WASHINGTON — A group of truck transportation stakeholders launched the Clean Freight Coalition (CFC) on Thursday, March 21, to serve as a collective voice for key trucking industry stakeholders.
According to news releases from the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and American Trucking Associations (ATA), the CFC is made up of motor carriers of every size and sector, truck manufacturers and truck dealers.
The CFC’s mission is to: Educate policy makers on the incredible progress the trucking industry has made in reducing emissions and protecting the environment; promote the work underway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from freight transportation; and advocate for sound public policies that transition toward a zero-emission future in a manner that assures affordable and reliable freight transportation and protects the nation’s supply chain.
The five founding CFC members are:
- American Trucking Associations (ATA);
- American Truck Dealers (ATD), a division of the National Automobile Dealers Association;
- National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC);
- Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA); and
- Truckload Carriers Association (TCA).
On Tuesday, March 28, the NMFTA (National Motor Freight Traffic Association) announced it is also joining the coalition.
Jim Mullen will serve as CFC’s executive director. Mullen has extensive regulatory, legislative and legal experience within the industry, having previously served as acting administrator and chief counsel of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, chief administrative and legal officer of a publicly traded autonomous truck developer, and general counsel for a large publicly traded truck company, the news release noted.
“Trucking is the backbone of our economy and critical to the nation’s supply chain. It is an honor to lead the CFC in its pursuit to get to zero emissions in a responsible and feasible manner,” Mullen said.
Coalition leaders each offered their own takes on the new partnership.
ATA President and CEO Chris Spear
“The trucking industry starts with ‘Yes,’ as we’ve demonstrated through massive emission reductions over the last three decades,” Spear said. “To get to zero, we must be honest and transparent about the road ahead. Success depends on a national energy strategy that is inclusive of our industry – the most central and critical link in the supply chain.”
ATD President Laura Perrotta
“America’s truck dealers sell and service the newest, cleanest and safest trucks available,” Perrotta said. “Truck dealers are essential to turning over America’s aging truck fleet, and with nearly half of America’s trucking fleet over 10 years old, there is a lot of work this new coalition can do together to prepare the marketplace for the next generation of clean trucks.”
NTTC President and CEO Ryan Streblow
“The tank truck industry leans into new technologies, embracing improvements to make equipment safer for the motoring public, as well as for our environment more than ever before,” Streblow said. “Tank trucks deliver over 1/4 of all truck tonnage in North America, much of which is providing critical energy sources to all Americans. Looking ahead, we stand ready with our partners to embrace and help implement new scalable technologies and infrastructure on a timeline which is obtainable.”
EMA President Jed Mandel
“The U.S. commercial trucking industry is in the process of transforming,” Mandel said. “Truck and engine manufacturers are leading the way to cleaner air through investment, innovation, and engineering. EMA members are dedicating billions of R&D dollars towards a ZEV future, but those investments won’t be enough on their own — we also need state and federal leaders to commit to building the essential infrastructures for those vehicles to operate nationwide. We are committed to working with policymakers to ensure a smooth and successful transition that aligns ZEV production to infrastructure availability.”
TCA President Jim Ward
“Truckload has long been on the road to zero — embracing new advancements in emissions-reducing technology and critical improvements to infrastructure,” Ward said. “The key to our shared success will be in establishing a realistic timeline and multiple-solution approach that ensures productivity for drivers and reliability within the supply chain for consumers/ For this to happen, we need carrier involvement in all stages of the testing process to help identify operational challenges on the ground. All modes of our industry stand ready to work together to prepare for this essential transition.”
Learn more at cleanfreightcoalition.org.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
