Graves Says Trucking Prepared for Myriad Political, Business Changes
ORLANDO, Fla. — Bill Graves, president of American Trucking Associations, said the industry will continue to thrive despite facing a growing number of political and operational changes.
“Political change is under way, and many of the traditional allegiances the business community has had within the Republican Party are necessarily going to need to be re-evaluated,” Graves said here Oct. 21 at the opening session of ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition.
“We are rapidly moving to a time where political labels mean very little, but the integrity and statesman-like qualities of candidates for office, or those already holding office, must be the measure by which we decide our level of support,” he said.
For example, he cited Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) as an example of a supporter of trucking and deserving of the industry.
Graves listed a wide range of challenges facing trucking, including the hours-of-service rule, the pending electronic logging mandate, the looming driver shortage and the increased use of natural-gas powered trucks.
At the same time, he called “the incredible diversity of our industry” as the biggest obstacle to success.
Additional coverage of Graves’ speech will be included in the Oct. 28 print edition of Transport Topics.
