Touring the History of the American Trucking Association

The American Trucking Association (ATA) has served and represented the nation’s motor carriers and truck drivers since 1933. For more than 80 years the ATA has been the leading advocate for the trucking industry and has helped make the landscape more favorable for professional drivers in the United States. In fact, the ATA’s efforts are one of the biggest reasons there are so many desirable truck driver jobs in Portland and throughout the country. If you’re thinking about enrolling in truck driving school, take a few moments to learn more about the history of the organization looking out for your best interests after you become a truck driver.

A Merging of Interests

The ATA formed when representatives of the American Highway Freight Association and the Federation Trucking Associations of America met in Chicago in 1933 to discuss the future of the trucking industry in light of the government’s new Code of Fair Competition. This meeting went well and the two groups decides to merge and form the ATA.

The First National Truck Roadeo

In the years immediately following, the ATA was very active holding conventions and conferences to bring awareness to their organization as well as the trucking industry as a whole. In 1937 the ATA sponsored and put on the first National Truck Roadeo, which would eventually become the National Truck Driving Championships, a competition among the best-of-the-best professional drivers in the country.

ATA Goes to Washington

In the early 1940s, in a move to position itself closer to the lawmakers who held sway over the trucking industry, the ATA moved into its first long-term headquarters at the corner of 16 ^th and P Streets NW in Washington DC. In 1974, the ATA purchased properties on First Street SE that would ultimately become the permanent home of the ATA. The organization is still actively involved in the political landscape to help shape a better future for the trucking industry as well as the men and women who drive for a living.