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“It’s the price of leadership to do the thing you believe has to be done at the time it must be done.”

– Lyndon B. Johnson
36th president of the United States

State of the Industry

Following are excerpts from a “State of the Industry” speech delivered late last year by American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves:

“Things are not going well for our industry and we face some awfully tough times in the near future. With war and unrest throughout many parts of the world as a backdrop, unimaginable record fuel prices have hit us hard and the hits may just keep coming. The economic slowdown -- highlighted by the housing and automotive industries -- has had a devastating impact on our tonnage and the recent financial meltdown on Wall Street severely impacts the credit markets you rely on for the capital to run your businesses. …

“With that said, 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. The very nature of our industry makes us the latter. We work every day to ensure that people in the smallest cities and farthest corners of the country have food to put on their tables, the medications they need to be well, clothes to put on their backs and all the other consumer goods that contribute to the quality of life we enjoy in the United States. …

“In the best of times and the worst of times, there are lessons to be learned. … The very nature of our industry demands that we continually evolve. … The technological, safety and operational advances that have been made in the last 25 years alone have given the industry an entirely new face. Couple those advancements with changes born of challenge, and our industry would be virtually unrecognizable to our association founders.

“The fuel crisis has been one of the greatest examples of our ability to evolve as an industry. As diesel prices soared to new heights in July, many of you were forced to reevaluate the way you do business. For the first time ever, fuel became the industry’s leading business expense, outpacing driver compensation. The recommendations unveiled by the Sustainability Task Force in early May took on new life, new meaning, as our goal of reducing the industry’s carbon footprint was dovetailed onto our economic need to reduce fuel consumption. …

“We need more domestic energy production, we need investment in alternatively powered vehicles, and we need investment in the alternative fuels that will power some of those vehicles. Our industry must continue to work together to solve this challenge. I can’t say enough thanks to the truck and engine manufacturers who have made this challenge their number one priority, and through their hard work and innovation are laying the foundation for positive and unprecedented change in how freight will be moved by truck, in America, for the next 100 years.”

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