American Trucking Associations Begins Search for Next America’s Road Team

American Trucking Associations opened the nominating process for professional truck drivers to serve on the 2017-2018 America’s Road Team.

“Being selected as part of America’s Road Team means joining a group that represents the trucking industry as its greatest ambassadors,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “These elite professional drivers lend a voice to trucking professionals from all segments of the industry and help make trucking a safer, more productive and more respected industry.”

Every two years, the torch is passed to a new group of America’s Road Team Captains, while America’s Road Team Captains from previous classes remain very active within the program – serving as mentors and attending events alongside the newest class. The professional drivers, most of whom have millions of accident-free miles, take a few days away from their companies each month to meet with the motoring public, the news media, students, transportation officials and public policy makers to perform truck safety demonstrations and explain the sustainable role that trucking plays in the nation’s economy.

America’s Road Team was formed in 1986 in order to give an authentic voice to the millions of professional truck drivers who operate safely and efficiently throughout North America. Since America’s Road Team’s inception, Captains have traveled the country with the mission of educating millions on highway safety, trucking’s essentiality and the importance of pride and professionalism in the industry. The program makes a difference by teaching the motoring public about how to properly operate a vehicle near a large truck and advocating for safer driving conditions in front of public officials, business and community leaders and the news media.

“America's Road Team Captains provide a remarkable service as industry ambassadors to help further our important issues of essentiality, safety and sustainability," said Göran Nyberg, president, Volvo Trucks North American sales & marketing. "They are elite professional drivers and elite educators, and we're eager to work with the men and women who will serve as the face of the trucking industry in 2017-2018 as America's Road Team Captains."

In addition, America’s Road Team Captains make appearances at events ranging from the National Conference of State Legislators to major industry conferences to local driver safety meetings to emphasize the importance of safety and professionalism and the need to diligently portray the industry in a positive light.

“Professional truck drivers, like me, are proud of the work we do each day to provide our nation with everything it needs in a safe and efficient way,” said America’s Road Team Captain Danny Smith (Big G Express Inc.), a member of the 2015-2016 class. “It’s an honor to serve alongside the men and women who are passionate about trucking and committed to improving the way the public views our industry.”

To nominate a professional truck driver, please carefully read the eligibility requirements and fill out the nomination form found at: www.americasroadteam.com. Nominations are due August 22. Finalists will be announced October 22, with the final selection taking place in January 2017.

The America's Road Team, sponsored by Volvo Trucks, is a national public outreach program led by a small group of professional truck drivers who share superior driving skills, remarkable safety records and a strong desire to spread the word about safety on the highway. Follow America’s Road Team on Facebook or Twitter.

How "Uber For Trucking" Apps Are Driving Change in the Freight Industry

Nearly 70 percent of all freight moved in the United States travels by truck, a haul that totals an eye-popping 10 billion tons each year, according to the American Trucking Associations, a trade group.

Without trucks, the American economy brakes to a halt.

Despite the industry’s importance, its progress has long been impeded by its fragmentation—the tens of thousands of small trucking carriers needing intermediaries to transact business with shippers. Such brokers typically rely on telephone calls to engage the parties—not the most efficient or cost-effective means of moving freight in an age of on-demand commerce.

Now several mobile applications are looking to alter this paradigm for the better. By replacing the traditional middleman linking truckers to shippers and vice versa, the apps are shaping up to be as disruptive to the trucking industry as Uber was for the taxi business.

One of these new apps is Cargomatic, the brainchild of a tech entrepreneur from Silicon Valley and a logistics expert from Los Angeles, which launched in 2014. Another is Convoy, a Seattle-based startup launched in September 2015.

Not surprisingly, both companies leverage the similarities of their apps to Uber in their marketing materials. The comparisons are obvious, although the apps transport freight and not people. Like Uber, both companies have created algorithms that address the transportation needs between two parties, with all the financial logistics, such as billing and payment, handled by the app. (Read More)

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