Policy, not politics: All LTL is local
Authored by SMC³ on August 28, 2025
In the first session of SMC³’s LTL 204 Online Education Hybrid Series, “Outside the Washington Beltway,” industry veterans Randy Mullett and Mike Kelley dug into how laws and regulations actually land on the dock. Moderated by Joe Tillman, with co-moderator Karl B. Manrodt, Ph.D., CTL, the conversation remained practical- focusing on outcomes, local engagement, and planning for shifting flows and technologies.
Make your industry your advocacy
“In all my years I spent in Washington, I wanted people to really not know which party I was affiliated with,” Mullett said. “I wanted them to know which company I was affiliated with and why, when they made certain decisions, it affected our company.”
It’s easy for regulatory conversations to drift into political fights. But the leaders who win while maintaining their credibility stay calm, stick to facts, and explain how specific rules impact safety, cost, and service for shippers and the broader community.
Lawmakers care more about their constituents than talking points, so bring them local examples, local jobs, and local customers. The goal isn’t to convert someone’s ideology; it’s to clarify real-world impacts and find workable solutions.
LTL begins and ends in your backyard
There are thousands of LTL terminals across the U.S., and every shipment is local at pickup or delivery. That means state and city rules, such as overtime thresholds, delivery-time windows, noise and zoning ordinances, and environmental standards, can impact your P&D operation more significantly than federal changes.
“There are 600,000 LTL shipments a day…either they’re local at pickup or they’re local at delivery, and you have the terminals. So, you cannot ignore your state,” Kelley said.
Mullett noted that these rules can be harder to influence than federal changes if you’re not already part of the conversation. The way to get your seat at the table? Head to your local chamber of commerce and meet with your local state representatives.
“Always roll up to your state capitol, so they know the people in the state. It’s a great place to start out,” Kelley said. He also urged leaders to invite local officials for facility tours, plug into state trucking associations, and, when needed, build coalitions with non-traditional allies, such as e-commerce and food delivery, who face the same curb and timing constraints.
Kelley’s reminder for why presence matters? “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Steer clear of one-size-fits-all mandates
The industry has made enormous progress on emissions by partnering with regulators and manufacturers without prescribing a single technology path. That approach still works.
Considering its progress, Kelley walked through the EV debate as a cautionary tale.
“We were, as a nation, walking towards an EV mandate for commercial trucks,” he said. “It would’ve been a $600 billion bill for the industry…just for charging infrastructure.”
The industry’s collaborative playbook has already delivered results: “It takes 60 of today’s trucks to have the same emissions as one 1988 truck,” Kelley said. For him, the lesson is to pursue outcomes, such as emissions and safety, without locking into a single technology path before it’s ready.
Electrification will still play a role, but infrastructure, power availability, and total cost vary significantly by lane, duty cycle, climate, and site constraints. In the near term, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas can reduce emissions with minimal disruption. Autonomous trucking could do even more. To prepare for it, it’s best to build internal scenarios now—like where autonomy might fit, which lanes to test, what data you’ll need, and how you’ll communicate safety.
Nearshoring, ports, and rail are reshaping networks
“We’ve gone from pumping everything through LA/Long Beach to a more diverse mix…Laredo, Savannah, New York, New Jersey,” Kelley said, highlighting how nearshoring, Mexico–U.S. trade growth, and port diversification are changing the lanes.
Manrodt used Savannah to show the long arc of infrastructure.
“We were under like 900,000 TEUs…the last time I checked, we’re almost 3 million. Dredging the port was a 20-year process. Adding an interstate spur was 15 years.”
On the border, he added, “…we ought to be thinking about another bridge at Laredo…there’s a big bottleneck that’s coming up there.”
Looking at rail, Mullett noted that “Norfolk Southern and UP combining changes the intermodal east–west flow a lot.”
In practical terms, the network you optimized last cycle isn’t the one you’ll need next. Treat gateway mix, cross-border capacity, and rail alignments as strategic variables, not fixed assumptions.
Ensure that you recheck terminal catchments and linehaul balance against nearshoring corridors and shifting port routings (such as Laredo and Savannah). Build genuine optionality with alternate gateways and intermodal partners, and initiate the slow work—permits, power, and zoning—where you’ll need capacity. Demand moves in quarters; bridges, dredging, and rail realignments move in years.
Prepare your team for capacity, skills, and visibility
Capacity isn’t just trucks and doors. It’s people. Language proficiency is increasingly correlated with safety outcomes, so consider offering English support where it helps hiring, safety, and retention. Reinvest in local relationships that atrophied during the pandemic: community meetings, industry committees, and tours for schools and civic groups. Internally, let leadership know you want to participate in advocacy and community engagement—initiative is promotable. Externally, manage government relations like you manage cost and service: set goals, assign owners, measure outcomes, iterate.
Taken together, the session’s throughline was clear: keep advocacy focused on outcomes, not ideology; treat city and state rules as the real playing field; follow the freight as nearshoring and ports reshuffle lanes; and remain pragmatic about technology. For an industry that lives at the terminal and on the curb, the work is local, and the timelines are long—bridges, dredging, and rail shifts take years, while credibility is built meeting by meeting. Continue to show up with facts, local examples, and partners, and you’ll help shape rules that enable LTL to do what it does best: serve every community, every day.
Interested in joining LTL Hybrid Sessions? Register here: https://smc3.info/LTLedu