Joe Cutrona, Former Executive Director of NASSTRAC, Dies

MINNEAPOLIS, MN— Joseph F. H. Cutrona, former executive director of NASSTRAC (the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council) from 1978-1998, died Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2010 at his home in Naples, FL. NASSTRAC provides education, advocacy, connections and solutions for professionals involved in all areas of transportation, ranging from full truckload and LTL to containerization and global logistics. Prior to joining the management team of NASSTRAC, Cutrona attended West Point and became a career Army officer serving in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam, where he was the Chief Information Officer before retiring as a Brigadier General.

During Cutrona’s tenure with NASSTRAC, he worked on many issues, including those raised by motor carrier deregulation in 1980s and the undercharge epidemic, in which NASSTRAC played a key role by setting up defense groups to challenge undercharge claims and by helping enact the Negotiated Rates Act of 1993. The two decades of Cutrona’s service were years of transition, in which NASSTRAC moved from adversary to a role as ally of carriers and other service providers. His second career is praised by members and transportation officials for guiding NASSTRAC through a revolutionary period of deregulation that fundamentally and irrevocably changed the way in which shippers and carriers conduct business.

Terri Reid, treasurer for NASSTRAC, remembers the softer side to this tough Army commander known to many as General Joe. “Joe was such an amazing and generous person, with a big heart and always a big smile. He understood the inner workings of Washington DC and knew many influential people. While at NASSTRAC, Joe was a passionate advocate for shippers, but he also possessed a great ability to know and understand both sides of the issues confronting shippers and carriers alike.”

Today, NASSTRAC frequently supports the trucking industry and other service providers in areas like safety (including Hours of Service), security, health issues, environmental issues and efforts to increase productivity. NASSTRAC, comprised of freight decision-makers in retail, pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetics, food and beverage and manufacturing, has been providing education and advocacy for shippers and carriers since 1952.