Carrier execs, Road Team drivers meet Trump at White House

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Updated Mar 28, 2017
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The American Trucking Associations on Thursday brought representatives from a number of trucking companies and a group of its Road Team Captain drivers to the White House for a meeting with President Trump. The event included a discussion with Trump inside the White House and a gathering on the White House lawn, in which Trump climbed aboard a Mack Pinnacle, blew its horn and posed for photos with those in attendance.

He was later pictured on social media in the White House wearing an I Heart Trucks pin.

Both ATA and the White House have said the key topic of discussion was health care costs.

“The Affordable Care Act is just plain unaffordable,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in a release. “Replacing this law will help trucking employees, their families and our customers by lowering insurance costs, decreasing mandates, liabilities and administrative burdens, and providing access to quality care and patient choice.”

ATA reported those in attendance were:

Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express; Jim Burg, president and CEO, James Burg Trucking Co., Warren, Mich.; David Congdon, CEO, Old Dominion Freight Line, Thomasville, N.C.; Mike Ducker, president and CEO, FedEx Freight, Memphis, Tenn.; Eric Fuller, CEO, U.S. Xpress Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn.; Neal Kedzie, president, Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association, Madison, Wisc.; Rich McArdle, president, UPS Freight, Richmond, Va.;  Dennis Nash, CEO, Kenan Advantage Group, North Canton, Ohio;  Tonn Ostergard, president and CEO, Crete Carrier Corp., Lincoln, Neb., and John Smith, chairman, CRST International Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

In addition, ATA brought its Image Truck – Interstate One – and a trailer provided by Jet Express featuring Trucking Moves America Forward imaging, hauled by ATA’s Share the Road Truck.