American Truck Historical Society

What American Truck Historical Society does

The American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1971 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, dedicated to preserving the history of the American trucking industry, its vehicles, and its pioneers. Its core deliverables to members include the bimonthly Wheels of Time magazine (reaching 25,000 readers across North America, Australia, and Europe), access to the ATHS Library — one of the largest repositories of trucking-related photographs, technical manuals, publications, company records, and artifacts — plus webinars, a Back Lot classifieds marketplace, and a network of local chapters that run regional antique truck shows and cruiser events. Its flagship live activation is the annual National Convention & Truck Show, which features nearly 1,000 trucks and trailers and serves as a major membership, vendor, and sponsorship moment.

The organization is governed by a volunteer board and committees (including a Volunteer Committee Chair) and operates with a small paid staff of 1-10 supported by 2,000+ volunteer hours annually. Its revenue model is approximately 45% membership dues and 55% contributions and donations, supplemented by magazine advertising (display and classified), event sponsorships and vendor fees at the National Convention, and a small e-commerce merchandise operation through the ATHS online store. Pricing is tiered across individual membership, corporate partnerships (Visionary, Convention Sponsorship, Business Supporter at $100/year, and Corporate Membership), and member-vs-non-member classified ad rates.

Distribution is omnichannel and community-led: owned channels include the print magazine, the aths.org website, the ATHS Connect mobile app (iOS/Android), five social media platforms, and email; engagement channels include chapter events, webinars, and the annual convention. The organization has built a corporate partner ecosystem anchored by major industry brands such as Cummins and Mack Trucks, alongside smaller partners including Vander, Iowa 80, Catscale, Truckomat, Clark Freight Lines, and The Sercombe Family, giving it a hybrid consumer-member / B2B sponsorship posture typical of established hobbyist nonprofits.

Name

American Truck Historical Society

Legal name

American Truck Historical Society

Website

https://aths.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

American Truck Historical Society is a 1971-founded nonprofit that preserves American trucking history through membership, the Wheels of Time magazine, the ATHS Library, local chapters, and an annual National Convention & Truck Show for truck enthusiasts and restorers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Primary revenue source providing approximately 45% of organizational support. Membership provides access to Wheels of Time magazine, library services, webinars, local chapters, and national convention participation.
2. Contributions and Donations: Annual giving program and planned giving opportunities provide significant revenue. About 55% of support comes from contributions beyond membership dues.
3. Wheels of Time Magazine Advertising: Display and classified advertising in the bimonthly magazine reaching 25,000 readers across North America, Australia, and Europe. Ad rates vary for members and non-members.
4. ATHS Store and Gift Shop: Online merchandise store selling books, magazines, apparel, truck gear, and build records with member discounts available.
5. Event Sponsorships and Vendor Fees: National Convention & Truck Show attracts nearly 1,000 trucks and thousands of enthusiasts, offering exhibitor, vendor, and sponsorship packages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The American Truck Historical Society is a membership-based nonprofit organization that preserves and shares the history of the American trucking industry. It operates the ATHS Library archival collection, publishes the bimonthly Wheels of Time magazine, hosts the annual National Convention & Truck Show, and maintains a national network of local chapters connecting truck enthusiasts, restorers, and collectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wheels of Time: The official bimonthly magazine of the American Truck Historical Society featuring trucking history, restoration stories, and profiles of old trucks.

Products and services

• ATHS Annual Membership Annual membership providing access to Wheels of Time magazine (6 issues per year, print or digital), ATHS Library and photo collections, webinars, local chapter participation, and national convention discounts. Available to individual truck enthusiasts, restorers, and collectors worldwide.
• Wheels of Time Magazine

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• CumminsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured as a corporate partner supporting ATHS mission to preserve trucking history. Cummins contributes to the preservation of trucking legacy through partnership with the society.
• Mack TrucksmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured as a corporate partner supporting ATHS. Mack's partnership underscores their dedication to the trucking community and historical preservation.
• VanderminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner featured in partnership showcase, contributing to ATHS initiatives.
• Iowa 80minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting ATHS, contributing to preservation of trucking history.
• CatscaleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner featured in partnership showcase supporting ATHS mission.
• TruckomatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner contributing to ATHS partnership program.
• Clark Freight LinesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvention sponsor and corporate partner supporting ATHS National Convention & Truck Show.
• The Sercombe FamilyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner family contributing to ATHS preservation efforts.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• National Corvette Museum: A specialty automotive museum with archives, exhibits, and events dedicated to a single historic marque — useful analogue for ATHS's library and convention model, though organized as a museum rather than a member society.

Direct peers

• Historic Vehicle Association: HVA documents and preserves historically significant American vehicles through its National Historic Vehicle Register, paralleling ATHS's archival and storytelling work for the trucking industry; both serve as curator-organizations for vehicle heritage.
• Model A Restorers Club: A vintage vehicle restoration community organized around a specific historic model, with chapters, a printed magazine, and national meets — structurally analogous to ATHS at the brand/marque level for truck enthusiasts.
• Early Ford V-8 Club: Enthusiast society focused on 1932–1953 Ford V-8 vehicles with regional groups, national meets, and member publications — analogous niche-marque society model to ATHS at the truck level.
• Goodguys Rod & Custom Association: Membership organization serving classic and custom vehicle enthusiasts through events, a magazine, and national show circuit — highly comparable engagement model to ATHS, with a broader classic-car focus.
• Steam Automobile Club of America: Membership society preserving the history of steam-powered automobiles through publications, meets, and archives — similar archival + enthusiast-event + member-magazine structure as ATHS.
• Antique Automobile Club of America: Founded in 1935, AACA is a membership-based historical society dedicated to the preservation of antique automobiles — closely comparable to ATHS in mission (vehicle heritage preservation), membership model, regional chapter structure, and magazine/event-driven engagement, though broader across all vintage cars rather than trucks.
• National Street Rod Association: NSRA operates as a member-driven classic/street-rod enthusiast society with a national event calendar and printed publication — a structurally similar enthusiast society, though centered on hot rods rather than trucks.
• Veteran Motor Car Club of America: VMCCA is a membership society for pre-1917 antique motor car enthusiasts with touring events and a member magazine — directly comparable to ATHS in subscription-magazine + member-event + chapter-driven structure.

Others

• American Trucking Associations: The leading national trade association for the U.S. trucking industry — adjacent rather than directly comparable because its focus is industry advocacy and operational policy rather than heritage preservation, but it is a key ecosystem player whose members overlap with ATHS's corporate partner base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HistoricalTruck
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCOT20xsSaGL-YX7-uhhDdhw
• Facebookfacebook.com/ATHSHeadquarters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-truck-historical-society
• Instagraminstagram.com/americantruckhistoricalsociety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Truck Historical Society