Transportation Industry Thought Leaders Convene at Upcoming AmeriQuest Symposium

CHERRY HILL, NJ, March 5, 2009 - Charles "Shorty" Whittington, Chairman of the American Trucking Association, Michael Sansolo, retail food industry consultant, and Dan North, chief economist with Euler Hermes ACI are among the slate of speakers at the AmeriQuest Transportation Industry Symposium April 16-18 at The Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, The event gathers top-ranking private fleet, truckload carrier, and rental and leasing executives for intensive discussions aimed at positively impacting each company's performance now and in the future.

Other speakers to present during the three-day conference are Richard A. Epstein, a law professor with the University of Chicago, and Michael Gallis, America's leading expert in large-scale metropolitan regional development strategies.

ATA's Whittington talk is entitled "What's Ahead for the Transportation Industry" and will give Symposium participants a complete look at the trends, challenges, and opportunities facing leaders in the industry at present and in the years ahead. Sansolo, former Senior Vice President of the Food Marketing Institute, will speak on "Going Green: Where Sustainable and Profitable Meet." The talk gives a look at how retailers around the world view issues impacting environmental readiness, with the goal of educating listeners on how the alignment between better business practices and environmental measures can be critical to future success.

North, whose macroeconomic analyses have been featured on ABC, CNBC, and FOX Business Network, will speak on the "State of the Economy," giving valuable insight into the condition of the current economy and what it means for businesses in 2009 and beyond. "The Employee No Choice Act" is the presentation by Epstein, the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago. He will address the profound changes the Obama administration's overhaul of employee law as it relates to unions may bring to employers, including matters such as card check, compulsory arbitration of first labor contracts, comparable worth, and statutes of limitations.

"Our Future Economy, Transportation, and Environment in the Global Network" is the title of Gallis's presentation, which will focus on four main categories of change, including the integration of the global network, a new global economic geography, the new economy, and the environment. He will provide insight into the status of the U.S. infrastructure that will help Symposium participants prepare for the future.

In addition to the slate of speakers, the AmeriQuest Transportation Industry Symposium will feature three panels addressing the topics of the state of the industry, the capital and credit markets, and supply management.