TLA65_AllPages

A CHAT WITH THE CHAIRMAN
Trucking is not a Republican
or a Democrat priority; it is
an American priority. Trucking is
critical to the continued economic
success of this country.”
— Dave Williams
TCA Chairman
CHAT, FROM PAGE 24
one) are primarily driven on the supply side — the side we have the most
impact on. When things get really good, the industry’s “eyes” tend to get
bigger than those of a football player at an all-you-can-eat buffet line, and
it organically grows, leading to an overbuy of tractors.
On top of that, there are groups within the industry that often push for
policies that compound the issue. Examples of this might include:
• More hours-of-service or hours-of-service flexibility. This is a doubled
edged sword. We want to help our drivers out, but are we exchanging
more work for less pay?
• Lowering the barriers to entry. Programs like the younger driver
program can actually hurt the pay of a veteran driver by not allowing the
full impact of supply and demand to run its course.
• Higher weight or length limits. More often than not, the efficiencies
gained through size and weight are not fully compensated through the
truckload market, especially when that efficiency becomes the norm.
So, while many of these things feel good in the short term — especially
when things are tough — they can actually be quite harmful in the long
term. As long as the greater portion of the industry remains in survival
mode, we will continue to think short-term and struggle to make longterm
progress. When you look at the LTL industry, it’s an industry that
has generally figured this out. Among the public LTL companies and their
truckload counterparts, the LTL companies have substantially higher priceto-earnings
ratios (meaning that they are worth more even if they are the
same size). The LTL rate environment is also much more stable and less
susceptible to volatile cycles. It’s as clear as day, but we keep making
the same mistakes. Hopefully, at some point, our industry will begin to
understand the correlations.
u As political parties and candidates move into high gear during
this presidential election year, how do you see political agendas
impacting the trucking industry?
Despite all the bipartisan battles and all the bickering that occurs, the
structure of the government in this country is really a beautiful thing.
Checks and balances are a beautiful thing. Sometimes those checks and
balances work for you and sometimes they work against you, but in the
end everything should even out.
What has really changed in my opinion over the past decade or so is
the increasing role of presidential executive orders and activist regulatory
agencies. These shifts have placed a greater emphasis on the influence
of the White House. In the grand scheme of things, I strongly believe
TCA supports numerous outreach efforts in North America, including Wreaths Across America.
Chairman Dave Williams’ company, Knight-Swift Transportation, is one of many member carriers
that helps deliver wreaths to veterans’ cemetery each year.
Congress should make the rules and the agencies should enforce the rules.
A balanced government usually results in a better government. We are
seeing the impact from these executive orders and agency moves more
and more in the areas of environmental and labor law. This is where nearterm
elections will likely play the biggest role. Outside of environment and
labor, the other significant area to watch is tax policy.
I don’t think it is our place as an association to align ourselves with a
certain party — but we can align with candidates who will help preserve
our ability to operate our businesses successfully. The most direct
impact an individual can make is through their vote. But there are also
opportunities to educate and advocate. Trucking is not a Republican or
a Democrat priority; it is an American priority. Trucking is critical to the
continued economic success of this country. We need to keep reminding
our elected officials of that.
u The race to achieve zero emissions in every sector, including
trucking, is always a topic of hot debate. In a sea of changing
legislation, regulations, and deadlines, what would you point to
as the most important piece of information for motor carriers?
This has been a very confusing journey for fleets. Regional rules, state
rules, and national rules with different requirements and timelines have
created a jumbled mess. To make things even more challenging, some of
the regional and state rules in California have not followed the requirements
of the Clean Air Act, which gives the industry adequate time to prepare for
compliance. In the case of California, changes and tweaks to the rules are
being made right up until the deadline for compliance. This has been a
source of great frustration for the industry.
The most important thing a motor carrier can do is stay informed. This
is a difficult task, especially for smaller carriers that don’t have the extra
resources. But you cannot claim you didn’t know — that is not a good
strategy. The federal rules are generally easier to follow and typically only
apply to new equipment going forward.
Many of the California rules are much more complex and have some
element that applies to existing fleets. In California, there are several rules
that were implemented on January 1, 2024 (i.e., the Advanced Clean Fleet
Rule, the Drayage registry changes, the Transport Refrigeration Unit Rule,
and the new warehouse rule to name a few) that require some sort of
Sponsored by Mcleod software / McLeodSoftware.com / 877.362.5363
26 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA MARCH/APRIL 2024