CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
What is your vision?
As I assume the position of Chairman of the Board of Maryland Motor Truck Association, I am confronted with the question that is asked of all MMTA Chairmen, “What is your vision?” Contemplating that, I continue to draw back to the importance of the trucking industry. One theme I wish to focus on this year is that “we are all truckers” and our jobs are essential, whether we are moving food, gas, milk, medicine, freight, household goods, etc. Little publicity is garnered around the fact that over 26 million trucks haul roughly 9 billion tons of freight each year. This represents 67% of total domestic tonnage shipped and $603.9 billion in gross freight revenue, or 80.9% of the nation’s total freight bill. Clearly, trucks move America.
In the next year I hope to help improve the industry’s image. That’s why I was so pleased to hear about the American Trucking Associations’ “Trucking Moves America Forward” campaign (
http://truckingmovesamerica.com/). ATA is currently raising $1 million per year to build a sustainable message stressing that without trucks, businesses and consumers would not receive their goods. Any level of support you can offer to the campaign is welcome. Through this effort, which will leverage the power of the internet and social media, ATA hopes to improve public education about our outstanding safety record and the essential economic role trucking plays.
On that note, one of my other themes is to further highlight truck safety. Often the public lacks awareness about driving safely around a truck. People fail to realize that trucks cannot just “stop on a dime” if a driver suddenly cuts them off. When accidents do occur, the truck driver is often singled out as the culprit, but studies consistently show that 75% of car/truck crashes are the fault of car drivers. Many drivers are not aware that trucks are equipped with modern safety devices and that both truck drivers and vehicles must adhere to a stringent set of rules and regulations. To showcase the incredible skills required in the industry, MMTA held its annual Maryland State Truck Driving Championships and SUPERTECH Maryland competition. These events highlight the best drivers on the roads, as well as the mechanics who keep our trucks in good working order. It is my vision to encourage the public to attend next year’s event. I also feel it is important for MMTA Board members to spend the day at the Championships and help recognize these outstanding competitors.
Recognition is a way that our industry can help to address one of its most pressing challenges — the driver shortage. In recent years the recession has masked the growing issue of driver shortage, which is causing companies to have difficulty meeting service expectations. Gordon Klemp, principal of the National Transportation Institute, commented that a “sign of the shortage of drivers is the growing number of fleets with unseated trucks.” Analyst John Larkin at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. added “fleets can have between 6% and 10% of their trucks without a driver assigned.” Somehow we have to address and work harder to convince the political machine that the industry is losing an opportunity to capture the 18-year olds who are not going to college and get them behind
➥ 7 4 BEHIND THE WHEEL ~ Q3 Fall 2014
The official magazine of the Maryland Motor Truck Association
Behind The Wheel is owned by the Maryland Motor Truck Association and is published by Matthews Publishing Group. To request additional copies, order reprints of individual articles or to become a subscriber to Behind The Wheel, please contact Selena Griffin at (410) 664-4600. To inquire about advertising, please contact the publisher at (501) 690-9393.
Publisher Jennifer Matthews Matthews Publishing Group
jennifer@matthewspublishing.com
Executive Editor Louis Campion
lcampion@mmtanet.com
Managing Editor Selena Griffin
sgriffin@mmtanet.com Art Director
Jon D. Kennedy The Freelance Co. LLC
freelanceco@comcast.net Illustrator
Brent Bennett
brentdraw@cox.net
Photographer David Sinclair
david@davidsinclair.org
Contributing Writers Steve Brawner Jim Harris
Jennifer Barnett Reed Todd Traub
Maryland Motor Truck Association
Louis Campion President & CEO
lcampion@mmtanet.com J. Craig Talbott
Vice President - Safety
ctalbott@mmtanet.com Dottie C.Duvall
Vice President - Administration
dduvall@mmtanet.com
Selena L. Griffin Controller
sgriffin@mmtanet.com Margie Anne Bonnett
Marketing & Communications Director
mbonnett@mmtanet.com
Kathy Norris
Administrative Assistant
knorris@mmtanet.com
Maryland Motor Truck Association is an affiliate of the American Trucking Associations. MMTA is a Maryland corporation of trucking companies, private carrier fleets and businesses which serve or supply the trucking industry. MMTA serves these companies as a governmental affairs representative before legislative, regulatory and executive branches of government on issues that affect the trucking industry. The organization also provides public relations services, education serves, operational services and serves as a forum for industry meetings and membership relations.
For more information, contact MMTA at: Maryland Motor Truck Association, Inc.
3000 Washington Blvd. - Baltimore, MD 21230 MMTA Headquarters:
Phone 410-644-4600 | Fax 410-644-2537
www.mmtanet.com
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