President Donald Trump on Tuesday campaigned at the Mack Trucks Lehigh Valley Operations plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, as oil starts to flow out of the Strait of Hormuz once again.
Trump also talked about the threat to trucking jobs from AI, which he said wasn't a worry.
Trump did not, however, touch on his considerable trucking regulation agenda, which included an English language proficiency mandate, the banning of non-domiciled CDLs, and an overall crackdown on bad actors in CDL mills and ELD fraud.
But nearby in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Chief Derek Barrs talked to House Rep. Scott Perry about "working to secure AMERICA’S ROADS and cracking down on illegal truckers gaming the system," Duffy said in a post on X.
"We wanted to come and hear from those who work in transportation, whether it's truck drivers, trucking companies or those who are building infrastructure," Duffy added.
Trump talks autonomous trucking
Before Trump's speech and tour of the Mack facility, he took a question about the future of trucking employment.
"You're about to speak to truckers," Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell of The Daily Caller asked Trump. "Truckers are at high risk of losing their jobs to AI because of self-driving vehicles."
"Well now they're not," responded Trump. "We have the highest job numbers we've ever had in the country, in the history of the country... We have right now so many jobs that are going to be available, and the biggest problem we have is getting the people."
[Related: Trucker to Congress: Keep drivers in autonomous trucks]
Trump talks fuel prices, re-industrialization
Trump mentioned that gas prices had gone down 60 cents since mid-May. Diesel prices, similarly, are down to $4.83/gallon, down 22 cents since last week and 80 cents since May 11, according to the Energy Information Agency's latest data.
Trump spoke at Mack Trucks' 1.7 million square-foot facility, which includes cab and chassis assembly lines, a truck modification center, and an engine grooming line. He mostly talked about his economic agenda, and in a wide-ranging stump speech, he also paid tribute to Mack's longstanding role in American industry.
"For more than 100 years, this legendary company has been making trucks right here in Eastern Pennsylvania, building the heavy-duty machinery that keeps our economy rolling, our factories moving, and our industries roaring all across the nation," said Trump. "You are the men and women who put your pride and spirit into those beautiful words stamped on every Mack Truck that says -- Made in the USA."
Trump talked up tariffs as a big win for Americans, saying it had helped the country re-industrialize.
"I placed 50% tariffs on foreign copper, aluminum, and steel," said Trump. "I placed a 25% tariff on foreign automobiles, and, very importantly, I imposed a 25% tariff on medium- and heavy-duty trucks so that... American roads will be filled with American trucks."
Trump mentioned big investments in production facilities from Eli Lilly, Nokia, and B. Braun he estimated would create 32,000 new jobs. Trump also mentioned AI data center construction, thought to be driving a boom in flatbed freight rates.
Trump invited to the stage Patrick McHugh Jr., a production manager with 28 years on the job at Mack, also a Marine Corps veteran whose father and son both work at the company.
"It is a profound honor and privilege to have you here with us today and to help celebrate the upcoming 250th birthday of our America and most recently our 125th anniversary of building Mack Trucks," said McHugh Jr. "We're open for business and we're producing the best quality trucks we ever have."
Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Dan Meuser said "Mack Trucks are a symbol of America’s manufacturing strength. Their Lehigh Valley Operations are a pillar of the local economy, employing Pennsylvania workers and driving the nation’s trucking industry."
