LAS VEGAS—Familiar faces and industry issues commanded attention at National Tank Truck Carriers’ 2024 Annual Conference at Fontainebleau Las Vegas, where 543 attendees gathered to celebrate three repeat winners of NTTC’s for-hire carrier and private-fleet safety championships and advance ongoing efforts to fight “unreasonable” zero-emission vehicle deadlines and find more tank truck drivers.
The latter is boosting bulk buy-in—and sending the association to all-new heights.
NTTC bolstered membership for the second straight year, adding 43 total members in fiscal year 2023, and increased its investment balance to a record $5.86 million going into the four-day event, which ran May 4-7.
“Your association is strong,” Ryan Streblow, NTTC president and CEO, said during his address to NTTC’s board of directors.
“We have a firm foundation, and we continue to build on our success.”
The association grew despite uncertainties in the market and political landscape, with new members like Stevens Transport, Irving Oil, Continental Tank Lines, Thorntons, Hagen Johnson, and Caledonia Haulers helping add 1,340 power units to its representation—and NTTC needs all the strength it can muster, Streblow said.
“We have an administration that is looking to push its agenda on you, overregulate you, and promote unobtainable EPA standards,” he said. “They’ve gotten into this process of continuing to hand out free money across the board, they’ve yet to successfully address inflation, they’re restricting employer control, increasing salary thresholds for “white-collar” exemptions, and declaring that non-compete clauses are unfair and in violation of the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] Act.
“Though it is not tank specific, that’s an issue we really need to address.”
Streblow also called out Washington’s lack of border control, which he said is fueling national security concerns and delaying commodity and equipment crossings, and the upcoming exodus of Congressmen, with 53 retirements announced as of May 7. Newly elected NTTC chairman J. Ward Best agreed with Streblow’s assessment, but insisted tank truckers still can win, if they stick together. “Our industry is at a critical moment in time,” he said. “We face a continued shortage of drivers, we have a regulatory body that’s running wild in Washington D.C.—primarily with zero-emissions timelines and the push toward electrification of our trucks—and on top of that, we get a national election later this year.
“Despite that, I am optimistic about what’s coming up. I’m very hopeful—and a large part of the reason for that is this association.”
NTTC also coronated Usher Transport’s Dave Powell as the 10th Driver of the Year at this year’s Annual Conference; delivered the latest economic updates from Bob Costello, American Trucking Associations’ chief economist, and Kim Beck, vice president of benefits consulting at Cottingham & Butler; and welcomed several new guest presenters, including Drōv Technologies’ Bob Davis, Roland Berger’s Walter Rentzsch and Rishi Iyengar, and inspirational keynote speaker Ben Newman.
The 2025 NTTC Annual Conference is set for April 22-24, 2025, in Tampa, Florida.
NTTC appoints 77th chairman
Best, vice president of Atlantic Bulk Carrier, officially succeeded Herb Evans, Eagle Transport Corporation vice chairman, as NTTC chairman during the Annual Conference.
Past chair Rob Sandlin, president and CEO of Florida Rock & Tank Lines, presented Ward as the association’s 77th chairman during the board of directors meeting, where he also helped Evans don his chairman’s jacket, and Great West Casualty’s Steve Ponder and Matt Wise presented Evans his chairman’s portrait and crystal tank truck.
“I extend my sincere thanks to my predecessor and good friend, Herb Evans of Eagle Transport, for his dedicated service,” Ward said. “It is a great honor to be chosen as the 77th chairman of National Tank Truck Carriers. I am humbled by the trust my colleagues have placed in me, especially during these dynamic times.”
Streblow also expressed his support for Ward’s ascension to the chairmanship.
“We are thrilled to have Ward Best as our new chairman,” Streblow said. “His dedication to the industry and wealth of experience make him an excellent choice to lead NTTC forward.
“We look forward to working closely with him to advance the mission of our association.”
Ward brings a wealth of experience to his new position.
He has worked with NTTC throughout his 28 years with Atlantic Bulk, learning from Tank Truck University and earning his registered hazmat cargo tank inspector certification before rising up the leadership ranks.
Now he’s hoping to add to the legacy of those who came before, including now recent past chairman Evans, and 10 other active past chairs, including Sandlin (2021-22); Randy Clifford, Ventura Transfer Company (2022-23); Greg Hodgen, Groendyke Transport (2011-12); Kevin Jackson, Liquid Cargo and U.S. Container Depot (2020-21); Jeff McCaig, Trimac Transportation (2009-10); Greg Price, United Petroleum Transports (2006-07); Jack Schwerman, Tankstar USA (2003-04); Bill Usher Jr., Usher Transport (2008-09); John Whittington, Grammer Logistics (2018-19); and Brian Wood, TransWood (2016-17).
“By working together, we can overcome the obstacles ahead, and propel our industry to even greater heights,” Ward asserted. “NTTC is well-positioned to lead the way, leveraging our collective expertise and advocating for our members’ interests at the national level."
NTTC leadership
The board of directors meeting included 26 of the 39 directors, who approved NTTC’s Executive Committee for 2024-25.
Key changes include UPT’s David Price moving into first vice-chair, placing him next in line to succeed Best; Highway Transport’s Marshall Franklin joining Cox Petroleum’s Jeremy Mairs as vice-chairs; Usher’s Patrick Usher taking on the secretary role; Clifford transitioning to nominating chair; and Sandlin, Schneider Bulk Carrier’s Jason Howe, and Kenan Advantage Group’s Grant Mitchell filling the at-large spots.
Ad-hoc committee chairs for 2024-25 are Patrick Usher (Energy Service committee); Jerry Curl, G&D Trucking/Hoffman Transportation (Dry Bulk and Food Grade committee); Anthony Coruccini, All Chemical Transport (Chemical committee), Bailey Glendenning Stark, Glendenning Brothers (Workforce committee); and Hans Schaupp, LCL Bulk Transport (Endowment committee).
Schaupp also chairs the Advocacy committee, and Stark also chairs the Young Executives committee.
Lifetime Achievement award
NTTC presented its 2024 Lifetime Achievement award to John D. Groendyke, 79, from Enid, Oklahoma, who rose to Groendyke vice president in 1966, succeeded his father, Harold C. Groendyke, as CEO and chairman 20 years later, and reigned as NTTC’s 2001-02 chairman before retiring in 2019—when the company he helped flourish generated $240 million in revenue and finished the year with 1,400 employees.
The veteran tank truck executive guided Groendyke through trucking deregulation, greatly diversified its product mix, and moved the carrier into Canada and Mexico for the first time in its history.
“Deregulation was a challenge for everybody, but I don’t know if it was more difficult than the challenges we’ve faced in the last three or four years, with medical issues, and hiring and keeping truck drivers,” he said. “We still have some of the same challenges we faced earlier, too, and though we don’t have the ICC to deal with, we still have the EPA and other groups that regulate our business—whether we like it or not.
“So all I can say is thank you very much to the NTTC.”
Economic update
Costello said the tank truck sector is outperforming other sectors of trucking, but the largest expenses for general long-haul freight, including average hourly earnings, recently increased at the “fastest clip ever seen,” and associated cost and market pressures have been “deadly” for many truckload fleets.
He also teased the 2024 Tank Truck Industry Market Analysis, which now includes data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey he said facilitates better tank truck industry estimates. “As a result of this change, you cannot compare the new report coming out to previous reports,” Costello explained. To provide a historical perspective, the report includes a 2019 comparison, along with industry forecasts for 2028 and 2033, and 50 pages of data on tank truck tonnage, revenue, and tractor counts for for-hire and private fleets across 13 commodity groups, including agricultural products.
“You are one of the few groups that did see some increases in tonnage, and we think it will continue to grow in the future,” Costello predicted.
Gasoline accounted for 23.5 percent of tank truck tonnage by commodity in 2023, according to the report. Diesel and other types of fuel oils made up 20.2%, sands came in third at 14.6%, and chemicals (excluding fertilizers and cryogenics) were fourth at 9.7%. By revenue, however, chemicals led the way at 24.1%, followed by gasoline (13.9%), diesel and other types of fuel oils (13.8%), and food and beverage (10.8%).
Costello expects to see a 5.9% growth in tractors by 2028, when the tank truck industry will have 2.6% more freight to haul.
Industry revenues are expected to grow from $42.9 billion in 2023 to $50.1 billion in 2028.
“The fact of the matter is, you folks have a growing industry, and that means you’re going to have to haul this freight and find enough drivers to do it,” he concluded.
Financial review
Matt Faure, Trimac president and CEO and NTTC treasurer, credited the association’s record endowment to its well-attended events, which brought in $626,500 in fiscal year 2023, and the staff’s cost control efforts, which helped NTTC beat its total operating income budget for last year by 192%. Faure also expects NTTC to finish fiscal year 2024 in the black for the fourth consecutive year after losing money from 2016 to 2019. Those successes allowed NTTC to put over $1.3 million back into the association to fund a “multitude of solutions” for members over the last four years, Streblow shared.
Additionally, NTTC’s political action committee had raised $85,970 after two PAC events during the annual conference, putting it just over halfway to its record goal of $170,000 in contributions to support advocacy.
The association last year raised $114,100 after a record $127,250 in 2022.
“From a financial perspective, [NTTC] is in good hands,” Faure said.
“We’re delivering what we’re supposed to be delivering, we’re managing to our budget, and our endowment is growing.”
