LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Trucking Association’s (ATA) annual conference is underway at the Rogers Convention Center in Rogers.
Guest speakers include University of Sam Walton College of Business Dean Dr. Brent Williams, who will lead an economic forum at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 9.
A state of the industry address will be held at 1:30 p.m. that day with American Associations’ Chair and Boyle Transportation’s co-president Andrew Boyle.
The afternoon session includes an autonomous vehicle panel with Gatik, Kodiak and Waabi.
The conference concludes Friday, May 10.
The Trucker will be on site covering the event.
Arkansas is considered one of the nation’s most important transportation and logistics hubs, according to the American Trucking Associations.
The state is home to trucking giant J.B. Hunt, as well as the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart, which operates its own large fleet of trucks.
Dozens of other trucking and logistics companies are also located in the Natural State.
As of April 2020, there were 4,840 trucking companies located in Arkansas, most of them small, locally owned businesses, according to the ATA.
More than 90% of the state’s interstate motor carriers operate 20 or fewer trucks.
The trucking industry paid 49% of all taxes owed by Arkansas motorists, despite trucks representing only 15 percent of vehicle miles traveled in the state.
For more information about the conference, click here.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
