What kinds of tank truck carriers join NTTC?

Today, over 200 tank truck companies  call themselves proud members of the NTTC. That equates to more than 80% of the volume hauled in this narrowly defined industry. The majority of NTTC’s members are regional, family-owned tank truck businesses with almost half of our members generating annual revenues of under $5 million.  

Why should suppliers of service and equipment join the NTTC?

NTTC offers associate memberships to vendors that provide specialized services and equipment to our unique industry.  If a company includes tank truck carriers in its customer base, it’s important  for them to fully understand the vital issues affecting their customers.  Whether new regulations, equipment modifications, or service requirements, a working knowledge of the industry issues is essential to a vendor's successful marketing program.

Why is tank trucking such a unique niche in the transportation industry?

Given the expensive complex nature of our equipment, the specialized skillset required of our drivers, and heightened regulatory environment impacting our business, tank truck carriers are generally accepted as unusually distinct from the rest of the trucking industry.

The majority of our members – over 70 percent – throughout North America specialize in bulk transportation of hazardous products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, and ethanol. If your car has gasoline, your farm tractor has diesel fuel, and your home is warmed by fuel oil, it's likely that a tank truck delivered it.

Do the rules differ for compliance and safety responsibility?

Absolutely.  The tank truck industry is held to a higher security standard. Cargo tank vehicles must be constructed, tested and maintained in compliance with strict engineering specifications authored by the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Drivers, mechanics and safety specialists undergo strict training in accordance with “hazmat training” regulations.  And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency demands compliance with requirements that focus on vapor recovery, engine emissions, spill reporting and clean-up, as well as the control of pollutants from internal tank cleaning operations.

Are there other bulk transportation services provided by tank trucks other than “hazmat”?

Sure.  Tank trucks also carry food grade products such as sugar solutions, beverages, chocolate syrups,  and dry flour.  We also haul intermediate products such as paints, solvents, plastic pellets, cement, and other building materials commonly found in your everyday life experience.

Do NTTC carrier members operate only in the United States?

NTTC member carriers operate throughout the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, New Zealand, Brazil, Germany, Australia, Japan and South Africa.

What does NTTC offer beyond the efforts of the American Trucking Associations?

The NTTC is an affiliate of the the American Trucking Associations (ATA).  The ATA represents the widely diverse trucking industry and does it quite well.  We work with our counterparts there regularly on issues that impact all sectors of trucking.  But the tank truck industry and its service offering are particularly unique from the operations of truckload and less than truckload carriers.  Given the very nature of hauling hazardous materials, tank truckers are faced with a much more rigorous regulatory climate, a more expensive operating model due to specialized equipment needs, more complex risk management issues, and more complicated overall operating environment for our professional driver corps.  Based on all of these different factors, the NTTC was established to offer its members more industry specific representation and experience than available from the ATA.

How long has NTTC been operating?

Originally founded in 1945, NTTC has successfully represented tank truck interests for over 60 years.  Whether a business transports hazardous materials or non-hazardous materials, it can benefit from our track record of successful advocacy and our recognized expertise in the governmental relations related to our business.

What kinds of benefits does NTTC offer?

Through our monthly newsletter, issues-oriented policy papers, detailed membership communiques, effective event-planning and training seminars, intra-governmental affairs, direct contact with key governmental decision-makers, and state-of-the-art communuications tools available through the Internet, the NTTC provides its membership with numerous advocacy benefits befitting a first-class industry organization.  The NTTC is the only national organization that focuses on issues unique to the tank truck industry.

Is NTTC affiliated with other associations?

As described above, NTTC is affiliated with the American Trucking Associations.  We also work with several other industry associations, including the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association, American Chemistry Council, American Petroleum Institute, National Propane Gas Association, and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

In addition, NTTC staff members serve on committees of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Dangerous Goods Advisory Council, TRANSCAER Steering Committee, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED), and the Transportation Research Board.

How much are annual dues?

Carrier member dues are based on annual tank truck revenues.  For associate members, dues are a flat $700 annually.