New ATA Chair Pushes Stronger Trucking Safety Rules
Truckload carriers and fleet operators should expect the association to press harder on safety enforcement under new leadership.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Transportation
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Derek Leathers, chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises, was elected the 82nd chairman of American Trucking Associations on October 20, 2026, at the association's 2026 Management Conference & Exhibition. The election places a carrier executive at the head of the industry's leading national trade group.
Why it matters
The chairmanship shapes the agenda ATA takes to Washington and to regulators on issues that set operating costs for carriers. Leathers has outlined stronger enforcement of safety regulations and unified industry advocacy as his priorities, which signal where trucking companies can expect the association to press.
The election made Leathers the 82nd chairman of American Trucking Associations, and the stub contains no further figures on membership, carrier counts, or vote totals.
The players
American Trucking Associations
The largest national trade association for the U.S. trucking industry, advocating for carriers on federal regulation, safety, and operating policy.
Derek Leathers
Chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises, a large U.S. truckload carrier, with a long operating track record in the trucking business.
Werner Enterprises
A major U.S. truckload carrier whose chairman and CEO, Derek Leathers, was elected to lead the national trucking trade association.
The details
ATA's chairman sets the association's advocacy direction, and Leathers has named two priorities: enforcing safety regulations more strongly and presenting a unified industry position to policymakers. For carriers, safety enforcement translates into compliance requirements and inspection exposure, while a unified advocacy voice gives the industry more weight in rulemaking debates. Leathers framed his leadership around knowledge passed down from C.L. Werner and Don Schneider, two figures associated with the trucking carriers that shaped the sector.
Timeline
October 20, 2026: Derek Leathers elected ATA's 82nd chairman at the 2026 Management Conference & Exhibition.
November 3, 2026: TT Newsmakers conversation with Leathers published.
Market Landscape
ATA's chairmanship rotates among carrier executives who represent the association's membership on federal safety and operating rules. Leathers' election places a large truckload carrier at the head of the group, which gives the association's advocacy a view from an executive running a national fleet.
Carriers should watch how ATA's new chairman advances safety enforcement priorities, since compliance expectations can change operating costs and inspection exposure. Fleet operators should track ATA's advocacy positions on federal safety rules as they develop.
The takeaway
Operators should treat the new ATA chairmanship as a signal of where federal safety enforcement and industry advocacy are heading. Review your own safety compliance records against the enforcement priorities Leathers has outlined.
Further reading
For more on the regulatory and operational forces shaping the sector, see Transportation coverage across the United States.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Transport Topics.
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