Recently, Congress and the Biden administration, through their bipartisan support of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, have recognized the need for more balanced coordination to better facilitate relations between shippers, receivers, motor carriers, and professional truck drivers.
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) are contributing to this effort with a revised version of the Voluntary Guide to Good Business Relations for Shippers, Receivers, Carriers, and Drivers.
The guide, originally written in September 2000, first revised in 2013 and most recently revised in 2022 to better reflect a more complex operating environment, emphasizes reasonable and common-sense treatment of the four primary parties involved in truck transportation, and outlines mutually desirable business practices that TCA and NITL believe responsible shippers, receivers, carriers, and drivers should adopt. As supply chains face increased disruptions, TCA believes this guide is more relevant now than ever.
The guide has been endorsed by the Food Shippers of America (FSA) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA), highlighting industry confidence in these best practices.
To develop this guide, TCA and NITL relied on the expertise and experience within their memberships to ensure the recommendations were impactful, feasible, and based on real challenges across all operational levels.
“This guide can serve as an effective blueprint for those within trucking and in government to collectively improve the driver experience to strengthen efforts to recruit and retain professional truck drivers more effectively,” said TCA President Jim Ward.
Ward, who was formerly the president of D.M. Bowman, Inc., based in Williamsport, Maryland, served as the co-chairman of TCA’s Carrier/Shipper Relations Committee in 2000 when the guide was written.
“With so many disruptions in the supply chain, whether it be rail, ocean or highway, the League is very pleased to continue to work alongside the TCA to update this best practices guide,” said NITL Executive Director Nancy O’Liddy. “League members have long embraced these recommended practices, which enhance working relationships between shippers, brokers and carriers as they work to meet their mutual goals.”
Although the guide was initially developed by TCA and NITL for their respective members, both organizations believe it is applicable to many, if not all, segments of the truck transportation industry and their customers. The organizations encourage other entities, such as food shippers, warehousing organizations, and the retail industry, to adopt these voluntary guidelines.
The guide will be discussed during TCA’s Fall Business Meetings and Call on Washington, set for September 12-13, 2022. To learn more about the event or to register, visit tcafallcall.com.
For questions or copies of the guide, contact [email protected] or call (703) 838-1950, or contact [email protected] or call (703) 524-5011.
The Truckload Authority News Staff, comprised of award winning journalists and graphic artists, produces content for Truckload Authority, working in cooperation with the Truckload Carriers Association staff. Truckload Authority aims to keep TCA members abreast on the latest trends in the trucking industry as well as articles that feature TCA member executives and drivers. The Truckload Authority staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
