The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) and the Agricultural Food Transporters Conference of the American Trucking Assns. will study the security management practices of more than 20,000 transporters of food and agricultural products.

Information from the nationwide survey, the largest ever for this segment of the transportation industry, will help develop guidelines for security management practices in the transport of agricultural and food commodities. The ATRI survey is being conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"This reflects the trucking industry’s effort to reduce vulnerabilities to food security and to combat terrorism through the use of cost-effective strategies," said Rebecca Brewster, president and Chief Operating Officer of ATRI. "The study focuses on security issues unique to the movement of agricultural and food products from farm to market.
"The two main aims of the study are to identify the most vulnerable areas in the agriculture sector supply chain, and to evaluate the most widely used countermeasures to deal with security concerns," she said.
The survey is being conducted via broadcast fax, mail and ATA’s website at www.truckline.com. Once compiled, survey results will be incorporated into a "Guidebook for Identifying Security Management Practices in Ag and Food Commodity Transport."
ATRI, the independent research arm of American Trucking Assns., is involved in a number of security-related research initiatives including the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Hazardous Materials Safety and Security Field Operational Test. ATRI and its predecessor organization, the ATA Foundation, have been doing critical transportation studies and operational tests since 1954. ATRI conducts and supports research in the transportation field, with an emphasis on the trucking industry’s essential role in a safe, efficient and viable transportation system.
AFTC is the only national trade organization representing commercial transporters of agricultural commodities, forest and mineral products.