. He added that the company also has a healthy flatbed
business, plus about 1,000 independent contractors. CRST
also play a vital role in the home-delivery business, Ekberg shared,
noting that this part of the business includes delivering for custom
auto shows or specialty shows with antique and high-end cars.
“We just did an acquisition that is very specific for home delivery with
NAL Group, which is in the Top 5 for home delivery and installation,”
said Ekberg, adding that the company’s acquisitions over the years have
allowed them to “have the most completed service models, which include
flatbed freight, dedicated services, and home deliveries.”
“We want to be a one-stop solution for our customers, and we have
been successful over time through these acquisitions,” noted Ekberg.
“In the past, CRST has used several different brands that came through
acquisitions, but now we have all those capabilities in one powerful
brand.”
He said the company is in a unique situation that allows customers
to be more efficient and grow in their business, which gives customers
the ability to drive productivity and efficiency.
“Our key to success is going to rely on our ability to build the strongest
team, by attracting and retaining top talent, and give the organization
those who have the responsibility and authority to drive efficiently
and understand the customer,” he said. This involves “meeting the customer’s
needs and building the capability to serve the customer at the
highest level.”
He said CRST wants to ensure the company is doing something every
34 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

“
Our key to success
is going to rely on our
ability to build the strongest
team, by attracting and
retaining top talent, and
give the organization those who have
the responsibility and authority to drive
efficiently and understand the customer.”
— Hugh Ekberg
President and CEO of CRST International
day to make the drivers more successful. He said the company’s culture
is understanding what the success is based on, which is achieving
organic growth by winning the customer and beating the competition.
“One important cultural element is ownership,” said Ekberg.
“And ownership is a different word than accountability, which can
have a negative connotation. We need to understand the actions
needed for success and take ownership of the results. We are
working hard to drive a culture of ownership that is focused on
serving the customer.”
Ekberg said CRST’s business relies on the ability of the drivers of
the trucks and the teammates on the road, as well as the independent
contractor and their truck. “We have to focus on giving them everything
they need to be successful, because that’s where customer interactions
happen,” he said.
Ekberg added that the trucking industry has an “extremely steep”
learning curve, so the company has moved toward integrating a new
single operating system with more flexibility and more efficiency.
Ekberg noted that this change will help drive better decision-making
for the company.
CRST’s team business is heavily tied to retail and getting products
into stores, and not sitting in inventory for a long time, which can
feature some time-sensitive freight.
“We have a significantly large footprint in the retail sector, so when
everything was shut down for about 10 weeks (during the COVID-19
pandemic), it had a huge impact on us,” he added. “We lost volume.
We weren’t immune to it, as we had employees on furlough. But we
have benefited by being in the home-delivery business, so that has
been a positive for us.”
CRST provides time-sensitive, high-speed freight as well as construction
products with a dedicated business to automotive, retail,
paper, and grocery. Ekberg said they do work with Walmart, Home
Depot, and other big retailers. He noted that CRST does a little bit of
everything.
“As retail comes back, we are seeing things come back. April was
the absolute bottom, and our current spike in numbers has everyone
concerned for another shutdown,” he noted.
Executive Leadership
Hugh Ekberg
president and CEO
Mike Gannon
chief operating officer
Andrew Hadland
group president
Brook Willey
vice president of human resources
By the Numbers
DRIVERS
6,496
TRUCKS
6,000
OTHER EMPLOYEES
1,985
TRAILERS
14,256
While many people have faced economic downturns in the past,
this was the first downturn happening during a global health crisis.
“It presented a unique challenge, but for us, one of the most
important things we learned was our ability to be productive and
effective in a more remote work environment,” he said. “We were
forced to figure it out, but it produced significantly long-term benefits,
because now everyone has the ability to do video conferencing,
and it has become a standard way of doing work. A lot more
flexibility is definitely possible, and it helps us attract and recruit
the best talent.”
The photos on these pages offer a glimpse of the culture at CRST International. Solutions provided by CRST include dedicated, expedited, flatbed, specialized,
integrated, and equipment. CRST is one of the nation’s largest carriers. It offers many ways to drive, including student and recent grad driving, experienced driving,
independent contractors, and agents. CRST currently has double the national average of women truck drivers. It has several women who have driven a million miles
without incident and have been with CRST for over a decade, while many other female drivers are leading the way for women in trucking as trainers. President and
CEO Hugh Ekberg (shown at the top of this page) has been with CRST for four years.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 35

5 Steps for Communicating
Your New Comp Plan
By Beth Carroll
Prosperio Group
We are already more than halfway through 2020 and many of you are thinking about
implementing new incentive plans for 2021. For some of your employees, this will mean the
opportunity to earn more money. But for others it may mean less pay, or a need to change
behavior or reach higher goals to maintain the pay they have made in the past. These are
difficult conversations that should be handled with care.
Effort Begins with Building Trust
This is where some real skill comes in for the person leading the communication change —
but the effort should have begun a while ago. If employees are treated fairly throughout the
year, are given accurate information, and have their questions addressed promptly and with
respect, you are a long way down the path of having a successful communication event because
you will have built up necessary trust credits.
Of course, the easiest plans to communicate are those that provide a genuine upside. For
many, the change will be easy, and they will welcome the additional earnings potential, but
there will always be a few who resist change, simply because it’s change or because they
have mistaken ideas about how taxes work or they don’t want to pay more in alimony. Developing
a good sense of what you can and cannot control is critical to the perceived success of
the communication event. Not everyone will be happy, and you shouldn’t expect universal
acceptance as an outcome.
About the Author
Beth Carroll is managing principal at
the Prosperio Group, a compensation
consulting firm that focuses on aligning pay
with performance to help companies drive
profitable growth.
36 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

Five Steps to Follow
For any plan, you should follow a standard communication process that involves
these five steps:
1. Develop a high-level presentation that includes the following sections:
• Business objectives and strategy.
• Organization structure changes, if any.
• Process used to develop the plan.
• Highlights of plan changes, such as what’s good and what’s different.
• Next steps, including when the plan will go into effect and when employees
will achieve their goals.
• Plan details by role.
• Calculation examples.
• Wrap-up and Q&A.
2. Develop calculators that show earnings under the new plan and allow employees to
do “what if” scenarios to model changes in performance. Sitting down with one of the
resistant employees and walking them through such a calculator can be a powerful way
to warm them up to the change.
3. Test the presentation and the calculators with a “communications test group.”
Remember, this is as much about marketing the new plan as it is about the math behind
the calculations.
4. Communicate the plans to managers first. Be sure they understand the plan so they
can explain it and answer questions.
5. Communicate the plan to the employees in stages:
• Group communication. Business leaders should be involved in this event. Be sure to
send a copy of any presentation used or make it available for download on a secure
site.
• Manager communication one-on-one with each rep. This should occur two to seven
days after the group communication and should include as much detail as possible,
including goals for the following year if they have been set. This gives employees a
chance to ask more questions in a private setting. Managers should be instructed to
gather questions so they can be posted along with answers on your network.
• Plan document distribution. A week or two after the group communication, the
employees should be given their full plan document to review and sign.
• Feedback, feedback, feedback. As the year continues, continual reinforcement of the
plan is critical to success. Too many managers treat compensation communication
as a one-time event. This is a huge strategic error. Good compensation plans do not
manage themselves, nor should they. Even under the simplest straight-commission
plan, every incentive payment is a coaching event that can be capitalized on to change
or reinforce behavior.
Communicating your new compensation plan does not have to be as challenging as you might think.
Taking the steps necessary to prepare will give the employees a clear and positive experience.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 37

TCA Safety & Security Meeting
Stepping up to
the challenge
Attendance boomed
as TCA’s Safety &
Security Meeting took
virtual format for 2020
By Linda Garner-Bunch
Like so many other conferences and events since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Safety & Security Meeting, held
June 23-25, was moved to an online venue in an effort to protect
the health of the Truckload Carriers Association’s membership and staff.
While attendees were disappointed about not being able to participate
face to face, TCA Vice President of Government Affairs David Heller
shared that the number of registrants exploded. The in-person event
normally draws about 200 participants — but registration for the threeday
virtual meeting captured more than 1,200 attendees representing
733 organizations.
“Truck safety is one of those issues that doesn’t ever go away,” noted
Heller. “As our professional truck drivers travel down the road, safety
has to be at the front of everyone’s minds. We’re not giving up on safety
just because we have a global pandemic.”
Revamping a three-day conference into an online event was no easy
task for TCA staff. “We took about a six-month process and crammed it
into less than six weeks,” explained Heller. “TCA staff worked overtime
on this one just to make sure all the i’s were dotted and t’s were crossed.
It was important to us. Just because we’re in a COVID-19 environment,
it doesn’t mean we’re not here to support our membership.”
To allow participants more flexibility in their schedules, TCA scheduled
online events during the afternoon, leaving the mornings free for
attendees to tend to other business matters. Each meeting began at
noon with participants exploring the Virtual Vendor Showcase, a set of
microsites devoted to the supplies and services provided by sponsors of
the event.
DAY 1: TUESDAY, JUNE 23
At 1 p.m., TCA Safety Council Chairman and Maverick Transportation
Vice President of Safety and Driver Training Dean Newell welcomed
attendees to the first general session.
“While the virus has hampered our ability to travel, changed the
nature in which we interact, and prevented the personal touch that is
the very foundation of this meeting, it will not limit us in exchanging
the fundamental idea that has helped the meeting thrive — and that is
improving upon truckload safety,” noted Newell.
The capstone of the first session was a panel discussion by truckingindustry
executives, moderated by TCA President John Lyboldt. Panelists
included TCA Chairman and Cargo Transporters Inc. President and
CEO Dennis Dellinger; TCA Past Chairman and Doran Logistics Services
President Dan Doran; TCA Treasurer and Knight Transportation
Executive Vice President Dave Williams; and TCA Officer and Nagle
Toledo Inc. President and CEO Ed Nagle.
This distinguished panel offered insightful views on a variety of
topics relevant to safety within the trucking industry and fielded numerous
questions from meeting participants. Of course, COVID-19 remains
a primary point of concern for safety professionals, and the panel shared
valuable information about how they and their companies were dealing
with the unique challenges presented by the pandemic — from remote
working options, the use of technology to facilitate communication
between support staff and drivers, and outlooks for moving forward
post-pandemic.
Other topics included the new hours of service (HOS) rules, the
Crash-Preventability Determination Program, the potential effect of
While the Truckload Carriers Association’s annual Safety & Security Meeting was presented through an online venue, the event was attended by about 1,200
people representing 733 organizations. During the three-day event, participants took part in a variety of round-table discussion groups and workshops, along with
gaining insights from some of the industry’s top experts during the general sessions.
38 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

autonomous Class 8 trucks and platooning on the industry, and more.
Dellinger opened the day’s second general session with remarks
noting the value of partnership and the role of the trucking industry in
the current crisis.
“As you know, our drivers have come to represent our nation’s army
of first responders, delivering the much-needed freight that kept our
stores stocked, our doctors and nurses supplied with PPE, and emphasizing
once again that, ‘If you have it, a truck brought it,’” he shared.
The session also featured a Second Annual Fireside Chat with Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Acting Administrator
Jim Mullen and TCA’s Heller, moderated by SiriusXM Road Dog
Trucking Host Dave Nemo. Nemo set the tone for the casual questionand-answer
session, which featured questions from meeting attendees on
topics ranging from HOS to emergency waivers, the Drug and Alcohol
Clearinghouse, insurance liability minimums, and broker transparency.
When asked about the speed with which FMCSA enacted emergency
declarations and waivers during the COVID-19 crisis, Mullen responded,
“It came straight from the White House. President Donald Trump
made it known that he expected all of the agencies to be responsive to
the pandemic and to the emergency that we are confronted with. … We
just wanted to be as supportive as we could.”
Heller noted the importance of communication, adding that the pandemic
hit just as TCA’s Annual Convention wrapped up in early March.
“The members wanted to know what was going on. Our drivers were
still driving, and freight was still being delivered. While people were
shutting down and municipalities were closing off things, the drivers
were looking for information. Kudos to Jim and his staff, because
information started flowing.”
DAY 2: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Wednesday’s general session featured remarks by Dellinger, the presentation
of this year’s TCA Safety Professional of the Year — Clare C.
Casey Award, and a presentation by Daimler Trucks North America’s
Kary Schaefer on the future of heavy-duty trucks.
Dellinger praised TCA’s leadership and staff for their efforts in presenting
this year’s meeting, saying, “A special thanks to each and every
one of you for your drive, commitment, and passion. Our Association
would not be where it is without each of you.”
Next, he turned to TCA members. “COVID-19 has dictated a portrait
of our membership that represents the best this industry has to offer,”
stated Dellinger. “We lead by example. We practice what we preach. We
will leave no stone unturned in our endless effort to create an industry
highlighted by the very best examples of what we have to offer in our
vital role to the sustainability of this great country.”
Following the general session, attendees participated in two workshop
series. The first series offered a choice of topics including Proliferating
Marijuana Problems, Safety Perspectives on Insurance Purchasing,
and Safety Craves Culture Change. Among the options during the second
series were What to Expect at Roadside, Changes to C-TPAT, and
COVID-19 and the Workforce Challenges Today.
DAY 3: THURSDAY, JUNE 25
The final day of the meeting wrapped up with two general sessions,
round-table discussions, and open-deck sessions that covered flatbed
cargo securement and FMCSA updates, as well as open-deck cargo risk
mitigation.
During the day’s first general session, Colorado State University
Associate Professor of Systems Engineering Jeremy Daily discussed
data security and how to spot and correct security flaws that could enable
hackers to take control of electronic devices and data.
The final general session of the three-day event touched on a topic
that’s front-of-mind for many in the trucking industry: Nuclear jury
verdicts. Porter Rennie Woodward and Kendall LLP Outside Counsel
Clay Porter discussed the overly litigious environment facing motor carriers.
He provided insights on how safety technology can be a doubleedged
sword in a lawsuit, as well as the role of safety protocol in the
hiring process as seen through a legal lens.
Not able to attend the event? Recordings are available. Email
truckloadacademy@truckload.org to access.
1,200 733
took part in
representing TCA’s 3-day
attendees
organizations Safety & Security Meeting
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 39

TCA Safety Professional of the Year
A different
approach
Jill Maschmeier brings a
fresh outlook and creativity
to safety and compliance
By Wendy Miller
To say that Jill Maschmeier has flair and enthusiasm is an understatement.
There aren’t many people who incorporate a fog machine
or a crystal ball into a presentation about safety issues, but
that is just one way that Maschmeier stands out amongst her peers.
“Jill always wants to do things a little bit differently, but not in a bad
way,” shared Truckload Carriers Association Vice President of Government
Affairs David Heller, referring to Maschmeier’s involvement in annual
TCA safety meetings and other speaking events where she is given
a platform to further discuss safety issues.
“She likes to deliver a message in a way that is not necessarily the
norm. When she calls, I always say, ‘How are you going to scare me
today?’” he said with a laugh.
Maschmeier, who is the director of safety and compliance for National
Carriers Inc. (NCI), said she enjoys adding an interesting touch to a presentation
about a topic that might not be considered “fun.” A little bit of
laughter isn’t all Maschmeier brings to the table in the area of safety and
compliance: She also brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track
record of excellence in the field.
Now she can add 2020 TCA Safety Professional of the Year — Clare
C. Casey Award recipient to her list of accomplishments. The award
is named for Clare Casey, a devoted safety professional who actively
served TCA from 1979 to 1989 and was instrumental in forming the first
annual Safety and Security Division Meeting.
“This is an award that is bestowed to a safety professional within TCA
that certainly demonstrates a career achievement in safety. It is given to
those that have demonstrated an impact,” added Heller.
Maschmeier certainly fits the bill. Surprisingly, though, she had no
experience in safety before accepting a job with NCI in 2000. In fact, she
jokingly admits that before joining NCI, she was anything BUT familiar
with “compliance.”
“I couldn’t even spell compliance,” she shared with a laugh. “Maybe it
should be embarrassing to me, but I think it’s hilarious, actually.”
When Maschmeier joined the team at NCI, the company had an
“unsatisfactory” safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA). A year later, with Maschmeier leading the department,
NCI earned a “satisfactory” rating on its next inspection — as
well as a letter of recommendation from the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT).
Maschmeier said she continues to view that improvement as a badge
of honor. But how did she do it? First, she quickly credits the entire company
for its desire to grow and be better in the area of safety. She and
her team worked long hours, nearly seven
days a week, every week for nearly a year
to prepare for the inspection. Because
Maschmeier didn’t have a background in
safety, she knew she had a lot to learn, so
she asked a lot of questions.
“Achieving that satisfactory rating was
one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever
experienced,” said Maschmeier. “I was in
constant contact with [FMCSA] during
that time. That’s what I wish people could
learn from this experience. If you’re upfront,
honest, and trying to correct errors,
they will help you.”
Heller said that a desire to learn is another of Maschmeier’s greatest
qualities — and a quality that remains unchanged now that she has
become a veteran safety professional. She is never afraid to ask questions,
even many years after entering the field of safety and compliance:
“That’s just part of her M.O.,” he explained.
Throughout her nearly 20 years with NCI, Maschmeier has helped the
company maintain an exceptional safety and compliance record and promoted
a culture that places safety and compliance as a priority, but she
hasn’t done it alone. She noted that NCI provides a great family-oriented
environment that leads to an overall culture of safety and care.
“We really, really do care about our drivers. We’re not so big that we don’t
know most of our drivers by name,” she shared. “If they hurt, we hurt.”
Maschmeier believes that knowing the rules and a constant desire to
learn is what helps a trucking business stay on top of safety and compliance.
As she has grown in the industry, she has gained several certifications
that help her navigate the changing world of safety, including becoming
certified through North American Transportation Management
Institute (NATMI) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA). She is also a certified purchasing manager and licensed
insurance adjuster.
She works to spread a new outlook on safety through various organizations.
She has served as a TCA Safety Council officer since 2019 and
served on the Southwest Kansas Safety Council, and she was recognized
as Kansas Motor Carrier Association’s 2016 Safety Professional of the
Year. She has also partnered with FMCSA to educate others about electronic
logging devices (ELDs).
Maschmeier brings that same flair and enthusiasm to every podium
she stands behind, including the FMCSA’s Commercial Vehicle Safety
Summit, the Women In Trucking Conference, the Transportation Mega
Conference, and, of course, TCA.
“I can’t say enough positive words about her,” stated Heller. “She likes
to set the tone a bit differently, and that is great. She wants to get people’s
attention, and she wants to hold it and talk about issues that matter.”
Top: Jill Maschmeier, who is the director of safety and compliance for National Carriers Inc., always looks to bring a fun presentation to the podium when she
speaks about safety. In this photo, she was dressed as a fortune teller.
40 Truckload TRUCKLOAD auThoriTy AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org Tca TCA 2020

How can I showcase my expertise?
TCA’s Truckload Academy webinars offer the opportunity to
promote your brand while advancing the industry. Whether
you want your branding prominently featured on a webinar developed
by TCA’s education team or your team of experts wants
to present on a topic of your choosing, sponsoring a webinar
provides guaranteed returns.
TCA’s Truckload Academy is always looking for top industry
thought leaders and subject-matter experts on today’s trending
topics. Sponsorships are now available. Here are some topic
suggestions:
Regulatory Updates
• Electronic logging devices/
Hours of service;
• Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse;
• Autonomous vehicles;
• Speed limiters;
• Infrastructure;
• Truck size & weight; and
• New legislative issues
Other Hot Topics
• Independent contractors –
AB5 ruling;
• Artificial intelligence;
• Benchmarking & best
practices;
• Nuclear verdicts;
• Mergers & acquisitions;
• Insurance & expense control; and
• Economic update & forecast
Human Resources
• Driver onboarding;
• Driver recruiting;
• Driver retention;
• Company training;
• Workforce development;
• Leadership training; and
• Succession planning
Present on a topic of your
choosing
Average length of webinar is
60 minutes, including Q&A
Average registration is 250
attendees
Reach C-level and safety/
operations staff
2-3 companies may
co-host or sponsor a host
per webinar
Showcase your expertise
Highlight your brand and become a
go-to resource for the industry
Promote, advance, and
generate a return
Thanks to webinar sponsors, all audiences
— both TCA members and non-members —
can register at no cost.
Interested in sponsoring? Contact TCA’s
Vice President of Membership and Outreach
Zander Gambill at zgambill@truckload.org
or 571-444-0301 to learn more.
Tca 41 Truckload 2020 Authority | www.Truckload.org www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority TCA 2020 41

Highway Angels
Professional truck drivers Douglas Brown, Dylan
Goodman, Evert Gott, David Hill, Patrick Lablanc
and Nathalie Rivard, Harvell “Keith” Martin, Travis
Smallwood, and Greg Truitt have been named
Highway Angels by the Truckload Carriers Association
for performing heroic actions while on the job.
Douglas Brown
Brown, from Dallas is being recognized for rushing
to aid a heart-attack victim at the company yard.
Brown was waiting at his company yard while a
contractor applied new decals to his tractor. He had
stepped into the office to speak with dispatch when
the head of the shop rushed in and yelled to call 911.
Someone had collapsed to the ground of an apparent
heart attack and was unresponsive. Brown ran outside
to help. It was the contractor. “He was on the ground
and his son, who was with him that day, was holding
him,” recalled Brown. “I could see that he was turning
blue. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t there. I
put my hand under his nose but couldn’t feel any air.”
Brown adjusted the man so he was lying on the
ground and began CPR. “I opened his mouth and
checked, but he had some chew that was restricting
his airway.” He started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
to push the obstruction through and open the airway
and then resumed chest compressions. Others were
now gathering at the scene. Brown continued CPR for
15-20 minutes.
“Another driver, a former fire fighter, came over
and helped me keep him alive until the ambulance
got there,” said Brown. “They worked on him and got
him up almost like nothing was wrong. His son came
back a couple days later and finished doing the decals
on my truck. I was happy to hear that his father is
just fine.”
Dylan Goodman
Goodman, from Conneaut, Ohio, is being recognized
for rushing to help after witnessing a horrific
crash that gravely injured a motorist.
Since getting behind the wheel, Goodman, only
21, has seen a lot. But what happened on a beautiful
clear day in March has hit him the hardest.
He was leaving Justin, Texas, on I-35, heading
north toward home. As he drove across a bridge,
he saw a small red car across the way, stopped
in the slow lane of southbound traffic. “She was
in the middle of the lane with her hazards on,”
he shared with TCA. He can only speculate as to
what was wrong, but he knew she was in danger,
given the heavy traffic. “I was yelling on the radio
to warn southbound (truck drivers) traffic about
what was ahead of them, but nobody runs with CBs
anymore,” he said.
All he could do was watch helplessly as a semitruck
came barreling down the road. “He hit her so
hard,” he recalled. “I don’t know why he didn’t see
her. It was a straight stretch of road.” He said the
car shot like a missile down an embankment and
into a patch of trees.
Goodman pulled over to the median as the other
truck drove another 500 yards down the road. He
ran across the road and down the embankment. “I
got to the car, and it was just a mangled mess,”
he said. “The roof was caved in and the door was
pinched in on her. She was groaning and still conscious.
I don’t know where I got it, but I was able
to pull the door open and pry the roof back and get
into the vehicle to assess her condition.” Goodman
is a former EMT. “She had a faint pulse and didn’t
have a clear airway. She was so twisted up in the
car I couldn’t secure her to get her out.”
Goodman believes the driver was in her 30s.
“I tried to comfort her to let her know someone was
there with her ... she was fading fast. I wish I could
have done more. I feel horrible for her family.” He
said she died about 30 minutes later.
“Doing this job, you see a lot of stuff. Nothing
can really prepare you for being put in that situation.
You want to be able to show a little compassion.
If it means losing an hour of drive time, well,
tomorrow is a new day. Right now, I’m on my way
back to Texas. I made a cross for her. I noticed
when I went through last week there was nothing
there for her. I’ll put it on the side of the road for
her.”
Evert Gott
Gott, from Lacassine, Louisiana, is being recognized
for aiding another driver who was injured after
his truck rolled over, dumping hot asphalt.
It was mid-afternoon on May 1, and Gott was
heading to Fort Worth, Texas, when he saw a dump
truck carrying hot asphalt roll over in the eastbound
lanes of I-20 just outside Vicksburg, Mississippi.
DOUGLAS BROWN
DYLAN GOODMAN
EVERT GOTT
DAVID HILL
42 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org Tca 2020

“He was going into a curve, blew a tire, lost control, and flipped over,”
shared Gott. “The guardrail stopped him.” Gott pulled over as quickly as
he could and ran back to the scene. “I did my best Dukes-of-Hazzard jump
to get over the guardrail,” he quipped. “By the time I got to the truck, he
was barely walking and trying to move around the front of the truck toward
the guardrail.”
Asphalt had spread all over the road and in to the truck. “He had tar on
his side. He was in pain and his skin was peeling off,” recalled Gott. “I
helped him to my truck to get him in the shade where he could sit down.”
He gave the man a bottle of cold water. A deputy arrived and called an ambulance.
“It took what seemed like hours to arrive,” Gott shared.
Gott did his best to help and comfort the driver until paramedics and
police arrived. The man’s wife arrived before emergency vehicles. She
thanked Gott several times for stopping and helping her husband. Gott
stayed at the scene for more than three hours, until the cleanup was done.
“The asphalt had spread from shoulder to shoulder, about 2 inches thick all
across the highway,” he said. “I couldn’t move until they were done.” As
he reflected on the accident, he noted that it happened on Friday, May 1, at
2:30 p.m., exactly two weeks after his mother died. “It made me wonder,”
he said, his voice trailing off. “I was thinking about her.”
David Hill
Hill is being recognized for helping a motorist who hit a patch of
treacherous black ice.
January 30 found David Hill on I-29, just north of Fargo, North Dakota.
He was coming from Winnipeg, bound for the southern end of Wisconsin.
“There was some ice on the roads, so I was only going about 55 mph, under
the speed limit,” he recalled. “I was taking my time, cruising along. I saw
a car come up beside me. She wasn’t speeding, but as she changed lanes to
come back into the right lane, she hit a patch of black ice in the center of
the road.” Hill slowed and watched as the car was thrown toward a snowbank
on the right. “She flew through it like a tornado and went about 100
yards off the road into a field,” he said. The car spun out and ended up on
its driver’s side. “I stopped and bailed out of my truck in my running shoes,
and went barreling through snow up to my knees,” Hill said. When he got
to the car, he found the passenger side door was nearly ripped off the car.
Hill said the driver was a 16-year-old young woman. “She was scared
pretty good and screaming for help. I told her I was there.” He climbed up
on the vehicle and stood on the windshield wipers. “She was laying there
against the driver’s door, covered in snow. She was only wearing a t-shirt
and jeans, the kind with holes all over them.”
Hill jumped down into the back seat, calmed the young woman, unbuckled
her, and helped her from the vehicle. “I grabbed her coat from the
backseat and we found her boots that had flown out of the car, and she put
those on. It was pretty cold, below zero. I got her back to my truck and kept
her warm until the state troopers got there. She wasn’t hurt, only a couple
bumps on her head and some scrapes on one arm.” She told Hill she was
on her way to work. “Being 16 years old, a crash like that, she was lucky,”
he said.
Patrick Leblanc and Nathalie Rivard
Leblanc and Rivard, from Notre Dame Du Mont Carmel, Quebec, Canada,
are being recognized for aiding a driver who fell asleep at the wheel
and went off the road.
It was around 1 a.m. on April 27. Driving team Leblanc and his wife,
Rivard, were traveling along Trans-Canada Highway 1 West near Bassano,
Alberta. Leblanc, who takes the night shift, was behind the wheel. He
slowed as he saw a pickup truck off the side of the road, lying on its side.
After pulling to the shoulder, Leblanc and Rivard hurried back to check on
the driver. Another truck stopped, and Leblanc asked the driver to call 911.
He then checked on the pickup truck driver.
“He was in a state of shock, and his left arm was cut and bleeding,”
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www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 43

ANGELS, FROM PAGE 43
shared Leblanc. “He didn’t know where he
was.” The passenger side of the pickup was
smashed. Everything in the pickup had flown
through the windshield. “He couldn’t find his
phone and wanted to call his wife in British
Columbia, but he was pretty shaken,” added
Leblanc. “I called her for him and told her he
would be all right.” As they waited for help to
arrive, Leblanc and Rivard gave the driver water
from their truck and calmed and reassured him.
What had happened? “The pavement was
dry,” Leblanc shared with TCA. “The driver
must have fallen asleep and when he hit the soft
shoulder, that woke him up, but it was too late.
He probably turned the steering wheel too hard
and that caused him to flip over.”
As they waited for EMS to arrive, Leblanc
cleared debris from the road. Other passersby
stopped to ask if more help was needed. The
next morning, the pair were relieved to receive
a call from the driver’s wife who told them he
had needed 15-20 stitches but would be all right.
She thanked them for all they did to help.
Leblanc has been driving since 1998 and has
been with Challenger Motor Freight since 2007.
He has stopped many times over his driving
career to help others in need out on the road. He
received a million-mile safety award from Challenger
in 2017. Rivard has driven for 10 years.
She and Leblanc have been driving together for
eight years, traveling throughout the U.S. and
Canada.
Harvell “Keith” Martin
Martin, from Tallapoosa, Georgia, is being
recognized for rushing to free a woman
trapped in her burning car.
It was a cold, rainy day in December and
Martin was on I-40 near Hickory, North Carolina.
His 18-year-old son, John, was riding
with him. As they were pulling out of a rest
area, they waited for a car to pass. A short
while later, they watched as the same vehicle
lost control on the slick road, spun out,
and ran off the road and down into a ravine.
Without hesitation, Martin pulled over, and he
and his son jumped out. They could see either
smoke or steam coming from the car, so Martin
grabbed a fire extinguisher and they both
ran down the embankment. The driver’s side
of the car was slammed against a tree. A moment
later, the car was on fire. Another truck
stopped and brought a second fire extinguisher.
However, they made no difference against the
flames. “They were actually making it worse,”
recalled Martin. The driver, a woman in her
late 20s, was conscious, but trapped inside,
and one leg was pinned. She was also pregnant.
“My son wanted to go in, but I wouldn’t let
him,” shared Martin. He got into the car, cut
the woman out of her seatbelt, and managed
to pull her out from the passenger side. “It was
so hot in there,” he said. The other truck driver
helped Martin and his son carry the woman a
safe distance from the burning vehicle.
When paramedics arrived, they found
that Martin sustained burns to his arm and
the back of his head. “Like a bad sunburn with
blisters,” he recalled. Someone later found his
melted headset at the scene. Thankfully, his
son was not injured. “He wants to drive a truck
so bad,” he shared, adding that John has ridden
with him in the truck quite a bit. Martin
has been driving since 1996 and driving OTR
since 2010. “It’s a safe job if you watch what
you’re doing and you’re careful,” he said.
“but last month we saw two people die in car
accidents in a week.”
Greg Truitt
Truitt, from Mount Airy, North Carolina, is
being recognized for stopping to help an elderly
woman stranded alone on the road.
It was 3 a.m. one day in early April, and
Truitt was traveling on U.S. 460 on his way
to Charleston, West Virginia, from Roanoke,
Virginia. As a storm approached, the wind had
picked up and it was starting to rain. Suddenly,
two deer came across the highway in front of
him. Only one made it; the other lost its footing
on the pavement and stumbled. Truitt couldn’t
avoid striking it.
“I think she went down a little bit before I
struck her,” he recalled. “It didn’t feel like it
did much damage, but I did need to pull over
and check everything out.” However, there was
no good place to pull over and no emergency
lane. “Before I could find a place, I saw a car
up ahead, backed into the ditch sideways. The
front end was sticking out a foot or two into
the right travel lane.” As he got closer, he could
see a white-haired woman in the driver’s seat.
There was a handicap placard hanging from the
rearview mirror. “We have to be careful,” said
Truitt. “Sometimes you’re being set up for
something.” But after seeing the elderly woman
behind the wheel, he decided to trust the situation
and decided he should check on her.
Truitt pulled over and positioned his truck,
partially blocking the right lane. “Her vehicle
was turned sideways, you couldn’t see her headlights,
and she didn’t have her four-ways on.
Someone could have come by and caught the
front end of the car.” Acting swiftly, he grabbed
a flashlight and went over to check on the driver.
“She thought she was out of gas,” he recalled.
“She said she was in her 90s and had come from
her sister’s, which was a pretty good way from
where she was.” He surmised that she might
have made a wrong turn and just kept driving.
“She told me her son lived in Lynchburg and
gave me his name. She couldn’t think of his
number, bless her heart.” Truitt wasn’t able to
find the number on the internet. “I told her I
would call 911 to get her some help.” He stayed
with her until two sheriff’s patrol cars arrived.
Truitt was able to get in touch with the woman’s
son a few days later to make sure she was
safe. “He was a retired police officer,” shared
PATRICK LEBLANC AND
NATHALIE RIVARD
HARVELL “KEITH” MARTIN
GREG TRUITT
Truitt. “He thanked me for stopping and said
she’s doing well. I don’t feel like I did anything
special. Most of the truck drivers out here are
good people. I’m sure 98% of the people that
came across that situation would have done the
same thing. I’m glad the Lord put me in the right
spot at the right time so I could help her.”
For their willingness to assist fellow drivers
and motorists, TCA has presented each newly
awarded Highway Angel with a certificate,
patch, lapel pin, and truck decals. Their employers
have also received a certificate acknowledging
their driver as a Highway Angel.
Since the program’s inception in August
1997, more than 1,250 professional truck drivers
have been recognized as Highway Angels for
the exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage
they have displayed while on the job. EpicVue
sponsors TCA’s Highway Angel program.
To meet more Highway Angel recipients, visit
www.highwayangel.org.
44 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2020

WEBINAR RECORDINGS AVAILABLE
Throughout this unprecedented time, the
Truckload Carriers Association has made it
a priority to provide its members with valuable
resources.
In addition to daily news briefings and
COVID-19 resources page, TCA has hosted
numerous webinars about truckload-specific
topics relating to the pandemic as well as
the overall success of its members.
Leadership During Times of Crisis
This webinar featured TCA Profitability
Program’s (TPP) Shepard Dunn and
Ray Haight, and The John Maxwell Team’s
Allen Phibbs. They discussed how to recognize
effective leadership strategies in times
of crisis, identify and define what is meant
by “crisis,” strategies to maneuver through
times of difficulty and adversity, and successful
thinking habits to apply during any
crisis.
Maintenance Procedures in
Uncertain Times
This webinar featured TCA Profitability
Program’s (TPP) Jack Porter; Decisiv,
Inc. Dick Hyatt; Prime, Inc.’s Kevin Bergman;
and Bison Transport’s Mike Gomes.
The speakers shared strategies to utilize for
on-road repair, procedures to ensure driver
safety, and protocols for tractor sanitation
during COVID-19.
Managing Independent Contractors
in Uncertain Times
This webinar featured industry professionals
from the TCA Profitability Program’s
(TPP) Chris Henry; ATBS’ Todd Amen; and
TLA MICROSITE
The Truckload Carriers Association and The Trucker
Media Group recently debuted a microsite that showcases
Truckload Authority magazine articles. Visit the
new microsite at thetrucker.com/TLA.
Truckload Authority is the official digital
and print magazine of the TCA and is published
in partnership with The Trucker Media Group.
Truckload Authority includes articles about current and
proposed governmental regulations and legislative issues
affecting the trucking industry, as well as insider perspectives
by industry leaders. The publication also features
information about TCA’s contests, programs, and topics
affecting its members.
“We’re proud to feature these insightful articles on a
designated website for our membership and the public
to read,” said TCA President John Lyboldt. “We look
forward to expanding the readership on these timely
Scopelitis, Garvin, Light Hanson & Feary
P.C.’s Greg Feary. The group shared the
biggest opportunities in the CARES Act for
owner operators.
Perfecting the New Normal: Building a
Solid IT Infrastructure and Social
Media Strategy
This webinar featured industry professionals
from the TCA Profitability
Program’s (TPP) Jack Porter, Bison
Transport’s Mike Ludwick, Roehl Transport’s
John Paape, and digital and social
marketing consultant Jessica Columbo,
who shared IT and social media do’s and
don’ts to consider during this uncertain
time.
Leadership’s Role in the
New Freight Normal
This webinar featured TCA Profitability
Program’s (TPP) Jack Porter and Jetco
Express CEO and thought leader Brian
Fielkow. They discussed strategies for reenergizing
a company’s workforce and
leading staff through the COVID-19 crisis.
Predictive Index Talent Optimization
This webinar featured TCA Profitability
Program’s (TPP) Jack Porter, Stay
Metrics CEO Tim Hindes, and The Predictive
Index’s Adam Vassar and Mike
Wells. The group discussed how the use
of talent optimization best practices and
behavioral science can unlock employee
potential to support companies in stabilizing
their workforce during these challenging
times.
and relevant articles, as well as hearing your
feedback.”
“We are proud to be expanding our partnership
with TCA with the launch of the
Truckload Authority magazine online edition,”
said The Trucker Media Group CEO
Bobby Ralston. “The online edition will enhance
our ability to reach thousands more
with the story of how TCA has become the
prominent organization in the truckload segment
of our industry, all achieved through the
dedication and hard work of its membership, its
officers and its executive staff under the leadership
of its president, John Lyboldt.”
To provide feedback or to learn
more about advertising opportunities,
contact TCA@truckload.org.
How & Where to Build Business Value
During Tough Economic Times
This webinar featured TCA Profitability
Program’s (TPP) Shepard Dunn, The Tenney
Group’s Spencer Tenney, and Eric LeMarbre
discussing six best practices for building and
protecting business value.
Cyber & Fraud Securities for Today’s Climate
In this webinar, TCA Profitability Program’s
(TPP) Program Manager Chris Henry, along with
30-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) Scott Augenbaum, shared ways to
protect your business from cyber criminals.
Driver Retention: Living Through
the Highs and Lows
This webinar featured SMC³ Vice President
of Cost Systems Bill Shults presenting the
company’s accounting methods to determine
the profitability of individual loads. Shults was
joined by Averitt Express’s Director of Pricing
Mike Sanders, who shared how Averitt’s truckload
operation makes use of these cost results.
Dealing with Balance and Empty Miles
in Freight Profitability Analysis
This webinar featured TCA Profitability
Program’s (TPP) Retention Coach Ray Haight
as he facilitated a dynamic conversation with
JLE Industries CEO Evan Pohaski and Steve’s
Livestock Transport CEO Bill Rempel. The
two shared how they reduced driver turnover.
For questions, contact TCA’s Jim
Schoonover at jschoonover@truckload.org
or by calling (703) 838-1950.
Join the conversation online by using the
hashtag #TruckloadAcademy.
TCA 2020 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 45

EXCLUSIVE
INTERACTIVE SESSIONS
The Truckload Carriers
Association welcomes
companies that
joined our association in
June and July.
June
Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms
July
Triple 8 Transport
E & V Services
Wellington Motor Freight
Do you know of someone who may be
interested in joining TCA?
Connect with TCA’s Zander Gambill
at zgambill@truckoad.org or call him
directly at (571) 444-0301.
If the company becomes a TCA
member, you will be recognized as
a Rigster during Truckload 2021:
Nashville. For more information visit
truckload.org/refer-a-member.
TCA announces exclusive offer for
its membership — courses and
instructor-led classes
It’s time to make an investment in your safety culture.
The Truckload Carriers Association is announcing a new
partnership with safety expert Jetco Delivery CEO and highly
acclaimed author Brian Fielkow.
“Making Safety Happen,” an exclusive TCA-member-only
offering, features six online courses as well as instructor-led
VIP workshops for trucking companies of all sizes.
The courses will feature videos, supplemental readings,
activities, and more, and can be taken on-demand and
independently.
They include
• Establish Safety as a Core-Porate Value;
• Good Can Be Bad: Identify and Eliminate Your Safety
Dysfunctions;
• How to Engage Your Front Line Team;
• Creating a Just Culture and the Role of Accountability;
• The Power of Process; and
• The Right Metrics: If Everything is Important, Nothing is
Important.
In addition to the six online courses, Making Safety Happen
participants will have the opportunity to attend TCA-memberonly
workshops led by Fielkow:
• Safety Values vs. Priorities: Identifying Your Safety Gaps;
• Engaging Employees in Your Safety Mission;
• Creating Accountabilities for Safe Behaviors;
• Eliminating Defiance and Creating a Process that Your
Team Understands; and
• Identifying the Right Metrics to Assess Safety
Performance.
To get started or to learn more at truckloadacademy@
truckload.org.
Cover Photo:
Rusty Hubbard, Arkansas Department of Transportation
Additional magazine photography:
Arkansas Department of
Transportation: P. 22, 24
M.J. Hegar Campaign: P. 8
Missouri Department of
Arkansas Trucking
Transportation: P. 12
Association: P. 25
Official White House Photo/
Associated Press: P. 13
Joyce N. Boghosian: P. 20
Beth Carroll: P. 36
Photo-Sports USA: P. 33
Cargo Transporters: P. 3, 30 TCA: P. 4, 28, 29, 32, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44
CRST International: P. 3, 34, 35 Theresa Greenfield Campaign: P. 9
Donald Trump Campaign: P. 7 Tommy Tuberville Campaign: P. 9
iStock: P. 6, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 26, 27 Trucker Buddy International: P. 21
Jon Ossoff Campaign: P 9 U.S. House of Representatives: P. 10
Joe Biden Campaign: P. 7
U.S. Department of
Kenworth Truck Co.: P18
Transportation: P. 14
Jill Maschmeier: P. 40
U.S. Senate: P. 8, 9
Linda Garner-Bunch/The Trucker Volvo Trucks: P. 19
Media Group: P. 23
YRC: P. 13
46 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org