American Trucking Associations rolls out new Business Solutions group

New offering to help carriers and shippers address industry-specific business issues

Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 9/4/2008

ARLINGTON, Va.—Taking aim at helping trucking companies—and subsequently shippers—to address myriad issues currently affecting the trucking industry such as fuel efficiency and security, among others, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has rolled out ATA Business Solutions, an offering comprised of information products, business tools, services, training programs, and conferences.

ATA Business Solutions is part of the organization’s various councils, which also include: the Information Technology & Logistics Council, the National Accounting & Finance Council, the Safety & Loss Prevention Management Council, the Security Council of the American Trucking Associations, and the Technology & Maintenance Council.

Business Solutions, according to the ATA, is developed and approved by “top-trucking-industry professionals and they are tailored to all segments of the industry, from large fleets, to owner-operators, to companies whose business depends on trucks to deliver their goods.”

In an interview with LM, ATA Senior Vice President of Industry Affairs Warren Hoemann said the input for the ATA’s councils comes from industry experts and practitioners that identify problems and lead the charge to solve them by collaborating on things like industry best practices and other things like training, developing guidelines, or online resources, among others.

“Many of these offerings have been available for several years online,” said Hoemann, “but we never really ‘sent the message’ to our members that when you have a business need, we have a solution that your executives said they need, and they have helped us build it. It is a branding effort to attract our members and the industry generally to say we are the ones who work day-to-day in the industry and alongside you the carriers, and we have listened to you are and are trying to build things to help meet your day-to-day operational problems.”

The ATA said its Business Solutions unit will focus on: accounting, tax, finance, and risk; safety; technology and maintenance; fuel economy/efficiency; economics; security and loss prevention; and information technology and logistics. Some of its initial offerings to be launched include:

• ATA Online State Tax Guide, which provides detailed information on trucking-specific taxes for all of the contiguous 48 states;
• ATA Safety on Demand, a Web-based system that provides companies with critical driver safety training at anytime wherever there is an Internet connection;
• the ATA Fuel Crisis Survival Kit, which provides trucking-related companies with a comprehensive approach to reducing fuel consumption and costs; and
• a complete lineup of the ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council products and services and the ATA’s industry economics reports.

With fuel prices steadily inching up throughout most of 2008, Hoemann said that the ATA Fuel Crisis Survival Kit is of key interest, because it highlights the many ways in which fuel savings can be achieved, aside from just on price. It includes guidance on things like fuel maintenance, driver behavior habits, and maintenance specifications, among others.

Although the offerings are primarily available for ATA members, whom are primarily trucking carriers, Hoemann said the services available from Business Solutions—and the other ATA councils—will also be beneficial for shippers as well.

“There are advantages across the board [for shippers],” Hoemann noted. “If you look at our economic reports, they can definitely help shippers and logistics service providers, as well as truckers, look at transportation trends across all modes.”

The ATA accepts membership for its Councils from anybody in the industry, said Hoemann, noting they do not have to directly be an ATA member.

In terms of how ATA Business Solutions initiatives will be communicated to members, Hoemann said it will play a major role in its development at the upcoming ATA Management Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans next month and also through e-mail and online updates.

For more information about ATA Business Solutions, click here.