4 Oregon Trucking Association, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch FROM THE PRESIDENT Jana Jarvis OTA President/CEO WHEN WAS THE last time you looked through the OTA directory and thought about the wide variety of membership that comprises this great organization? Maybe you were looking for a connection to another carrier that might be facing the same challenge as your company—or you were looking for one of our many valued allied members that represents a product your company needs? Hopefully, as you perused the list you thought about how important it is to have an organization that coalesces around issues and challenges that you have or might face in the future. That is exactly the reason that trade associations exist. The opportunity to learn from each other, to set aside competitive challenges, and to present a unified voice to government regulators that work to help this industry thrive is what brought the forefathers of the Oregon Trucking Association together in 1939 when they formed the Oregon Motor Truck Association. And it is exactly the reason that we exist today. The challenges have changed—but the effectiveness of this united voice continues to help our industry thrive. From economic challenges to environmental constraints, our industry is facing monumental issues over the next few years that will require each of you to be prepared in order to survive. We just completed Oregon’s legislative session in June and already policymakers are meeting to plan for our short session next year. You undoubtedly saw the news around the Senate Republican walkout and know that the individuals who participated in that will likely not be allowed to run for that office in the next election. The issues that drove that walkout were not trucking issues—but their absence affected a variety of policy considerations that would have impacted this industry. Over half of the ninety seats that comprise the Oregon legislature were filled by individuals who had never met in public to consider and enact policy. Many were newly elected, a large number had only met virtually in the past couple of sessions. They did not have a history of meeting with constituencies and working toward compromise on their policy objectives—and it showed. Legislative leadership was new. We had a new senate president and speaker of the house after the retirement of the longest serving president and speaker in Oregon’s history. The Oregon Capitol itself is under construction and very little of the building is open, further constraining the opportunity to meet with these new policymakers to work toward solutions for Oregon problems. The result was a show of force that drove the walkout and that will, in itself, affect how the legislature works for years to come. It makes it all the more important for organizations like OTA to depend on their membership to help spread the message about the many issues we face. How will we be able to transition to electric trucks? Will electricity be the energy source for our industry in the future? Can the grid handle the additional 40% energy requirements that a transition to electricity for transportation will require? Oregon has already adopted the standards that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted to date and that will include the NOx regulations affecting your purchases of new equipment in 2024 for those purchasing internal combustion diesel engines. The CARB standards will require that an increasing percentage of new equipment purchases must be zero-emission engines (ZEV) and currently only electric engines meet their criteria. If those electric trucks aren’t purchased, manufacturers won’t be able to sell diesel trucks. I’m already beginning to hear from members that dealers are telling them they cannot sell them a new truck beginning in 2024. What does all of this mean for you—and for the state of Oregon? At the federal level, the EPA is imposing new standards beginning in the year Until, and unless our industry strongly pushes back against this approach, you will find it more and more difficult to run your trucking operation. Membership Diversity Benefits Oregon Trucking
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