“For example, Tyson has a terrific


“A LOT OF TIMES THINGS THAT ARE REALLY HELPING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT ARE HELPING US BE SAFER ON THE ROAD AT THE SAME TIME.”


—BRYAN MCDUFFIE, DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION, TYSON FOODS, INC.


nize Tyson provides a unique perspective by sharing concerns of both carriers and shippers. “It’s interesting that there’s a little


bit of a shipper’s perspective on some legislation and a little bit of a car- rier’s perspective on other legislation,” McDuffie smiles. “We haven’t bumped into anything challenging, but it’s thought-provoking to have our foot on both sides of the line.” Keene agrees. “Sometimes you have


to sit back and be conscientious on being of both sides. But if you’re doing the right thing, you don’t have to worry about it. And the ATA board focuses on doing the right thing rather than what’s beneficial for them.” So far McDuffie has been


impressed with what ATA accomplishes. “My sense is that the Arkansas


Trucking Association is one of the best state associations,” he says. “In our benchmarking with carriers last week, several had questions about ATA, and my sense was they weren’t all that thrilled with their own state associa-


HIGHWAY FUNDING, Continued from page 27


department can’t be sure that money will be there, so it’s canceling projects. In his speech April 30, Bennett said the department had pulled more than 60 projects totaling $162 million this year. On May 7, the department announced it was withdrawing nine more projects totaling $120 million. Counting those


34


tions. They wanted to know how ATA had elevated themselves.” He smiles, “It’s the real deal. It’s


a serious organization. They have a serious agenda and are interested in finding smart answers to complicated problems.” Both in Tyson’s benchmarking


expeditions and in his personal experi- ences with the ATA Board, McDuffie is realizing there’s always something knew to learn. “Having a fleet, I thought I knew a


little bit more than I actually did about running a fleet,” he says. “In fact, in my kickoff speech at our benchmark- ing event last week—there were several carriers we’ve worked with—and I had to tell them that for the last 22 years, I’ve kind of been telling you how to run your company and now here you all are, sitting around the table telling me how to run my fleet. It’s a little bit humbling.” He’s thankful for his peers who are


willing to share their wisdom and expe- rience, and he’s happy to reciprocate.


CSA score,” McDuffie says. “We’ve worked very hard and have spent a lot of time studying other companies to be able to achieve that. We want others to be able to do the same.” For now, McDuffie is taking the


time to learn the ropes at ATA from his fellow board members, but he looks for- ward to getting more involved. In April, he attended the annual


conference, and he is gearing up for the State Truck Driving and Technician Championships. “You know our guys usually do quite well there,” he says. He’s also looking forward to


attending a future Call on Washington and even helping promote trucking leg- islation. “When the time is right, something


safety or environment-related will prob- ably hit my hot button, and I’ll dive in.” ‘Diving’ is a very apropos way of


describing it, too. McDuffie didn’t exactly ease into his new roles with Tyson or with ATA. “When I took over transportation,


all of the ports shut down on my first or second day.” And he joined ATA just as the legislative session was kicking off. Fortunately Bryan McDuffie doesn’t scare easily. “If you ask most anybody who


knows me, they’ll tell you my ‘I give up’ or my ‘I quit’ button is broken. I’ve never quit anything—maybe even to the point of it being a curse.” That’s a curse Tyson and ATA are


happy to have. ATR


70 projects, a total of 120 projects valued at $490 million are at risk this fiscal year and $520 million are at risk next year. The big problem is that the fuel


tax, which hasn’t been raised at the federal level since 1993, no longer raises enough money to pay for highway needs. Because vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient, they require fewer gallons to drive the same number of


miles, so drivers pay less in fuel taxes. Bennett said Arkansas drivers used 115 million fewer gallons of fuel in 2014 than in 2007 and paid $62 million less in taxes, but they drove 1.4 billion more miles. “So more congestion, more damage


to the highway system, but less revenue to take care of it,” Bennett said. Meanwhile, purchasing power since 1993 has declined. In 1993, $100 mil-


ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 3 2015


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