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The American trucking industry depends on drivers: a simple statement but one that bears repeating. As president of American Trucking Associations, I have the great privilege of representing 3.5 million professional truck drivers, working on their behalf in Washington to make our industry better, to make their jobs easier.

As I prepare to serve as chairman of the Transportation Intermediaries Association for the next two years, I reflect on my experience with the association. Throughout the past 13 years of attending TIA events, participating on various committees and investing time as a board member and executive committee member, I have experienced firsthand the benefits that come from associating with and investing in TIA.

Throughout Donald Trump’s campaign for president, slashing regulations was a core theme. Many of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees are long-standing opponents of a heavily regulated business environment. I welcome this time to catch our breath. The rate of regulatory change in the trucking industry has been too rapid for many businesses to keep pace.

As reported in Transport Topics in early December 2016, (12-12, pp. 4, 43) American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear told a roundtable of lawmakers at a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., that the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, or TWIC, represents the future of secure transportation.

Brokers, freight forwarders and nonvessel operating common carriers, or NVOCC, are required by federal law to carry a surety bond in the event they fail to pay the carrier that performs the move on the shipments they broker. On Dec. 1, 2013, the $75,000 broker bond went into effect — up from the previous bond requirement of $10,000.

The new year often brings changes. And rarely has that been as true as this year, as we have just inaugurated a new president who appears poised to change Washington. It’s also a time of renewed focus, to reflect on where we are and look forward and position for success.

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week was Sept. 11–17 last year here in America. It is recognized as a time to honor and acknowledge the nation’s truck drivers for their dedication and hard work and for putting up with extraordinarily challenging working conditions throughout the year.

You can’t work in the trucking industry for long without realizing the interconnectedness of the trucking world — goods with communities, roads with ports, airports and railways, regulations across international and provincial borders and municipal boundaries, you name it. Another connection may not be immediately apparent: Canada’s National Trucking Week and “Jake” brakes.

The logistics industry in the United States is rapidly evolving. Thirty or 40 years ago, we worked within our own borders to manufacture and produce many of our own goods. In the 1980s and 1990s, this quickly shifted to China and India, because production costs and labor were much cheaper overseas. Even with the costs of transportation, the United States could manufacture goods much easier in China than in our own homeland.

Moving America forward. Designed to move a nation. These aren’t just slogans — they’re mission statements for two industries that are critical pieces of the U.S. economy.