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Today’s brokers increasingly rely on set-off tools as justification for not paying their carriers on valid freight deliveries, giving little or no consideration to the timing of these deliveries when enforcing set-offs. In doing so, they unfairly penalize motor carriers and expose the industry to a divisive practice. It’s time to develop some much-needed changes.

Economists often speak of a “regulatory drag” on our economy related to the costs associated with the many regulations passed over the years.

A year ago, I stood before you in Philadelphia and accepted the title of chairman of American Trucking Associations. It has been a tremendous honor to be your chairman at such a critical time for our industry.

A few weeks ago, I was on a conference call organized by a transportation industry association. Invited on the call were woman- owned trucking companies gathered to address a Small Business Administration proposed rule change. After the call, a few people contacted me to ask why some on the call were not certified women- owned businesses nor certified Women-Owned Small Business.

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.

Approximately 10% of ocean cargo may cite an inaccurate weight, according to Loadstar. In 2015, an estimated 16.3 million out of 200.5 million TEUs, or industry- standard 20-foot-equivalent container units, of cargo were shipped without an accurate measurement, which speaks to an industrywide problem.

As officers of American Trucking Associations, we are tasked with guiding the professional management of ATA and representing ATA at our federation partners’ meetings and industry events. In recent years, we also have assigned an officer as steward of ATA’s most prominent and important programs. For example, First Vice Chairman Kevin Burch has overseen our industry image movement, Trucking Moves America Forward, while Second Vice Chairman Dave Manning is our officer contact for LEAD ATA, our emerging leaders program. As part of this effort, I have the honor to be the officer serving as liaison to the ATA Technology & Maintenance Council, or TMC.

There’s a big, patriotic sporting event coming this summer. Contenders fly the flags of the places and people they represent and proudly wear uniforms to demonstrate their pride and allegiance. Fans, families and the media all fix their eyes on one storyline: “Who will emerge as the finest in their field and take home all the glory?”

Idaho’s Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle program, or GARVEE, recently wrapped up, after a decade of investment in the state’s roads and bridges. Along the way, the GARVEE program transformed the state’s infrastructure in a way we haven’t seen since the interstate system was built through Idaho in the 1960s.

Intermodal drivers are the essential link in the global and domestic supply chains, providing the first- and last-mile service for every load. A healthy intermodal network depends upon an adequate and ready supply of drayage drivers. This, in turn, is dependent on the ability of these drivers to operate in the most productive environment, be treated as professionals and with respect and earn a reasonable living for their efforts.