State of the Industry Address Highlights Sustainable Future for Trucking

Yesterday ATA President and CEO Bill Graves presented his State of the Industry address at the annual Management Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans.

While many 'state of affairs' addresses emphasize only the good, Graves acknowledged that not all is going well for the trucking industry and many difficult times may lie ahead. In addition to the pain felt from soaring fuel prices, the economic downturn has prompted a decline in the amount of freight being transported and the credit markets, which are heavily relied on for capital to run businesses, have also been affected.

Despite these difficulties, Graves pointed to advances within the industry that have been born from recent challenges. "In the best of times and the worst of times, there are lessons to be learned," said Graves. "This has been the cornerstone of ATA's success over the last 75 years. The very nature of our industry demands that we continually evolve."

One such advancement is ATA's Sustainability Task Force, which launched a program to not only reduce fuel consumption and industry's carbon footprint, but to set the industry on the road toward a more sustainable future.

"I firmly believe there are two types of people--there are those who are willing to accept the world as it is, and there are those who work to make it a better place," said Graves. "The very nature of our industry makes us the latter."