ATA lambastes DOT truck report

ARLINGTON, Va. (June 8, 2015) — The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is taking the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to task for what it perceives as the politically motivated release of a study on the potential impacts of increasing truck size and weight limits.

The DOT concluded that its research was inconclusive and recommended no change to truck size and weight laws and recommendations.

The ATA, a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, supports permitting longer trucks, such as twin 33-foot trailers, on national interstate highways  — a policy that some safety groups oppose.

“Given the timing of the release of this study, it is an obvious attempt to promote administration policy, rather than give Congress the unbiased information it requested,” ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said in a statement.

“It is appalling that after years of saying the study would not make recommendations, DOT officials would release this report — and recommend no change in current law — just days after the White House came out opposing truck productivity increases.

“Our experience as an industry, as seen by the safe and efficient use of twin 33-foot trailers in the states of Florida and North Dakota, shows the obvious benefits of this configuration,” he said. “As flimsy as this report is, it at least acknowledges these more productive combinations will improve efficiency, saving American consumers billions of dollars.”

The ATA said it will continue reviewing the DOT's report to see how it arrived at conclusions that it claims are different from the industry's experience and previous research in this area, including the Transportation Research Board's 2002 investigation, which recommended nationwide operation of 33-foot double trailers.