Editorial

President Donald Trump has said that something needs to be done to even what he views as a global trade imbalance between the United States and other countries. And that “something” is steep tariffs on steel and aluminum, goods made in China and cars imported from Europe and Asia. Even Canada, America’s largest trade partner, has become a target of Trump’s tariff threats.

From ATA President and CEO Chris Spear: There’s a growing chorus to address federal hours-of-service rules, and American Trucking Associations is actively shaping the debate.

We all want to like our workplaces. For fleet drivers, that workplace extends from the truck cab all the way to the headquarters of the carriers for whom they drive. And its important to keep drivers happy regardless of which place they happen to be on a given day.

The opportunities and challenges inherent in the technological revolution underway in trucking are evident throughout this week’s issue of Transport Topics.

Used trucks are a hot commodity, a reflection of the robust demand for capacity that the trucking industry currently enjoys.

Ray Martinez, the newly installed head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, made the rounds last week, speaking first to trucking executives at American Trucking Associations’ midyear management meeting May 20 and then to lawmakers in the House of Representatives in Washington at a hearing by the Highways and Transit Subcommittee.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao kicked off Infrastructure Week with the hopeful message that the Trump Administration is keeping its options open for ways to pay for its planned 10-year, $1.5 trillion infrastructure program. But that message — and, perhaps, the very goal of the weeklong initiative itself — was somewhat offset by the reality that U.S. lawmakers likely won’t get anything done on infrastructure this year.

It’s Infrastructure Week, the annual spotlight on the nation’s roads and bridges. During a week’s worth of discussion, a lot will be said about the need to update and repair existing infrastructure as well as build from scratch what will be needed to carry transportation into the future.

The term “relevant” is used frequently to describe industries, products and services, and whether the subjects of those discussions have any relevance to modern society can cause fiery debate.

As the U.S. economy and truck tonnage continue to power forward, trucking companies are enjoying the benefits of a hot freight market where their services are in high demand. At the same time, tight hauling capacity is making it tougher for shippers to find the trucks needed to transport their goods.