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NASSTRAC has a long history of serving the
transportation industry—founded in 1952 by a group of approximately
100 shippers who met to develop a strategy for dealing with
Less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. NASSTRAC has been regularly
involved with litigation to protect the interests of shippers.
During its early years, NASSTRAC was primarily involved with
litigation for the Federal and State regulatory agencies and
in the courts to protect the interests of the LTL shippers.
Our primary task was to ensure that the rules were enforced
and that shippers were protected under those rules. Between
1979 and 1980, NASSTRAC was involved in legislative activity,
which led to the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. We supported
this move to a competitive marketplace.
Following deregulation, a number of new companies began
offering trucking services, and many other LTL carriers went
bankrupt. This led to the filing of billions of dollars of
undercharge claims by trustees for bankrupt carriers, based
upon negotiated rates not filed in compliance with the Filed
Rate Doctrine. NASSTRAC not only provided advice and information
to members on how to cope with undercharges, but established
Defense Groups that ensured members low-cost professional
legal representation to protect them against unreasonable
and unfounded undercharge claims. This approach saved many
members millions of dollars. NASSTRAC also played a major
role in the Negotiated Rates Act of 1993 and The Interstate
Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995.
Today, advocacy remains a fundamental aspect of NASSTRAC's
mission. Although the issues continually change, in many instances
shippers and carriers present a common voice to regulatory
groups and Congress.
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