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Spear highlighted policy wins on truck emission regulations, progress on fighting lawsuit abuse and efforts to improve highway safety. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)

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SAN DIEGO — While persevering through another down year for the freight market, the trucking industry has fared much better on the policy front, American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear said in his annual state of the industry address.

From clawing back zero-emission truck mandates to advancing the fight against lawsuit abuse and pushing to improve safety on the nation’s highways, ATA has achieved significant regulatory wins and generated momentum on several key industry priorities, Spear said during the Oct. 27 speech, delivered at ATA’s 2025 Management Conference & Exhibition.

He began, however, by acknowledging the challenging economic and freight market conditions that trucking companies have been navigating for the past few years, with an oversupply of freight hauling capacity continuing to hold down rates.

“While cyclical freight is not uncommon, this is the third straight year the industry is feeling the pain of a freight recession,” he said. “We know what a challenge that is and continues to be for each of you. It underscores why your advocacy of the ATA policy agenda is more important now than ever before.”

Spear emphasized ATA’s active role in paving the way for this year’s regulatory changes, including in a meeting with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Florida last summer before the November election.

“He wanted to hear from us about what he needed to do the moment he took office. We left nothing on the table,” Spear said. “And since taking office last January, California’s Advanced Clean Truck, Advanced Clean Fleet, Low NOx and [the Environmental Protection Agency’s] Greenhouse Gas 3 rule requirements have all been eliminated — in 10 months!”

Spear also celebrated the tax relief provided by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Trump on July 4.

“These major wins are historic game changers for ATA members, giving us more time and energy to push forward other Tier 1 priorities,” he said.

ATA President Chris Spear takes the stage to deliver his annual state of the industry address at . He highlighted policy wins on truck emission regulations, progress on fighting lawsuit abuse and efforts to improve highway safety. ⁦⁩ — Seth Clevenger (@SethClevenger)

One of those issues is lawsuit abuse, which ATA declared a top priority in 2019. Since that time, nearly 20 states have passed legislation, and now ATA also is pursuing action at the federal level. “This White House and Congress may well be in a position to help us push through some federal reforms, including a bill we had introduced last month that would move these frivolous state suits to a level playing field in federal court,” Spear said.

On the topic of safety, Spear reiterated ATA’s support for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s efforts to crack down on states that do not enforce the federal English-language proficiency requirement, as well as Duffy’s emergency actions to freeze work visas for foreign drivers while audits and investigations are conducted.

He added that ATA also backs Duffy’s push to root out bad actors who jeopardize highway safety as well as those who illegally hand domestic loads to foreign B1 visa drivers, a practice known as cabotage.

“The overwhelming majority of America’s 3.6 million professional truck drivers take immense pride in their work,” Spear said. “They meet every requirement every day, and they move our economy forward with skill, responsibility and a commitment to safety. But when unqualified drivers are allowed behind the wheel, they tarnish the reputation of the entire industry and undermine public trust.”

Motor carriers’ persistent struggles to recruit and retain enough professional drivers may feel less severe in today’s soft freight market, but that issue isn’t going away, Spear said.

“The shortage in talent has never been about the number of people with a commercial driver’s license. It’s about qualifications,” he said. “We don’t lack people with CDLs in this country. As the recent devastating crash in Florida demonstrated, what we lack is a number of qualified drivers who meet our high standards of professionalism and safety.”

Spear also addressed the worsening problem of cargo theft, which is costing the industry $6.6 billion annually, or $18 million a day, according to a new study by the American Transportation Research Institute.

“State and local law enforcement and the trucking industry need our federal government to lead,” Spear said. “We’re expecting far more to occur on cargo theft in the coming months, including the administration getting even more engaged as a result of all the media attention we’ve been able to generate.”

While emphasizing the progress made on several ATA priority issues during the first year of the second Trump administration, Spear said ATA continues to oppose the imposition of higher tariffs that hinder the movement of freight.

“Free and fair trade are critical to America’s future. The president, however, believes strongly in tariffs as a policy tool. And I’m going to tell you, it’s not going to change. Our strategy has allowed us to clearly object without compromising progress on all the other issues I just cited,” Spear said. “That said, if tariffs continue trucking’s prolonged freight recession, ATA may well consider strategic shifts that address the direct and indirect impacts on our industry.”