The Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) is excited to announce its Opening Breakfast event, set to take place on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at 8:00 AM in South Wing Meeting Room B103 at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

This exclusive event offers attendees a unique opportunity to network with industry peers and gain valuable insights from industry leaders. Discussions will focus on the current state of the industry, updates on trucking regulations, and strategies for owner-operators and small fleets to optimize their operations and overcome challenges in 2025. 

Featured speakers at the event will include Dean Croke, Principal Analyst at DAT Freight & Analytics, Kenneth Riddle, Director of the Office of Registration at FMCSA, Pavan Pidugu, Chief Technology Officer, U.S. DOT, Jamie Hagen, President of Hell Bent Xpress, Brent Hutto, Chief Relationship Officer, Truckstop, Ingrid Brown, Operations Manager, Blackjack Express. Jason Cowan, President of Silver Creek Transportation, Lewie Pugh, Executive Vice President of OOIDA, and Tyler Johnston, the Director of Operations for Mercer Transportation.

The event will begin with Dean Croke giving an economic outlook/freight market update. Kenneth Riddle and Pavan Pidugu will then speak about regulations and fraud in the freight industry, detailing the FMCSA Registration System updates and how they will reduce fraud. The final session of the event will be in the form of a moderated panel of accomplished trucking professionals who will discuss important topics affecting the industry and offer solutions and best practices. The event will close with a live Q&A session, where audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists. 

Registered attendees are encouraged to share questions or topics they want covered using this link: http://truckingshow.com/opening-breakfast#survey

Pre-registration for the event is required and attendees can add this event to their badge during the registration process.

For more information on the opening breakfast, please visit: https://truckingshow.com/opening-breakfast/

#MATS2025

About MATS

Since 1972, MATS – Mid-America Trucking Show has become the world’s largest and longest running annual heavy-duty trucking event. MATS is the place to experience everything from new technologies to networking with industry thought leaders. This is where the industry’s largest brands and promising startups do business, form partnerships, and make meaningful connections. Over 870 exhibitors and more than 56,000 attendees experience MATS each year, making it the education and innovation epicenter of the trucking industry. All roads lead to MATS 53 on March 27-29, 2025.