Tank Carriers Discuss Affiliation With ATA

National Tank Truck Carriers will hear from various parties in weighing whether to continue a relationship with its bigger colleague during the group’s annual meeting.

About 500 members and others will gather in Atlanta from May 16 to 18 to discuss what lies ahead for their organization. American Trucking Associations officials will talk about the progress of their restructuring program and make a pitch on why closer ties with ATA would benefit NTTC. Also, the Truckload Carriers Association will send representatives to tell of its structural shake-up in preparation of the vote next year to affiliate with ATA.

NTTC does not plan to vote until just before the deadline set by the Wren plan for conferences to decide whether to continue their relationship with ATA.

The Wren plan, which laid out the blueprint for restructuring ATA, calls for the national group’s 14 affiliated conferences to make their decisions by 2001.

NTTC and TCA were among the loudest critics of the plan adopted by ATA in August. Both groups were concerned that ATA would not pay sufficient attention to their segments of the industry. They also frowned on the requirement that ATA membership be a prerequisite to joining their conferences (3-22, p. 1).

TCA members decided in March to allow ATA to handle truckload advocacy while their organization raised its emphasis on education and training. Their president, Lana Batts, and chairman, Gary Baumhover, plan to tell NTTC members how they are refocusing their association since the vote.

NTTC is considering a similar approach, said Cliff Harvison, its president.

“We invited TCA to discuss their restructuring process to learn what pitfalls they had in deciding to refocus in the education arena,” he said. “We are also looking to see if there is any opportunities for NTTC to partner with them.”

For the full story, see the May 17 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.