Washington Puts $200 Million Behind Truck Parking as ATA Names New Chief

The US trucking industry won a long-sought federal commitment on driver parking this week. Its biggest lobbying group, meanwhile, ended a two-month leadership vacuum.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Wednesday announced $200 million for 14 truck parking projects across 12 states, funded through the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program. According to the department, 40% of truckers spend more than an hour a day looking for somewhere to park. The shortage pushes drivers to stop in unsafe places and costs the economy billions in lost time.

The largest award, worth $24.5 million, will expand and modernize parking at six public rest areas on Interstate 80 in Iowa. Other grants will fund roughly 305 spaces near the Los Indios Port of Entry in Texas, about 275 spaces next to the Port of Savannah and some 140 spaces at the Port of Wilmington in North Carolina.

The department said it has invested more than $300 million in truck parking grants since April 2025.

A day later, the American Trucking Associations named Mark Colson as its next president and chief executive officer, effective Dec. 1. Colson, who has led the Alabama Trucking Association since 2019, will be the 10th head of the federation since its founding in 1933. He succeeds Chris Spear, who left abruptly on Aug. 21 after a decade in the role.

Colson previously held senior roles at the Business Council of Alabama, including interim president. He also chaired the task force behind the industry’s seven-point Trucking Resurgence plan, released in December 2025 to close regulatory gaps exploited by noncompliant carriers and unqualified drivers.

Colson called his appointment “a unique moment for ATA to make a renewed commitment” to the industry. The announcement comes days before the group’s annual Management Conference and Exhibition opens in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday.