Andrew Boyle, ATA first vice chair and co-president of Massachusetts-based Boyle Transportation, went to Washington this week to testify before a Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on the future of clean vehicles. As the manager of a truck fleet with one of the strongest environmental records in the industry today, Boyle injected a heavy dose of reality into the debate happening on Capitol Hill and nationwide over electric-vehicle mandates. In the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to let California set de facto national emission standards for commercial vehicles, Boyle's testimony sheds light for lawmakers onto the gravity of these mandates—and how disconnected they are from current, real-world conditions.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.3% in April after increasing 2.3% in March. In April, the index equaled 114.7 (2015=100) compared with 115.1 in March. “After a revised increase in March of 2.3%, the April index declined just slightly,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The outlook is solid for tonnage going forward as the country approaches pre-pandemic levels of activity, with strong economic growth in key areas for trucking – including retail, home construction and even manufacturing. “Additionally, the index increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time since March 2020. Part of the reason for the gain was due to an easy comparison with when the index fell significantly in April 2020,” he said. “But I’m expecting increases, albeit smaller than April’s, on a year-over-year basis going forward. Trucking’s biggest challenges are not on the demand side, but on the supply side, including difficulty finding qualified drivers.”