Trucks Fight for Taxpayer Dollars

When it comes to taking it on the chin from the railroads over the fight for government funding, the trucking industry is apparently mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.

That's the message gleaned from a new ad campaign from the American Trucking Associations countering a long-running railroad campaign boasting that a ton of freight moving over the rails gets 436 miles to the gallon - four times farther than it can move by truck.

But trucking seeks to one-up the railroads by creating a message that resonates directly with consumers.

"The railroad industry talks a lot about fuel efficiency per ton," the ATA ad states. "Unfortunately, being fuel efficient in a straight line doesn't get food to grocery stores, supplies to business, or life's essentials to the home."

The ATA's ad points out that 80 percent of American communities rely solely on trucks to deliver goods to hospitals, schools, homes, and grocery stores.

"Since no other mode of transportation - rail, ship or air - gets things where they need to go, it is critical that we rebuild and maintain a world-class highway system that matches American dependence on trucks."