ORLANDO, Fla. — The Obama administration’s transport policies appear to overlook trucking and could lead to underinvestment in highway infrastructure.

That’s the word from the heads of North America’s largest LTL carriers, who, as reported by the Journal of Commerce, also say that trucking executives and shippers need to better educate Washington on freight markets.

Michael J. Smid, president of YRC and chief operations officer of YRC Worldwide, told a group of shippers at the annual NASSTRAC Logistics conference in Orlando that he’s increasingly concerned over the federal government’s attitude toward highway transportation.

"There is a certain amount of anti-truck rhetoric in Washington today,” said Smid, who referred to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s recent comments about getting fuel "guzzling trucks" off the road and moving freight and onto rail and waterways.

The trucking industry makes an easy target, added Bill Logue, president of FedEx Freight, “because there are so many trucks on the road .. It’s a visible thing.”

Still, where lower-cost, intermodal options that fit customers’ needs exist, both truckers said they would be glad to use them.