American trucking is dying, meet its new hero…

Opinion Piece: The unholy alliance of the Biden Administration and special interest gatekeepers will send our supply chain into the abyss—and we’re currently on the edge. As President of the National Owner Operators Association, the largest independent truckers’ advocacy organization, it is my solemn duty to advocate for our members and our industry. Trucking is suffering from overregulation and neglecting the realities that truckers face on the road.

Make no mistake: President Biden’s Administration will be squarely to blame if our industry fails.

President Biden’s requirement for states and cities to set carbon emission reduction targets for transportation. I have long held that this rule would only put more hardship on truckers. All independent truckers already struggle with states that can set arbitrary rules and fines that are, in many cases, even more harsh than the federal government. Out-of-control insurance rates are caused by states and exacerbated by insurance predators like Progressive prey on owner-operators. The truckers of this country that keep the supply chain moving are the barometer of economic health for any country. Yet, we seem to be more akin to this administration's punching bag–and they're not the only ones to blame.

Industry gatekeepers masquerading as the heroes of independent trucking are even more of a scourge upon the industry. The Transportation Intermediaries Association paints itself as the advocate for truckers and the messiah of our industry when in reality they already paid their thirty pieces of silver to brokers and bureaucrats. They tried to swoop in at the last minute to help their former Board Member Omar Singh, CEO of the newly-bankrupt Surge Transportation which now threatens the livelihoods of many truckers through their financial mismanagement. Many if not all of the efforts they seek to protect undermine independent truck drivers at the expense of the wealthy broker industry.

If trends like Surge’s bankruptcy and Yellow’s closure after 99 years of business continue to leave truckers behind, independents will be the only group left. I'm here to defend them and to save our industry– and we cannot wait any longer.

President Biden has other priorities such as fixing a crumbling infrastructure that truckers are subjected to on a daily basis. If he really wanted to do something to benefit truckers, protect our supply chain and ensure a smooth economy, then he’d take our calls for broker reform seriously.

By: Michael Boston - President, National Owner Operators Association

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the AJOT editorial board or Fleur de lis Publishing, Inc. and its owners.