BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mark Colson, who has led the Alabama Trucking Association since 2019, has been named president and CEO of the nation’s largest trucking trade association.
The American Trucking Associations announced Thursday that Colson will take over Dec. 1, becoming the organization’s 10th president and CEO since its founding in 1933.
The trucking industry moves nearly three-quarters of the nation’s freight by weight, according to the American Trucking Associations.
In Alabama, the industry includes approximately 34,000 trucking companies and supports 125,000 jobs, according to the state association.
“Leading Alabama Trucking has been the honor of my career,” Colson said in a statement Thursday. “Our members, board and staff showed what a state association can accomplish when the industry stands together.”
Scott Smith, chairman of the Alabama Trucking Association, credited Colson with growing membership, increasing revenue and strengthening the organization’s political influence.
Colson said his experience in the industry began at his family’s second-generation tire shop, where he grew up changing truck tires.
Before joining Alabama Trucking, Colson held several leadership positions at the Business Council of Alabama, including interim president and senior vice president of governmental affairs.
William Canary, former president and CEO of both BCA and the American Trucking Associations, congratulated Colson on his achievement.
“I could not be more proud of Mark Colson and his selection to lead the American Trucking Associations,” Canary said in a statement. “Having worked alongside Mark at the Business Council of Alabama for more than a decade, I know firsthand his character, leadership, integrity, and unwavering commitment to the trucking industry.”
Colson helped develop a national plan to improve enforcement of federal trucking safety regulations. He also supported Alabama’s new law requiring commercial drivers to demonstrate English proficiency and strengthening requirements for drivers to have valid U.S. work authorization.
Colson will succeed Chris Spear, who abruptly departed the national association Aug. 21 after a decade as its leader. The organization did not provide a reason for Spear’s departure.
The Alabama Trucking Association said Colson will remain in his current position through the end of November and help with the transition.