In this episode, our Destination is Charlotte, NC, for the ATA’s Management Conference and Exhibition (MCE 2026). PodWheels had our microphones in record mode during the General Session on October 19th when outgoing ATA Chairman Greg Hodgen and incoming ATA Chairman Derek Leathers led the audience through a discussion in the State of the Trucking Industry and the road ahead.

As you will hear, Hodgen describes the current moment as a chance for trucking to move from surviving to shaping the next cycle, with responsible carriers having maintained safety and investment standards through difficult conditions.

While freight market recovery feels uneven, Hodgen calls for confidence, discipline, and urgency. Leathers agrees that the future belongs to carriers investing in safety and playing by the rules, with ATA working to raise marketplace standards and distinguish professional carriers from those “color outside the lines.”

Hodgen and Leathers also dedicate some time to discussing policy achievements, highlighting unified advocacy advancing priorities including sensible emissions policy, truck parking expansion, CDL integrity, and workforce opportunity. Leathers points out that federal crackdowns removed nearly 10,000 non-compliant CDL schools including 550 fraudulent operations, investigated hundreds of high-risk carriers, and placed thousands of unqualified drivers out of service. Truck parking secured $200 million in federal appropriations for 2026, with $61.7 million now flowing to five states.

At the end of their discussion (23:15), Hodgen and Leathers call incoming ATA President and CEO Mark Colson to the stage to address the audience. You’ll hear what Colson shared with the General Session audience, which was expressed with a great deal of humility and gratitude. Colson, who first learned about trucking as a kid in his grandfather’s Alabama-based tire shop, talked about the value he places on listening to ATA’s membership and he also shared his commitment to honor the essential work of America’s professional drivers.

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