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. 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.
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.