DIEPPE, N.B. — It’s a day the executive of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association knew was coming, it just came a little sooner than expected.

After three and a half years as executive director of the APTA, Peter Nelson resigned from his post on Aug. 26 to pursue other interests.

The executive team at the APTA had been in discussing this move with Nelson for the past couple of months and were preparing for its eventuality.

“It was a little quicker than expected, or planned for," APTA chair Gord Peddle said in an interview today. “But we’re okay. We’ve got a good staff at the office to take care of things.”

Peddle says the association already has a few candidates to take over the executive director role and in the coming weeks the competition will be brought in. In the interim, Peddle and the rest of the executive team will share most of Nelson’s duties.

A native of Saint John, N.B., Nelson joined the APTA after working as an independent consultant, and according to Peddle brought a different point of view to the association.

“It was a very productive time,” adds Peddle. “He was refreshing and did some positive changes, and was strong on the political lobbying side of things.”

Nelson tackled a host of issues on behalf on Atlantic truckers since being named director is 2006, most notably high fuel prices, carbon tax proposals, and addressing the ongoing problems that plague Marine Atlantic.

It’s possible the association could draft a short list of replacements at its annual conference in PEI in October.