Former Governor of Kansas Bill Graves was replaced by Chris Spear as the ATA's president and CEO in July 2016.

According to its website the ATA's mission is to "develop, advocate, and advance innovative research-based policies that promote highway safety, security, environmental sustainability and profitability.

[3] The American Trucking Association has worked on regulatory issues from the Code of Fair Competition in 1934 to the eventual deregulation of the industry.

Each state association is an independent organization with its own membership, dues structure, officers, budgets and staff, but having representation and voting powers within the federation.

All ATA members are provided access to experts in safety, engineering, law, finance, communications, information and logistics technology, regulatory and legislative affairs, and a number of other areas of service to the trucking industry.

As members of the federation, ATA's councils are dedicated to continuing education and policy in specific trucking disciplines including safety management,[5] maintenance,[6] accounting and finance,[7] information technology,[6] logistics, and more.

To keep pace with this growth, ATA advocates increasing capacity and improving highway infrastructure at the nation's worst traffic congestion points to ensure the efficient movement of goods.

Since new Hours-of-Service regulations took effect in 2004, the truck-involved fatality rate has come down more than 20 percent and is at its lowest since the U.S. Department of Transportation began keeping those records in 1975.

[10] ATA supports environmental sustainability policies that provide the trucking industry with realistic ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions without impeding the freedom of movement essential to the U.S. economy.

[11][dubious – discuss] Also, ATA recommends that shippers and carriers join the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership Program.

[17] Contestants for the ATA award start out by winning at the company level and are nominated by state trucking associations.