ATA urges lawmakers, regulators to respect business agreements

The American Trucking Associations board of directors called on policymakers to respect contracts between carriers and shippers and abandon proposals to interfere in those arrangements.

Specifically, the board voted to oppose efforts at regulating detention time—the time drivers and trucks wait to load or unload their cargo.

“ATA and its members value the time of our drivers,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer, after the board’s decision. “However, federal intervention into this area would have significant impacts on the contractual agreements between carriers and shippers.”

“The ability of carriers to negotiate rates, routes, and service with our shippers is very important to us,” said ATA Chairman Barbara Windsor, president and CEO of Hahn Transportation Inc, New Market MD. “Federal regulation in this area would directly affect shipping rates and would significantly change the playing field for carriers and shippers.”

“No carrier wants to see our drivers’ time wasted,” said ATA First Vice-Chairman Dan England, chairman and president of C R England Inc, Salt Lake City UT. “However, this is not an issue that can be handled with a ‘one size fits all’ regulation and as a result is best addressed in contractual agreements between carriers and shippers.”

“This isn’t a big carrier issue or a small carrier issue,” said Keith Tuttle, president of Motor Carrier Services Inc, Northwood OH, and chairman of ATA’s Small Carrier Advisory Committee. “The ability to freely negotiate contracts is something all carriers want to protect.”