Opinion: ‘Load ’em High and Tight...’
This Opinion piece appears in the Oct. 22 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
By Bill Graves
President and Chief Executive Officer
American Trucking Associations
My dad started Graves Truck Lines, with his dad, in 1935 at the height of the Great Depression. It was their response to the “What now?” that followed the loss of the family farm. He had no way of knowing, at the time, whether the Graves line would be successful, how it would end up changing his life or even how it would eventually change mine.
As it turned out, I am able to attribute much of the success I’ve had in my professional and political careers to my trucking heritage. From that heritage, I learned the value of customer service, the importance of safety and the value of being involved in an association at both the state and national levels.
Perhaps the most important thing I’ve taken from that heritage, however, is always to “load ’em high and tight.” It was a business philosophy my dad lived by and one he reminded me of during my first campaign to be elected governor of Kansas.
I shared it with the voters I met on the campaign trail and was surprised how well it resonated across industry lines. After years of government waste and a looming budget shortfall, the people of Kansas understood the importance of utilizing their resources to the fullest. “Load ’em high and tight” became more than a campaign slogan; it became a standard for good government.
Not unlike the state of things in Kansas that year, today’s trucking industry is ripe with challenges. The softening freight market, high fuel prices and uncertainty over the direction that the courts will ultimately take on the hours-of-service rules are all issues to warrant legitimate concern. Couple those issues with a volatile political climate and the ongoing debate over how to best solve the crisis of our nation’s infrastructure, and the challenges seem almost daunting.
If I’ve learned one thing in the five years I’ve served as president and chief executive officer of American Trucking Associations, however, it’s that there’s no finish line to what we do. The process we’re engaged in is continuous, and even as challenges are addressed, new challenges appear on the horizon. The diversity of our industry guarantees this changing process, just as it guarantees an equal share of opportunities. At ATA, we consider it our greatest strength.
Our success, both as an association and an industry, relies, in part, on our ability to advance the opportunities we are given and the perceptions we foster.
While we may not be able to change every mind overnight, or erase every negative perception, we can reduce the negatives through professionalism and an industrywide commitment to safety. Only then will we be able to fully realize our potential — both on Capitol Hill and in the marketplace.
In the coming months, we’ll have the opportunity to define ourselves on a number of issues. It’s not only important that we put our best foot forward when doing so, but it’s important that we have a clear-cut plan of action that addresses our near-term goals as well as our long-term goals:
• What is our next step on hours of service?
• Will we set the tone for future environmental
regulations?
• Are we poised to take advantage of an expanding global marketplace?
• Is there a highway funding formula we can live with?
• How do we expand our workforce?
All these issues will be addressed at ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition this week in Orlando, Fla., but our involvement must go beyond there. We must be proactive on all levels.
We are an enormous industry and so, too, are our resources. It’s time for us to utilize those resources to the fullest. Or, as my dad would have said, it’s time we “load ’em high and tight.”
Bill Graves is a former two-term governor of Kansas. ATA is a national trade association for the trucking industry with headquarters in Arlington, Va., and affiliated associations in every state. ATA owns Transport Topics Publishing Group.
