Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/764538
is finding funding, Starks says. "Lots of candidates have called for good investment in infrastructure, but the trouble is coming up with mechanisms to pay for it," he said. "So far we haven't come up with that plan." Starks says a major infrastructure bill will likely pass in the next two to four years, but its funding levels remain uncertain. Likewise, Kidd foresees an infrastructure bill likely under a Trump presidency, potentially even this year. The American Trucking Associations signaled that it intends to work with Trump to help make an infrastructure bill a reality. "During the campaign, he highlighted the need to create jobs, and recognized that improving our nation's infrastructure is critical to strengthening the economy," ATA President Chris Spear said in a state- ment. "As the industry that moves nearly 70 percent of our nation's freight and is a key economic driver, we look forward to working with President-elect Trump on a host of is- sues, including long-term, sustainable infrastructure funding." A boost in U.S. manufacturing — a te- net Trump put front and center in his bid for the White House — could be a boon for trucking, unless increases in domestically built goods are offset by decreases in imported goods, due to higher import and export tariffs, says the Trucking Alliance's Kidd. "Most people like the idea of free trade, and historically when you start putting tariffs on products coming in and out of the country, prices of goods rise," he said. "So ultimately it comes down to whether people want products built in the U.S. or whether they want to pay less for products built elsewhere. Historically it's the latter." Also, manufacturing has already seen steady growth in the last five years, says Starks. Trump's message was more about growing manufacturing jobs, says Starks, rather than grow- ing manufacturing output, though the two are correlated. "Manufacturing has been growing, not as strong as many would like but overall we are seeing pretty strong growth," he says. "It's not going to be an easy fix or a quick fix, and there's really only some limited items that he can do to make a significant dent to that." • 12 www.bigrigowner.com J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7