The Story Behind the Ruan Truck at ATA Headquarters
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A shiny red truck nestled by the lobby entrance greets visitors to American Trucking Associations’ new Washington, D.C., headquarters at 80 M Street SE, a glass-lined space that sits across from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The truck — donated by Ruan Transportation Management Systems, whose history with ATA stretches back as far as the federation itself — and a location near the agency that regulates trucking both underscore the reasons ATA chose this new home: to amplify the trucking industry’s importance to the country.
For Ruan, the truck’s inclusion in this high-profile spot represents not only the Des Moines, Iowa-based motor carrier’s 90 years (and counting) of success, but also the contributions of the entire U.S. trucking industry. Against a backdrop of imagery featuring rolling fields and a representation of a dry van trailer, the truck — which was painstakingly assembled inside the room — is intended to highlight motor carriers’ tenacity, grit and dedication to plain old hard work.
“Our founder traded in the family car and bought the truck so he could haul gravel south of Des Moines for a road building project,” said Ben McLean, the company’s CEO and third-generation leader, during a small commemoration ceremony in September with family and company executives.
Van Alstine by John Sommers II for Transport Topics
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ATA President Chris Spear during the event said the truck, “harkens back to the early days of ATA — when ATA came into being with the help of John Ruan.”
Within months of that initial purchase, John Ruan had turned that one truck into three, and just two years later — at the age of 20 — was running a fleet of a dozen trucks throughout the Midwest. But it wasn’t easy; Ruan left school at Iowa State University to buy a used 1921 Ford Model T, which helped his family recover from financial ruin wrought by the 1929 stock market crash. He hauled the first load of gravel in that truck on July 4, 1932.
From there, John Ruan built a highly successful motor carrier. In 1942, the company was instrumental in the creation of the Iowa Motor Truck Association. He also served in ATA’s early days as a member of its executive committee. In 1949, he became the fourth vice president in ATA history.
In October, current Ruan President and COO Dan Van Alstine was elected ATA chairman. At the commemoration event, he talked about what the truck represents.
Spear at the unveiling by SunJae Smith/American Trucking Associations
“The story behind the truck is really why our industry exists,” he said. “It highlights the essential nature of what we do every day — what it takes for hardworking professionals. It just all is there.”
Van Alstine added, “It creates a very big visual when you first enter, but what’s important is what’s behind it. Whether it’s legislators or friends of our industry — or perhaps folks who are not familiar with our industry — to start with the story and talk about what’s behind it: the hardworking people, the entrepreneurs with the fortitude and the grit that it all took. People like John Ruan.”
Today, the company has more than 300 nationwide operations, operates 4,000 power units and 10,000 trailers, and employs 5,000 team members. The company has also expanded into banking, real estate development, export-import operations, and more.
“Our industry indisputably enables the standard of living that we all enjoy,” Van Alstine said during a banquet at ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition in October. “Each of us has known this since the time of our start in this business, yet it took a global pandemic for our country to truly understand and appreciate that without our industry, without trucking, everything simply stops.”
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