Business View Magazine - August 2023

154 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 8 go on to compete nationally.” This is, she adds, a very big deal in the trucking industry, with countless companies investing many millions of dollars to get their drivers trained and ready to compete. At the national level, the Washington Trucking Association is affiliated with the American Trucking Association (or ATA). This grouping is the largest and most comprehensive national trade association for the trucking industry. The WTA relies heavily upon the ATA, says Call, especially concerning federal issues and things that trickle down to the state level. “I couldn’t do my job without my reliance upon our state and federal partners,” she adds, stressing the extreme importance of proper cohesion and the collaborative efforts that make the trucking industry a big success for everyone. A portion of these collective efforts have been geared towards electric cars. Will electric trucks be the next big thing for the trucking industry? In a word, says Call, no. “There are also alternatives to that,” she adds, citing the potential replacement of Diesel fuel with hydrogen, as the latter has a longer range. Call points out, costs and infrastructural problems make hydrogen use prohibitive, at least for now. Washington State has a zero-emissions goal for 2050, she adds, and most WTA members see that as feasible. Artificial intelligence (or AI) and the concept of trucks that drive themselves are other potential future factors that the WTA is watching, says Call. Whatever the case, trucking’s future is bright, she adds. “We’re working,” she emphasizes, “to make a better workplace,” she concludes.