Freight Market Spotlight: Rates, Fuel, and Paperwork Fix

1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:06,520 How's it going out there? Bulk and Spur. Welcome into another episode of the Always pneumatic, Never 2 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:12,479 Static podcast. Thank you so much for being here today. Of course I am, Marcus, your host. Uh, with 3 00:00:12,479 --> 00:00:18,080 sometimes the most today I feel like I've got the most. I'm up early. Uh, I'm feeling good. Uh, slept 4 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:22,840 pretty good last night. Although, I will say I had a horrific nightmare about waking up late for an 5 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:29,520 interview that I had scheduled already today. So, uh, good news is, did not sleep through that one. So 6 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:35,080 that's a win on the day. Uh, and an early one. It's always good to get something in the win column 7 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,960 early in the day. And we're going to talk a little bit about the win column here. Uh, because we have 8 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,160 a new segment for you that we're going to debut today. And it's a segment that you're probably 9 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:50,320 going to hear multiple times. But we'll get to that in just a moment. Um, first I need to tell you 10 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:56,800 that we are still taking entries right now for our $400 11 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:02,980 Amazon gift card giveaway and all you have to do to get those entries into us is to take the quiz 12 00:01:02,980 --> 00:01:09,660 that comes with each episode, each week over at our website podcast.bulktransit.com. It's real 13 00:01:09,660 --> 00:01:15,220 simple, and you don't even have to score well on the quiz. All you have to do is take the quiz to 14 00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:22,139 get your entry counted. And that's a pretty big deal. We got holidays coming up. $400 on Amazon 15 00:01:22,140 --> 00:01:28,059 could pretty much knock out my Christmas shopping. Uh, because if you can't find it on Amazon, well, 16 00:01:28,060 --> 00:01:33,659 that's the jungle, people. You can't find it there. It's probably not there. So, um, a really cool 17 00:01:33,660 --> 00:01:40,620 giveaway here at a really cool time during the year. Uh, so make sure and, uh, get your entries in. 18 00:01:40,660 --> 00:01:45,180 Take the quiz. It's really easy. We're trying to make this as easy as we possibly can for you. Uh, 19 00:01:45,180 --> 00:01:49,699 it's basically just an email submission form as all it is. There will be some questions there. And, 20 00:01:49,699 --> 00:01:55,019 uh, I have to hand it to my producer, Jessica. She does a great job coming up with the questions she 21 00:01:55,019 --> 00:02:00,829 listens to every single episode. She is an example of a person that has heard me say more words than 22 00:02:00,830 --> 00:02:06,390 any one person should ever have to. Because not only does Jessica listen to all these episodes 23 00:02:06,390 --> 00:02:11,669 after they're recorded, but she has to sit in multiple meetings with me every single week. So do 24 00:02:11,710 --> 00:02:17,710 me a favor and honor her work, okay? She's the one that puts together those quiz questions for you 25 00:02:17,710 --> 00:02:23,030 after she listens to the show. So, uh, that's, you know, that's that's not fun. That's not the 26 00:02:23,030 --> 00:02:29,750 greatest job that that you can have being on the podcast team. Okay, fortunately for me, and 27 00:02:29,750 --> 00:02:33,630 unfortunately for everybody else, I get the coolest job because I'm the one that gets to talk 28 00:02:33,630 --> 00:02:38,869 to all you guys, make all these new friends, um, you know, have all the fun on the air that we get to 29 00:02:38,910 --> 00:02:43,470 have. And then there's a whole team of people behind me that take that, and they put it together 30 00:02:43,470 --> 00:02:49,310 and make it look actually as good as it comes out. So I'm just running my mouth here. Uh, honor 31 00:02:49,310 --> 00:02:56,190 Jessica's work by going in there and taking that quiz, and you could even win $400 for, uh, your, 32 00:02:56,270 --> 00:03:00,929 uh, I guess your trouble. And I should say a $400 gift card to Amazon. We're not just going to hand 33 00:03:00,929 --> 00:03:05,849 you cash. Uh, so that's that's really kind of the the big announcement that I have on the show 34 00:03:05,850 --> 00:03:11,529 today. As far as before we launch into our new segment. Uh, it's very important if you are 35 00:03:11,529 --> 00:03:16,969 interested in getting into that drawing, we will continue to take submissions, uh, here for the next 36 00:03:16,969 --> 00:03:22,009 few weeks. I'm not going to tell you when the drawing is quite yet. I still want to keep that 37 00:03:22,009 --> 00:03:26,649 very close to the vest, because, uh, the worst thing would be if you guys are just trying to come in 38 00:03:26,649 --> 00:03:31,969 here and and hear the drawing episode, it's going to mean that you didn't listen to any of the 39 00:03:31,969 --> 00:03:38,170 episodes, uh, leading up to it. And maybe you didn't take the quizzes and get your name in the hat for 40 00:03:38,170 --> 00:03:43,889 this. So really want to drive this point home to you guys if you want to be considered for the 41 00:03:43,889 --> 00:03:50,289 $400 Amazon gift card drawing, you have to take a quiz at least one, but as many as you want to 42 00:03:50,289 --> 00:03:56,780 and get yourself submitted. Okay, it's really important. podcast.bulktransit.com. That's where you're going 43 00:03:56,780 --> 00:04:01,178 to go. The last thing that I really want to happen here, and there's a reason that I'm constantly 44 00:04:01,179 --> 00:04:06,538 just hammering this on these last few episodes. I just don't want somebody to call me the week 45 00:04:06,539 --> 00:04:11,699 after we do the drawing and say, hey, what the heck, man? I've been listening to the show, and I wasn't, 46 00:04:11,699 --> 00:04:16,420 uh, I wasn't aware that that was how I got entered for the drawing, and I don't think I got entered. 47 00:04:16,459 --> 00:04:21,179 That's that's the worst thing that can possibly happen here. I want all of you guys to have a shot 48 00:04:21,179 --> 00:04:27,660 at this. If you listen to this show every week, you deserve a shot at it. So take the quiz 49 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:33,939 over podcast.bulktransit.com. Do it for this episode. Go back and listen to episodes. Listen to the episodes in 50 00:04:33,939 --> 00:04:40,499 the future. Take the quizzes. Get into the drawing. Walk away with a $400 Amazon gift card that you 51 00:04:40,499 --> 00:04:45,659 can show off to your friends and family. While Christmas this year just doesn't even touch the 52 00:04:45,660 --> 00:04:51,819 normal paycheck, how cool would that be? Man, I got to get myself into this drawing. Um, now that I 53 00:04:51,859 --> 00:04:55,339 said that on the air, Jessica is probably going to look out for my quiz submission and it would be 54 00:04:55,399 --> 00:05:00,799 really awkward to pull my own name out of the hat on the air, so I'm not going to do that. I'm just 55 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:06,999 going to ruminate from time to time about how cool it would be if I also had a shot at the $400 56 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:13,760 Amazon gift card, but that's for you, the Balkan Spur driver. So get your quizzes submitted 57 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:18,679 and stay tuned to Always Pneumatic, never static because I will tell you sooner or later, one of 58 00:05:18,679 --> 00:05:23,120 these days, one of these weeks, you're going to come in here, and all I'm going to be talking 59 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:29,559 about is that the drawing is on X day. So just stay tuned for that, because I promise you it's 60 00:05:29,559 --> 00:05:34,400 coming around the bend before you know it. Uh, I already told you I already kind of buried the 61 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:39,480 lead on this one a little bit, but today's podcast is an important one, because we're going to debut 62 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:45,759 a new segment that we are going to have be a recurring segment on this show. What's a recurring 63 00:05:45,799 --> 00:05:51,399 segment? Well, it's one that we do when there's a need for it. I would love to do this, you know, 64 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:57,850 twice a month or maybe even once a week, but, um, we would have to that. First of all, that would ask a 65 00:05:57,850 --> 00:06:03,489 lot of Laura Holstein, who's going to join us for our new bit, which is called Laura explains it all. 66 00:06:03,489 --> 00:06:07,649 And I don't want to do that to Laura because, uh, putting something on the calendar every single 67 00:06:07,649 --> 00:06:13,010 week starts to be something that, uh, can weigh on people, especially people with jobs like Laura has, 68 00:06:13,010 --> 00:06:17,890 which she's going to be responsible for a lot of different things. And that's sort of what we're 69 00:06:17,890 --> 00:06:23,929 going to talk about here today. Uh, we are going to be joined by Laura and Driver Jackie Thomas, and 70 00:06:23,929 --> 00:06:28,689 they're going to talk through a paperwork discrepancy. And look, this one happens to be 71 00:06:28,689 --> 00:06:33,449 pretty simple. Uh, Laura gave me some details about it. They got it figured out. This wasn't like a 72 00:06:33,450 --> 00:06:40,009 move mountain scenario, but it was important because it was. It has to do with Jackie's pay. And 73 00:06:40,010 --> 00:06:45,249 every single driver that's listening to this right now understands that the paperwork is 74 00:06:45,249 --> 00:06:51,809 crucial to you getting paid correctly, whatever that may be, whether it's, uh, you know, getting paid 75 00:06:51,809 --> 00:06:56,509 for every single load, getting paid for all the other things that you can get paid for here at 76 00:06:56,510 --> 00:07:02,549 this company. It all comes down to that paperwork. And so a really cool bit that we have coming up. 77 00:07:02,549 --> 00:07:07,589 In fact, I can get to it right now is Laura explains it all. Laura and Jackie are kind of 78 00:07:07,630 --> 00:07:12,149 waiting in the wings to join me, and we'll get them in here in just a moment. Um, and we'll talk 79 00:07:12,150 --> 00:07:16,670 through it. There's a lot that can be gained from this. When when this idea was pitched to me 80 00:07:16,670 --> 00:07:20,829 because, hey, I didn't come up with this one. I'm not going to lie to anybody. This was somebody 81 00:07:20,830 --> 00:07:27,790 else's idea. Uh, I thought, hey, what a fantastic way to sort of teach one driver a 82 00:07:27,790 --> 00:07:32,229 lesson about something that happened. Or maybe a driver can learn something, and we just do it live 83 00:07:32,229 --> 00:07:38,390 on the show, and everybody gets to learn from that. Um, so Laura was more than happy to join us. She's 84 00:07:38,390 --> 00:07:43,308 awesome. She's been on the show before. We've talked all about what her position entails. Now 85 00:07:43,469 --> 00:07:50,309 let's see it in action. Let's get Laura and Jackie Thomas in here for our new segment. Laura explains 86 00:07:50,309 --> 00:07:57,040 it all. You are listening to. Always pneumatic, never static. The 87 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:02,160 Totally Pressurized podcast brought to you by Bulk Transit, where we keep the lines clear, the 88 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:07,479 tanks empty, and the conversation anything but dry. Whether you're running powder pellets or anything 89 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,359 in between, pull up a seat, crack the windows, and let's hit it. 90 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:19,839 One of the ubiquitous things, and by the way, that is the biggest word I will use today. But one of 91 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:25,999 the most ubiquitous things about truck driving is paperwork. And we've talked before about it on 92 00:08:25,999 --> 00:08:31,119 this podcast, making sure that it's accurate, making sure that all of it is turned in on time 93 00:08:31,119 --> 00:08:37,919 so that you get paid. There's so much that goes into something that really is, at its core, a 94 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:43,679 simple part of taking things from point A to point B and tracking them and trying to record 95 00:08:43,680 --> 00:08:50,519 that paperwork. But we're all human. So sometimes, you know, a seven looks like a one. Uh, if 96 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:55,858 you're me, a three can look like a five, and I don't understand how that happens, but it does. And 97 00:08:55,859 --> 00:09:02,099 so we are introducing a new bit here today on always pneumatic, never static, where we bring in a 98 00:09:02,099 --> 00:09:08,299 person that really keeps an eye on all this stuff. Laura Holstein, in a new bit that we have called 99 00:09:08,340 --> 00:09:15,020 Laura, explains it all, and I'm so happy to welcome Laura to the show today. Laura, thank you so much 100 00:09:15,020 --> 00:09:20,218 for going on this little journey with me. I figured a recurring bit here with someone like 101 00:09:20,219 --> 00:09:25,859 you that's so good at what you do is probably a good thing. And we already got a driver that's 102 00:09:25,859 --> 00:09:30,659 willing to join us and come in here and sort of talk through one of these. So that's the idea 103 00:09:30,700 --> 00:09:36,419 behind the bit. Laura, maybe you can give me a few details today on why we're here and what we're 104 00:09:36,419 --> 00:09:41,339 talking about today. And thank you so much for joining us for this bit. Well, thank you so much 105 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:48,299 for the invitation. And thank you, Jackie, for joining us. Um. You're welcome. We, uh, 106 00:09:48,739 --> 00:09:55,669 we have, you know, 200 plus drivers at times and they're all doing paperwork. My team processes all 107 00:09:55,669 --> 00:10:01,108 the invoices and then therefore the settlement summaries for the drivers. And at times, you know, 108 00:10:01,150 --> 00:10:06,749 it can be a difference between dispatch made a mistake, the driver made a mistake, or my team made 109 00:10:06,750 --> 00:10:13,109 a mistake, and then we just have to sort it out from there. So Jackie recently reached out to me 110 00:10:13,310 --> 00:10:20,269 because he thought he was short paid. So in researching it, I was off for the day, but I carry 111 00:10:20,310 --> 00:10:25,949 my phone and my laptop and stuff everywhere I go. Um, especially, you know, because of people like 112 00:10:25,950 --> 00:10:30,830 Jackie, I want to be able to help. So I was messaging with my team, um, trying to get the 113 00:10:30,830 --> 00:10:35,949 information and the details and, and things like that. And then I was calling Jackie back, and it 114 00:10:35,950 --> 00:10:42,390 turned out that there was probably a bad date in our system that we used for the paperwork. So a 115 00:10:42,390 --> 00:10:48,629 load ended up paying out a week early. So when I talked with Jackie, he agreed that yes, the week 116 00:10:48,650 --> 00:10:54,369 prior. He thought his earnings were a bit high. And then this week, you know, this particular week they 117 00:10:54,369 --> 00:11:01,289 were short. So that's what it ended up being, after all, was just a load paid out early. But Jackie is 118 00:11:01,289 --> 00:11:07,809 always wonderful about just asking, hey Laura, can you help me figure this out? That's something I 119 00:11:07,849 --> 00:11:13,529 kind of want to touch on at Jackie Thomas joining us on the show as well. Jackie, welcome back here. 120 00:11:13,530 --> 00:11:19,449 Glad to have you as always. Um, but when I talk to Jackie on the phone, Laura and asked him if he 121 00:11:19,450 --> 00:11:23,809 wanted to come on here. Jackie, what did you tell me? You said. Oh, Laura probably thinks I'm a bit of 122 00:11:23,809 --> 00:11:29,089 a thorn in her side, but it kind of sounds like from Laura's side of things. She's happy that you, 123 00:11:29,090 --> 00:11:33,848 uh, are on top of this stuff, Jackie. And it's. It's important to you to keep a close eye on it, 124 00:11:33,849 --> 00:11:39,849 because we're talking about your pay here, right, man? Yes, yes we are. And, you know, the holiday we 125 00:11:39,849 --> 00:11:45,330 get thrown me off are what she was talking about, because they paid me a week ahead of time on the 126 00:11:45,330 --> 00:11:51,459 road and I couldn't I it took me a couple of seconds when I had to talk to her teeth and see 127 00:11:51,460 --> 00:11:56,699 what they did, and she said, that's what they did. They paid me a week ahead of time or warned. 128 00:11:56,860 --> 00:12:03,419 Gotcha. And over your time here with bulk. Jackie, um, how many times has has Laura helped you out 129 00:12:03,420 --> 00:12:09,340 with something like this? I mean, I feel like like I said at the open there, we're all human. So it's 130 00:12:09,340 --> 00:12:14,059 it's likely that this type of stuff is going to prop up every now and then. So how often do you 131 00:12:14,059 --> 00:12:20,459 and Laura connect on things like this? I'd say at least once or twice a month, because there's 132 00:12:20,460 --> 00:12:26,940 something that I don't understand sometimes on our summaries. And, um, I'll call her and she'll 133 00:12:26,940 --> 00:12:32,140 explain it to me and everything, and she does a real good job of explaining stuff. Which is why we 134 00:12:32,179 --> 00:12:38,299 named this segment. Laura explains it all. Uh, very, very good connection there, Jackie. Uh, Laura, what 135 00:12:38,300 --> 00:12:43,579 can the other drivers learn from this experience that Jackie had? And is there a message that you 136 00:12:43,580 --> 00:12:49,109 would like to deliver to the other drivers? Um, maybe the vein of. Hey, it's okay, give me a call. 137 00:12:49,109 --> 00:12:55,509 Anything like that? Right. Yeah, it's. It's great. Um, when they reach out, um, we have certain channels 138 00:12:55,510 --> 00:12:59,789 that we really prefer them to go through for a payroll discrepancy and to go through their 139 00:12:59,789 --> 00:13:05,069 terminal and things like that, because then that way, if if we're processing an entire terminal 140 00:13:05,070 --> 00:13:10,989 incorrectly and we're short paying or overpaying a handful of people out of the same location, then 141 00:13:10,989 --> 00:13:17,949 it's quite possible that I have a training issue with my team. But it you know, if somebody calls me 142 00:13:18,349 --> 00:13:24,389 or emails me or like Jackie, Jackie, I'll just stop by. You know, this morning he was in getting his 143 00:13:24,389 --> 00:13:29,989 truck serviced and he did. He came over. He didn't understand the new payroll app that we had. So I 144 00:13:30,030 --> 00:13:36,348 helped him get logged in and create his account for that. The way he approaches his questions, he 145 00:13:36,349 --> 00:13:42,389 never accuses me and my staff of making a mistake. And that's the way I approach a lot of things, is, 146 00:13:42,430 --> 00:13:48,449 you know, I don't want to be accusatory, but I, you know, I want to make sure that I understand to 147 00:13:48,489 --> 00:13:53,889 where I might ask. You know. Okay. Explain to me what happened. Because maybe I didn't understand 148 00:13:53,889 --> 00:14:00,210 what happened when I was initially looking at the paperwork. Um, because, again, I'm not in the shotgun 149 00:14:00,250 --> 00:14:06,249 seat with them. And when I do the meet and greets, I explain to them if they can just write up their 150 00:14:06,249 --> 00:14:12,129 trip sheet as if they're writing a letter to Laura. This is what happened. Because I'm not there. 151 00:14:12,129 --> 00:14:17,129 I'm not on the phone with them when they're calling their terminal manager. So I need on the 152 00:14:17,129 --> 00:14:24,089 trip sheet the things that happened. The condensed version. Well, I was so happy when you 153 00:14:24,210 --> 00:14:31,129 presented Jackie to me as as a option for today's show, Laura. Because, um, you know, the very 154 00:14:31,130 --> 00:14:35,128 first time I ever talked to Jackie on the phone, he answered the phone and said, how's it going, 155 00:14:35,129 --> 00:14:39,729 buddy? And I've been friends with Jackie ever since. I feel like Jackie has never met anything 156 00:14:39,729 --> 00:14:45,709 but a friend. Uh, Jackie, you bring a very positive attitude here, not only to the podcast, I'm sure, 157 00:14:45,710 --> 00:14:51,309 but from what it sounds like to the job in general. And I want you to talk me through Jackie, 158 00:14:51,350 --> 00:14:56,029 your mindset when it comes to that, because I think that what Laura just said there, you know, 159 00:14:56,070 --> 00:15:00,870 she called out that you're never accusatory and that might mean and hey, once again, we're all 160 00:15:00,870 --> 00:15:05,709 humans, but that might mean that maybe Laura has dealt with the driver or two in the past that are 161 00:15:05,709 --> 00:15:11,909 a bit accusatory. Uh, why is it that you take the approach that you do, Jackie, with you sit down, ask 162 00:15:11,909 --> 00:15:18,749 questions and figure it out? Well, there's you don't want to approach her. 163 00:15:18,750 --> 00:15:25,189 Um, you know, being a, like, a rude or anything like that to her about it. I mean, all you've got to do 164 00:15:25,190 --> 00:15:31,670 is talk to Laura and explain what what you think has happened. And if it hasn't 165 00:15:31,670 --> 00:15:38,669 happened, she'll figure it out for you. I mean, it's just like sometimes you're a you're dispatch 166 00:15:38,869 --> 00:15:45,159 for forget to put something on there for her. And I questioned it on my summary. 167 00:15:45,159 --> 00:15:52,038 And now it's a good thing to do, you know, to figure it out. You'll figure it out. Believe me, 168 00:15:52,079 --> 00:15:56,758 there's another good thing too I would like to bring up. And her just talked about this a couple 169 00:15:56,759 --> 00:16:03,639 of weeks ago. For some guys that like take jobs, they'll go and load a load for me at 170 00:16:03,679 --> 00:16:10,479 Honda here in Marysville. And they want to do they take the pink slip out of the trip sheet. Okay. 171 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:17,239 So that that gives me nothing to go by. So I started taking pictures of my trip sheet now. 172 00:16:17,239 --> 00:16:23,799 And that way I've got proof of everything that I've done. And it's hard for her to figure that 173 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:30,759 out if she don't know. So communication is always going to be a very paramount, important thing. Uh, 174 00:16:30,799 --> 00:16:35,759 Laura, can you speak a little bit on, uh, on that thing that Jackie's talking about? They're taking 175 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:40,679 a picture of the pink slip, making sure that that stuff kind of all stays together. Uh, how did you 176 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:46,539 guys go about kind of ironing that out together. Yeah. Anytime that they can provide us with any 177 00:16:46,539 --> 00:16:52,859 documents, you know, along with the history as to what happened, because we have to have everything, 178 00:16:52,900 --> 00:16:57,579 you know, from the weight slips to the bill of lading, to the trip sheets to present to the 179 00:16:57,580 --> 00:17:04,059 customer with the invoice. So the more they document, the more organized they are. 180 00:17:04,620 --> 00:17:10,939 Um, it shows, it shows in our billing and it shows in that driver's payroll to where if there's a 181 00:17:10,939 --> 00:17:17,619 driver who might be, maybe they're missing pay more often. It might be in their 182 00:17:17,620 --> 00:17:24,099 process or in their organizational, the way they set things up. Because, you know, we set it. We set 183 00:17:24,140 --> 00:17:30,339 ourselves up every morning when we wake up as to how we're going to approach today. And, you know, if 184 00:17:30,339 --> 00:17:36,819 you if you approach your paperwork as valuable as it is because it is your paycheck, 185 00:17:37,219 --> 00:17:42,389 all those trip sheets, all those bill of lading, all those weight tickets, That is your paycheck. 186 00:17:42,430 --> 00:17:48,550 That is your opportunity to tell me and my team what you did, how you did it, how long it took you. 187 00:17:48,550 --> 00:17:53,948 And then, you know, the more accurately it's updated and dispatch, the more accurate the 188 00:17:53,949 --> 00:17:58,230 driver's paperwork is, the more accurate the invoice will be and the more accurate the 189 00:17:58,230 --> 00:18:04,269 driver's payroll will be. Great stuff here from both of you. Thank you both so much for coming on 190 00:18:04,269 --> 00:18:10,309 here and sort of anointing this as a segment. I, I don't know how often we'll do this. I think it's 191 00:18:10,310 --> 00:18:15,829 sort of one of those things, Laura, that we can approach this when it's needed. And I hope that 192 00:18:15,829 --> 00:18:22,469 you'll use the podcast as a tool to help your team here, because we can do this any time. This is 193 00:18:22,469 --> 00:18:27,350 a short segment. We've only been here for ten minutes. We can pop one of these in any episode 194 00:18:27,350 --> 00:18:32,349 that we need to, and I hope that the drivers out there listening right now are listening to the 195 00:18:32,350 --> 00:18:37,510 way that Jackie approaches this, hearing how well it works with you and your team, Laura, and how 196 00:18:37,510 --> 00:18:44,449 problems just get solved and taken care of. And a I mean, could even maybe expose a deeper issue 197 00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:50,129 that needs to be rectified quickly. This is the way we want to go about it, not necessarily always 198 00:18:50,130 --> 00:18:54,530 here on the podcast, but you getting in touch with Laura and her team and making sure that 199 00:18:54,530 --> 00:18:59,449 everything is where it needs to be. Again, the paperwork is such an important part of what we do 200 00:18:59,489 --> 00:19:05,129 here. It's the paycheck. It's a snapshot of what you did so that you can get that money in your 201 00:19:05,129 --> 00:19:09,449 account and start buying all those adult toys that we all love to have, you know, four wheelers, 202 00:19:09,449 --> 00:19:14,489 pickup trucks, whatever it might be. And Jackie, I know that's a big part of what you're thinking of. 203 00:19:14,529 --> 00:19:20,770 There is a I got to get that money in my pocket because somebody depends on it, right? Yes, I did, 204 00:19:20,930 --> 00:19:27,889 and I want to say one more thing too. But before we get off of here in the bulk drivers, if 205 00:19:27,890 --> 00:19:34,769 you got a question or anything about your payroll summary, Laura's always got an open phone. You can 206 00:19:34,769 --> 00:19:40,539 leave a message for her and I promise you she'll get back with you. Just give her a chance. Well 207 00:19:40,579 --> 00:19:45,739 great stuff, Jackie Thomas, thank you so much for sort of being our guinea pig here today, playing 208 00:19:45,739 --> 00:19:50,300 ball with Laura and I. This is going to be a great segment. We're going to do as many of these as we 209 00:19:50,300 --> 00:19:55,499 need to. Um, I'll always have time for Laura explains it all here on the podcast. Laura 210 00:19:55,500 --> 00:20:01,739 Holstein, thank you so much for your time today as well. Uh, keep my number in your pocket. Look me up 211 00:20:01,739 --> 00:20:07,900 if you ever need to do this again. Okay? Yes. Thank you very much, Marcus. Greatly appreciate it. No 212 00:20:07,900 --> 00:20:13,579 problem. That's Laura Holstein and driver Jackie Thomas. We'll be right back here with a full 213 00:20:13,579 --> 00:20:18,020 market spotlight. I'm going to tell you everything you want to know about what's going on in the 214 00:20:18,020 --> 00:20:22,819 trucking market, and maybe even a little bit about how I feel about it. So stick around. We'll be 215 00:20:22,819 --> 00:20:26,579 right back with more. Always pneumatic, never static in just a moment. 216 00:20:34,579 --> 00:20:41,359 Great job there by Laura Holstein and Jackie Thomas for our brand new recurring segment. 217 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:46,880 Laura explains it all. Uh, she's really going to be handy. I'm telling you right now, just listening to 218 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:52,439 Jackie talk in that segment and on phone calls that I've had with him about getting some 219 00:20:52,439 --> 00:20:58,400 discrepancies taken care of with Laura. It's always a smooth process. It always happens fast. 220 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:04,359 And I can tell you this, just having spoken to Laura now as many times as I have, she's here to 221 00:21:04,399 --> 00:21:10,000 help and that's going to put a smile on her face. If she can help you and get this figured out and 222 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,239 make it so that it's not something that you're always thinking about out there on the road. So 223 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:20,159 stay tuned for more. Laura explains it all. That's an as needed segment, and Laura will definitely 224 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:25,479 keep in touch with me and drivers. If you're talking to me at any time and you want to come on 225 00:21:25,479 --> 00:21:31,240 here and have a segment with Laura where she explains something to you. Let's do it. You've got 226 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:36,968 my number. Feel free to reach out or send me an email over at podcast.bulk transit.com 227 00:21:38,130 --> 00:21:43,089 All right. Moving forward from that, we have got a little bit of an industry spotlight here. Now, I 228 00:21:43,089 --> 00:21:48,329 thought this was an appropriate time to bring this type of information to the show, because for 229 00:21:48,329 --> 00:21:54,930 a long time and as we launched this podcast, we were still in that market. And that market was 230 00:21:54,970 --> 00:22:01,289 ugly. We were, uh, skipping along the bottom, if you will. And, uh, we'd been there for a while. This is 231 00:22:01,290 --> 00:22:06,609 sort of that post-Covid bust that happened in the freight industry. Uh, everybody knew about it. 232 00:22:06,610 --> 00:22:13,049 Everybody kind of understood what was causing it. And a lot of things have changed when we talk 233 00:22:13,089 --> 00:22:19,449 about just the first eight months of 2026. And obviously that's two thirds of the year, I get it. 234 00:22:19,449 --> 00:22:25,849 But, uh, we've still got a full quarter plus to go here. And so I think it's important to take a look 235 00:22:25,849 --> 00:22:31,009 at these numbers and just understand what's going on in the industry. Uh, from a little bit of a 236 00:22:31,009 --> 00:22:37,589 zoomed out perspective. Now, before I get into this, I do want to deliver a special little caveat here. 237 00:22:37,590 --> 00:22:44,229 I understand that the specialty freight that bull calls is largely disconnected from some of these 238 00:22:44,229 --> 00:22:47,949 numbers that I'm going to give you, because we're going to be talking about spot rates. We're going 239 00:22:47,949 --> 00:22:52,629 to be talking about sort of year over year changes in freight rates. And a lot of time that's 240 00:22:52,630 --> 00:22:59,430 looking at drive and flatbed and reefer. Um, and I understand that there's not a ton of research 241 00:22:59,469 --> 00:23:05,750 out there that is, uh, sort of overarching for the entire industry. But there's a reason I'm bringing 242 00:23:05,750 --> 00:23:11,589 you these numbers. Okay. I'm I'm bringing you a bunch of numbers here to tell a full story about 243 00:23:11,589 --> 00:23:16,750 the freight market right now and, and this spotlight that we're putting on it. So keep with 244 00:23:16,750 --> 00:23:23,670 me. Don't don't jump ship in the first couple minutes of this, because it's not talking about 245 00:23:23,670 --> 00:23:28,149 things that are directly related to what you do every single day. I promise you towards the end, 246 00:23:28,150 --> 00:23:33,469 I'm going to bring this back around and deliver some stats that are very important, uh, to the work 247 00:23:33,470 --> 00:23:38,759 that we do here at Bulk and Spur and the things that we're hauling. So let's talk about this. We're 248 00:23:38,759 --> 00:23:45,119 30,000ft up right now, and we're looking down at the freight market as a whole. What can we tell 249 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:50,279 you? Well, rates are rising sharply. That's one thing that's a really good like we throw high 250 00:23:50,319 --> 00:23:57,159 fives around here when we hear rates are rising sharply, capacity has tightened and freight demand 251 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:03,159 itself is actually still remaining fairly soft. But there is room for improvement there. However, I 252 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:08,959 think you guys understand this. Uh, diesel has become an enormous wild card. That's that's the 253 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:13,079 best thing we can call it right now. And I feel like that even it's calling it a wild card. You 254 00:24:13,079 --> 00:24:18,240 know, sometimes you flip over the ace, sometimes you flip over the deuce. The wild card can be good, 255 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:22,999 but I feel like right now we're dealing with diesel as a wild card that only gets us like a 256 00:24:22,999 --> 00:24:29,079 six or below if we're talking actual playing cards here because, wow, it's bad and we'll get to 257 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:33,899 more of that in a minute here. But I dug through some current data from a lot of different 258 00:24:33,939 --> 00:24:40,419 reporting agencies Dat, EIA, BLES and TS CAS 80 a CT 259 00:24:40,459 --> 00:24:47,339 research census and FDR. So there you go. That's where I'm getting my information from here. I'm 260 00:24:47,339 --> 00:24:53,619 not just going to, uh, you know, trucker Tom on on YouTube. I love his content, but I think that going 261 00:24:53,660 --> 00:24:58,819 to the source itself is the best possible way to bring you the most up to date information that I 262 00:24:58,819 --> 00:25:04,579 can. Um, the freight market has finally shifted towards carriers. I think that's probably the 263 00:25:04,579 --> 00:25:10,779 biggest headline here. Dat September numbers show a market that looks dramatically different from a 264 00:25:10,780 --> 00:25:17,540 year ago. Uh, comparing September 26th with August 26th. So just month over month, what's happened in 265 00:25:17,540 --> 00:25:24,458 these last two months? Well, spot load posts are up 11.4%. Spot truck posts 266 00:25:24,459 --> 00:25:31,379 are up 5.3% from August to September. Van load from August to September. Van load to truck 267 00:25:31,380 --> 00:25:38,149 ratio up 9.6%, flatbed load to truck ratio up 8.3 and reefer load to 268 00:25:38,189 --> 00:25:45,068 truck ratio up 4%. Okay, some pretty modest numbers there. The biggest one we saw was 11.4%. 269 00:25:45,069 --> 00:25:49,709 It's good we're moving in the right direction, but it's nothing to write home about. But what does it 270 00:25:49,709 --> 00:25:56,430 say about where we were in September 2025 compared to September 2026? This is the 271 00:25:56,430 --> 00:26:03,218 numbers, the group of numbers, excuse me, that really tell the story here. September 20th 25 to 272 00:26:03,219 --> 00:26:08,709 2026. Spot loads are up 27%, spot truck posts are down 273 00:26:08,709 --> 00:26:15,509 24.5%. Van load to truck ratio up 73.4%, 274 00:26:15,550 --> 00:26:22,389 flatbed load to truck ratio up 50.4% and reefer load to truck ratio is up 275 00:26:22,389 --> 00:26:29,349 75.4%, up 27%. With available trucks down 25%. Is is 276 00:26:29,349 --> 00:26:34,489 a pretty excellent comparison here because it really illustrates what's happening without 277 00:26:34,529 --> 00:26:39,290 needing an economics degree. And I love that because I ain't got one. There are substantially 278 00:26:39,290 --> 00:26:45,929 fewer trucks chasing more freight than there were a year ago. Act research goes even further on 279 00:26:45,930 --> 00:26:52,529 this by saying in its September report that spot equipment capacity is at decade 280 00:26:52,530 --> 00:26:58,969 lows, while its driver availability index tightened to 35.9 in August. 281 00:26:59,169 --> 00:27:06,089 Act expects tight capacity, combined with modest demand improvement, to maintain upward 282 00:27:06,089 --> 00:27:12,930 pressure on freight rates over the next 12 to 18 months. That's really good. We would love to 283 00:27:12,969 --> 00:27:19,649 see 12 to 18 months of freight rates rising. Okay. Um, it's a very significant 284 00:27:19,649 --> 00:27:26,369 reversal from what we dealt with just back in 2025 and beyond into the past. So, um, 285 00:27:26,410 --> 00:27:32,300 again, we're throwing high fives around here when we hear this type of information. Now I'm going to 286 00:27:32,300 --> 00:27:37,499 go ahead and skip over some of the spot rate stuff that's a little bit more dollar value ish. 287 00:27:37,579 --> 00:27:43,698 Um, I can tell you that we're we're sitting in a good spot. We're moving up. We're up 288 00:27:43,699 --> 00:27:50,419 4.2% in van spot rates, uh, September versus August. But here's what I can tell you as far as spot 289 00:27:50,420 --> 00:27:57,179 rates year over year. Once again, looking at September 25th, uh, comparing it to September 290 00:27:57,180 --> 00:28:03,899 2026, van spot rates are up 46.8%. Flatbed 43.8% and 291 00:28:03,900 --> 00:28:10,699 reefer, 48.4%. This isn't a 3% or a 10% raise from last year. We're talking up 292 00:28:10,699 --> 00:28:17,179 50% nearly on every single one of these markers from a year ago. Uh, at this time. So 293 00:28:17,180 --> 00:28:23,139 again, start the spirit line. We're throwing high fives all around here. Now, there is a catch here, 294 00:28:23,140 --> 00:28:27,059 because the one thing that I kept seeing in my research as I was putting this segment together 295 00:28:27,060 --> 00:28:33,159 is everybody, all of these research outlets seem to be wanting to get out in front of this and say, 296 00:28:33,159 --> 00:28:39,358 hey, freight itself isn't booming yet. That was something I saw so many different research 297 00:28:39,359 --> 00:28:45,040 organizations draw reference to. It's you think about it because you hear these rates and you 298 00:28:45,079 --> 00:28:49,759 hear the way that things are turning around and you go, well, business must just be exploding. But 299 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:56,520 not exactly okay. The Abta's latest for hire truck tonnage index actually fell half a 300 00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:02,719 percentage point in August, after falling 1.2% in July. Our August tonnage was down 301 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:09,680 1.6% year over year, uh, down 4.3% from the recent March peak and 302 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:16,199 down in four of the previous five months. ATH chief economist Bob Costello explicitly said the 303 00:29:16,199 --> 00:29:23,159 market has flipped because of reduced capacity, not robust demand. And we've talked 304 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:29,930 about this before. That capacity box checking that one was a huge thing for the freight market. Okay, 305 00:29:29,930 --> 00:29:36,929 we had a lot of extra trucks out there hanging out waiting for loads. Nobody there to, you know, 306 00:29:36,969 --> 00:29:41,328 to to give them something to put on their truck. Maybe they didn't have the contracts that bulk 307 00:29:41,329 --> 00:29:45,849 does. And so what do they do? They wait for the lowest possible rate on the board and they grab 308 00:29:45,850 --> 00:29:51,169 it. And that drives rates down. When we get rid of some of that extra capacity that maybe the 309 00:29:51,169 --> 00:29:57,048 industry doesn't actually need at this point in time, those very, very low bottom dollar freight 310 00:29:57,089 --> 00:30:01,369 rates don't get picked up because there's nobody sitting at a truck stop with an empty truck 311 00:30:01,370 --> 00:30:06,809 waiting to take it. That's what capacity tightening looks like. And it may be the most 312 00:30:06,810 --> 00:30:13,689 single important distinction for this episode is to say that trucking isn't experiencing a giant 313 00:30:13,689 --> 00:30:20,449 freight boom. According to these numbers, it's experiencing a capacity correction. There's fewer 314 00:30:20,449 --> 00:30:27,029 available trucks, plus roughly stable slash slowly improving rates, which equal 315 00:30:27,030 --> 00:30:32,949 considerably more pricing power for the trucks that remain. It's that simple. And again, it's a 316 00:30:32,949 --> 00:30:39,309 good thing we're talking high fives here. Um, it's a slow burn to all right. Capacity is not 317 00:30:39,310 --> 00:30:45,550 something that just shrinks overnight. But there has been some movement over the past year. Uh, you 318 00:30:45,550 --> 00:30:50,108 can look at this from the political sphere a little bit, but really, what it is, is a 319 00:30:50,109 --> 00:30:56,869 reinforcement of certain things that maybe hadn't been, uh, enforced as much since 2014. Uh, and 320 00:30:56,869 --> 00:31:02,149 we're talking about, of course, the, uh, the language requirements for truck drivers. We heard a lot 321 00:31:02,149 --> 00:31:08,909 about that earlier this year. And also phantom authorities. That was a big news hit. 322 00:31:08,909 --> 00:31:15,029 Probably 2 or 3 months ago. There was a big sweep across the industry to get some of these phantom 323 00:31:15,030 --> 00:31:20,949 authorities, these guys who don't care about safety, they don't do anything according to the 324 00:31:20,949 --> 00:31:27,599 laws that they have to do. They pile up a bunch of violations, they get shut down, and then they just 325 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:32,799 move to a different authority and open up again and go back and do the same thing. And they'll do 326 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:38,879 that time and time again. These are called phantom authorities. And they are they were a big problem 327 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:43,839 earlier in the year. And I think that with the movement that we saw, the news coverage that we 328 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:50,439 saw, we saw a lot of these people either shut down voluntarily, tuck tail and go find another 329 00:31:50,439 --> 00:31:56,119 business to rip off, or they're going to have to figure out a different way to go about doing it 330 00:31:56,120 --> 00:32:01,919 the wrong way. And either way, what that does is shrinks capacity. It's it's every time one of 331 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:07,079 those guys gets their door slammed shut and gets slapped with a lawsuit or something like that, 332 00:32:07,079 --> 00:32:12,519 that's going to take them out of the industry altogether. That tightens our capacity. That gives 333 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:17,919 a little bit more pricing power to the fleets that remain, and we want the fleets that are doing 334 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:22,319 it the right way and doing it the safe way to be the ones that are hauling the freight here. Okay. 335 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:27,339 Let's remember as four wheelers. Uh, when you're out there with your family, whatever the case may 336 00:32:27,379 --> 00:32:32,779 be. We're sharing the road with these guys, too. And we don't want to see somebody who has it pays no 337 00:32:32,820 --> 00:32:38,979 mind to safety and pays no minds to the laws and hours of service and things like that, uh, getting 338 00:32:38,979 --> 00:32:44,499 these loads, because that means, inevitably, that our roads are going to be less safe with these 339 00:32:44,499 --> 00:32:50,059 types of phantom fleets running around out there. So good stuff to see those you don't want to see 340 00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:55,340 drivers lose jobs, but those jobs are still available because the fleets that are doing it 341 00:32:55,340 --> 00:33:01,300 right are going to end up growing because capacity has tightened. So all good things here 342 00:33:01,300 --> 00:33:08,098 when you really sort of line it out. But obviously there's an elephant in the room and a 343 00:33:08,140 --> 00:33:14,739 big stinky diesel shaped elephant and we have to talk about it. It's probably the 344 00:33:14,739 --> 00:33:19,419 biggest news going on in the industry right now. It might be some of the biggest news going on in 345 00:33:19,420 --> 00:33:26,189 the geopolitical sphere in the world, when you really think about it. Diesel is very, very 346 00:33:26,189 --> 00:33:32,948 important not only to us, our entire economy here in the United States, but abroad as well. And 347 00:33:32,949 --> 00:33:39,868 as it is such a crucial resource. Um, we get a lot of it from abroad. Obviously, America 348 00:33:39,869 --> 00:33:45,509 produces diesel. Yeah, it's one of the things that we do, uh, but we get a lot of it from Russia. We 349 00:33:45,510 --> 00:33:51,189 get a lot of it from the Middle East. A lot of it goes through the Strait of Hormuz. Okay. And, um, let 350 00:33:51,190 --> 00:33:56,149 me just give you some numbers here, because mind boggling is one way to put it. Terrifying is 351 00:33:56,150 --> 00:34:02,790 another way to put it. But there is a little tiny, faint light at the end of the tunnel. Uh, it could 352 00:34:02,790 --> 00:34:07,869 just be somebody that turned on a flashlight in an incredibly long tunnel. Or it could be the 353 00:34:07,869 --> 00:34:12,590 light peeking out at the other end of said tunnel. We'll see. I'm not going to make any predictions 354 00:34:12,590 --> 00:34:18,109 here for you, because while I am a gambling man, um, I don't feel like this is something to be gambled 355 00:34:18,110 --> 00:34:22,809 with. I feel like this is kind of a little bit of an emergency right now, because the fleets are 356 00:34:22,810 --> 00:34:29,689 feeling it. I know that personally because, uh, we hear it in the company I work for. We hear 357 00:34:29,689 --> 00:34:35,329 from fleets, we talk to them about what's going on, and we hear the concern in their voices about 358 00:34:35,330 --> 00:34:42,089 this diesel price right now. The latest EIA number available today is from September 28th. 359 00:34:42,090 --> 00:34:47,569 So by the time you hear this episode, it will be a little bit outdated. But it's a really good 360 00:34:47,570 --> 00:34:54,209 snapshot. Okay, so September 28th, the national average on highway diesel 361 00:34:54,210 --> 00:35:01,089 price across the lower 48 was $6.38 a gallon. Now, one 362 00:35:01,090 --> 00:35:05,889 week earlier, which would have been the last week of August or excuse me, the the third week of 363 00:35:05,889 --> 00:35:12,849 September. My apologies. We were looking at $6.52. So we've got ourselves, you know, a 364 00:35:12,850 --> 00:35:18,568 26 cent downgrade in the diesel price, which is really good. Uh, but 365 00:35:19,610 --> 00:35:26,419 14.7 cents in one week will take it, but we can't let that obscure what happened before that. 366 00:35:26,419 --> 00:35:32,699 Okay, let me tell you the story from a little bit further back. On August 31st, it was only 559 and 367 00:35:32,699 --> 00:35:39,418 September 28th it had jumped all the way to $6.38. That's an increase of about $0.78 per gallon 368 00:35:39,419 --> 00:35:45,379 in just four weeks. That is the terrifying number right there. And compared to one year ago, well, 369 00:35:45,379 --> 00:35:52,179 diesel is currently $2.62 higher per gallon than it was one year ago in September 370 00:35:52,220 --> 00:35:58,939 compared with two years ago. It's $2.84 higher than it was two years ago. Now, 371 00:35:58,939 --> 00:36:04,620 regionally, there's a little bit of a story to be told here because things change and some states 372 00:36:04,979 --> 00:36:11,219 are looking at you neighbor to the south, California. Some states really weigh this average 373 00:36:11,219 --> 00:36:16,499 further in one direction than other states can pull it back, and regions, if you will. We're going 374 00:36:16,499 --> 00:36:21,959 to give one state its own region, and I think you already probably know who that is. Just based on 375 00:36:21,959 --> 00:36:25,999 the tone of my voice. Look there. Right down there. I feel like they can hear me all the time, and I'm 376 00:36:25,999 --> 00:36:30,239 never really saying nice things about them. But look, you got beautiful coastlines. I'll give you 377 00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:35,719 that. California. Let's talk about it from a regional perspective here. Our Gulf Coast diesel 378 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:42,678 prices right now looking at about 595596 a gallon. Okay, not great, but stomach 379 00:36:42,679 --> 00:36:49,319 able. When you hear some of the rest of these, the lower Atlantic, we're looking at $5.95 a gallon 380 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:55,799 right there in the same area, the East Coast. We're up to about $6.13 a gallon in the Rocky 381 00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:02,679 Mountains. We're looking at $6.40 a gallon. As you go west. Fido goes west, diesel goes up. 382 00:37:02,679 --> 00:37:09,158 It's just sort of the name of the game. Now, out there in the Midwest, we've got $6.52 per gallon. 383 00:37:09,159 --> 00:37:15,959 And when we say the Midwest, we're talking about a giant swath of the United States. So take that 384 00:37:15,959 --> 00:37:20,249 into consideration too. You got a lot of different places out in the Midwest where maybe you can 385 00:37:20,250 --> 00:37:24,449 save a few cents. You know, you got to pay attention to those fuel solutions in a market 386 00:37:24,449 --> 00:37:31,049 like this. Uh, the West Coast, excluding California, which I think is a very important 387 00:37:31,049 --> 00:37:35,409 distinction here. And I'll tell you why in a second. The West Coast, excluding California, we're 388 00:37:35,409 --> 00:37:42,289 sitting at $6.64 on average now. California always checking in here, doing their own 389 00:37:42,290 --> 00:37:47,169 thing. You know, the counterculture really popularized in the 1960s out in California, the 390 00:37:47,169 --> 00:37:52,769 free love movement, uh, tune in, drop out, whatever, uh, they were doing. Timothy O'Leary and those guys 391 00:37:52,770 --> 00:37:57,649 with all the LSD experimentation that they were doing. Things got weird in California back in the 392 00:37:57,649 --> 00:38:02,769 60s, and, well, let's just put it this way, they haven't necessarily changed for the better. Things 393 00:38:02,770 --> 00:38:07,609 are still weird out in California, especially when you consider diesel prices averaging 394 00:38:07,610 --> 00:38:14,369 $8.18 a gallon. I want that to sit with you for a 395 00:38:14,370 --> 00:38:21,309 second. If you have a 100 gallon tank, it will cost you $818 to fill 396 00:38:21,350 --> 00:38:28,270 said tank. Now, that doesn't necessarily sound like a world ender for just 397 00:38:28,270 --> 00:38:33,270 one tank, but when you consider we're pumping through a lot of tanks of this stuff, we've got 398 00:38:33,270 --> 00:38:40,229 200 trucks. Uh, it starts to add up fast. And, uh, we don't want 399 00:38:40,229 --> 00:38:44,270 to get out there to California if we can stay away from it. You know, I've had so many drivers 400 00:38:44,270 --> 00:38:50,229 over my four years of making podcasts for truck drivers tell me that they might as well go to 401 00:38:50,270 --> 00:38:55,709 their dispatcher and tear the California page out of the atlas, because they will not go there if 402 00:38:55,710 --> 00:39:02,229 they're not absolutely forced to. And I understand why it's not only the diesel prices, it's the red 403 00:39:02,269 --> 00:39:08,949 tape. Okay. And I'm pretty sure that just across from like Arizona into California or or maybe 404 00:39:08,949 --> 00:39:12,989 you're going from a little bit further north, maybe you're coming down from Oregon into 405 00:39:13,029 --> 00:39:18,119 California. There's a giant red ribbon around the entire state of California, and you have to drive 406 00:39:18,159 --> 00:39:24,600 through it to get into the state. And once you've broken that ribbon, well guess what? Uh, you know, 407 00:39:24,639 --> 00:39:29,999 the the speed limits are different. There's so many more laws that you have to pay attention to 408 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:35,999 the emissions. They're really, really, uh, tight about that stuff up there. And they're going to 409 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:42,839 charge you almost $8.20 a gallon for diesel right now. It is not the place that you want to be going. 410 00:39:42,879 --> 00:39:48,360 If you do have to get out there, you hope that you can fuel up outside of California and get your 411 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:53,519 driving done in and get the heck out of that state before you have to fuel up again, because 412 00:39:53,560 --> 00:40:00,120 we're on the order of almost $2 a gallon more expensive than sort of the rest of the national 413 00:40:00,120 --> 00:40:04,599 average. And that's why I told you off the top here when we started talking diesel prices, that 414 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:10,959 California is weighing the average towards the bad side, much more than some of the states that 415 00:40:10,959 --> 00:40:17,899 have cheaper diesel are able to drag that average down. So when I say maybe somebody turned 416 00:40:17,899 --> 00:40:22,540 on a flashlight at the end of the tunnel or at the middle of a very long tunnel, or maybe, just 417 00:40:22,540 --> 00:40:28,099 maybe, we can see the light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. I don't know, I can't tell you 418 00:40:28,100 --> 00:40:34,379 that right now. I can tell you that $6 and almost $0.40 a gallon on average across the United 419 00:40:34,379 --> 00:40:40,259 States is not where we want to see it. And we're probably going to need to see some things change 420 00:40:40,259 --> 00:40:45,340 globally before this starts to come down. You heard you heard me earlier mention the Strait of 421 00:40:45,340 --> 00:40:52,299 Hormuz. Um, I was also watching some news about the, uh, political sphere. I think it was about 422 00:40:52,299 --> 00:40:57,819 a week ago. And I feel like the president came out and said something along the lines of, we're 423 00:40:57,820 --> 00:41:04,340 discussing, uh, some options with Zelensky from Ukraine, trying to get him to stop bombing Russian, 424 00:41:04,379 --> 00:41:10,019 Russian oil refineries. And then I saw a tweet from, uh, Zelensky that kind of said, yeah, we're 425 00:41:10,020 --> 00:41:13,819 we're in talks right now and we like where this is going. And then I think I woke up the next 426 00:41:13,820 --> 00:41:20,349 morning and saw yet another burning Russian oil refinery that had just endured attack from an 427 00:41:20,350 --> 00:41:26,349 attack from Ukraine. And listen, I don't care what side of that conflict your heart settles on, 428 00:41:26,350 --> 00:41:31,349 that's not really what we're talking about here. I'm not here to take a stance and tell you I 429 00:41:31,350 --> 00:41:38,149 think XYZ needs to happen. What I'm telling you is, from a practical and logical standpoint, if 430 00:41:38,149 --> 00:41:43,869 anybody is bombing anybody else's diesel refineries, you're not going to see the price of 431 00:41:43,870 --> 00:41:50,549 diesel go down. If anybody is, um, menacing ships in the Strait of Hormuz or it's 432 00:41:50,550 --> 00:41:57,310 choked off at all from its normal, um, just run through that. All these ships that come through 433 00:41:57,310 --> 00:42:03,870 the strait are still able to travel freely, um, and get to where they're going. That's all good for 434 00:42:03,870 --> 00:42:08,949 diesel prices, but that ain't the way that it's sitting right now. And so until some of that 435 00:42:08,949 --> 00:42:15,409 changes, we might not see some of these diesel prices come down. We hope we've got our fingers 436 00:42:15,409 --> 00:42:20,769 crossed. We would love to have a high five moment with diesel prices, like we've got to have about 437 00:42:20,770 --> 00:42:27,009 capacity here in these last couple of months, so we'll keep you up to date on that as best we can. 438 00:42:27,330 --> 00:42:32,929 Um, but, you know, digging a little bit deeper into the research here, the EIA says the problem is 439 00:42:32,929 --> 00:42:39,249 largely the global distillate supply. Right. We're having a supply issue right now. Why? Well, I saw 440 00:42:39,250 --> 00:42:44,649 burning oil refineries on the news. It's it's pretty simple. That's where we're at. And let's 441 00:42:44,649 --> 00:42:51,648 hope something changes here, uh, sooner rather than later. But for a pneumatic carrier like 442 00:42:51,649 --> 00:42:58,408 bulk is, I want to kind of get this to where we want to talk about. We talked about spot rates for 443 00:42:58,409 --> 00:43:03,489 vans and reefers and such, and that doesn't really touch us here. But what does touch us is 444 00:43:03,489 --> 00:43:09,889 construction. And the newest census construction report was released October 1st. So these numbers 445 00:43:09,889 --> 00:43:15,579 are even a couple days younger than the diesel numbers and the freight market numbers that have 446 00:43:15,580 --> 00:43:22,539 already given you. August US construction spending ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 447 00:43:22,580 --> 00:43:29,219 $2.2 trillion. That's up almost a full percentage point from July, and it's 448 00:43:29,219 --> 00:43:36,059 down 1.7% from August 2025. Contract private construction increased 449 00:43:36,060 --> 00:43:42,819 1.1% over the month. Um, private nonresidential construction increased 450 00:43:42,820 --> 00:43:49,019 1% over the month, and public construction increased 0.2% over the month. So we're seeing 451 00:43:49,020 --> 00:43:54,658 that tick up in a positive direction, especially where we're concerned. Highway construction was 452 00:43:54,659 --> 00:44:01,539 running at approximately $150.6 billion annualized, essentially unchanged from the 453 00:44:01,540 --> 00:44:08,339 month of July to October. And this matters for bulk. All right. We want to see these numbers start 454 00:44:08,340 --> 00:44:14,999 to tick up because, well, cement limestone lime and similar materials that we hall ultimately depend 455 00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:21,840 heavily on construction and industrial activity. The USGS estimates that the United States shipped 456 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:28,679 approximately 100 million metric tons of cement in 2025, valued at roughly $17 457 00:44:28,679 --> 00:44:35,599 billion. Now, about 70 to 75% of that went to ready mix concrete producers, 11% 458 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:42,079 to concrete product manufacturers, 8 to 10% went to contractors, and 5 to 10% went to other 459 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:48,479 customers. US Portland and blended cement production was approximately 82 million metric 460 00:44:48,519 --> 00:44:55,240 tons. So this is a really good career to be in right now because we are cranking out the cement, 461 00:44:55,240 --> 00:45:01,800 and a lot of the things that bulk is going to haul are going to factor into that production. But 462 00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:07,719 I think as we draw the entire thing into a nice closed circle and wrap this episode up for you 463 00:45:07,719 --> 00:45:14,609 today, um, capacity really may be the story of 2026. The Logistics Managers Index 464 00:45:14,610 --> 00:45:21,369 measured transportation capacity at a 40 in August. Now, I'll admit something to you guys here. 465 00:45:21,370 --> 00:45:28,249 This managers index that logistics puts together. The logistics managers index is a 466 00:45:28,249 --> 00:45:33,609 bit like the quarterback rating for me. I know that the number will be high if the quarterback 467 00:45:33,610 --> 00:45:38,329 plays good. I know that the number will be low if he throws a bunch of interceptions and fumbles 468 00:45:38,330 --> 00:45:43,248 the ball and gets sacked a bunch of times. I don't really know what the number looks like between 469 00:45:43,249 --> 00:45:49,489 those two. If he throws five touchdowns, 450 yards with a really high completion percentage and 470 00:45:49,489 --> 00:45:55,210 doesn't throw the ball to the other team, it's a 138. If he doesn't do all that stuff and he does 471 00:45:55,210 --> 00:46:01,409 the opposite, it's like a 40. But I don't know what it means. Between that and this logistics 472 00:46:01,409 --> 00:46:07,810 manager's index is a lot the same. But it was at 40 in August. It's not the same as the QBR. So 473 00:46:07,810 --> 00:46:13,549 don't think that that's a bad number. Above 50 means it's expanding capacity. Below 50 means 474 00:46:13,550 --> 00:46:20,509 we're contracting the capacity. So 40 represents a pretty substantial contraction 475 00:46:20,510 --> 00:46:26,989 in the capacity. Meanwhile, Transportation Prices Index hit 90 an 476 00:46:26,990 --> 00:46:33,709 extraordinarily high reading. Act independently reports that spot capacity is at decade lows. 477 00:46:33,790 --> 00:46:39,909 You put all this together, you've got capacity falling available trucks falling, rates going up, 478 00:46:39,909 --> 00:46:46,668 fuel just doing fuel things and being a wild card right now, but only going up. And freight demand 479 00:46:46,709 --> 00:46:53,628 has maintained a relatively level base here with maybe some modest improvement. Okay, so there's 480 00:46:53,629 --> 00:46:59,669 the trucking industry in five lines for you. Capacity is shrinking, available trucks shrinking 481 00:46:59,670 --> 00:47:06,628 rates, rising fuel through the roof and freight demand pretty level. We're not at a 482 00:47:06,629 --> 00:47:12,959 boom yet Okay, but if we continue to see things trend in the right direction, we'll say up and to 483 00:47:12,959 --> 00:47:17,878 the right. Uh, good things can happen. We could be at a freight boom, but it's going to take some 484 00:47:17,879 --> 00:47:23,999 time. And diesel prices have got to get under control. That's your freight market spotlight here 485 00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:29,678 on always pneumatic, never static. I appreciate you joining me for today's freight Market Spotlight 486 00:47:29,679 --> 00:47:35,399 and also helping me introduce this new segment that we have called Laura explains it all. Once 487 00:47:35,399 --> 00:47:40,519 again, big thanks to Laura Holstein and Jackie Thomas, uh, for taking part in that. They did 488 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:46,399 amazing. I can't wait to see what other types of things we can help correct and rectify on this 489 00:47:46,399 --> 00:47:50,959 show. I always say when we can move the needle just a little bit here on always pneumatic, never 490 00:47:50,959 --> 00:47:56,159 static, we really feel like we're doing our job. So thanks again to Laura and Jackie for playing ball 491 00:47:56,160 --> 00:48:02,319 today, and stay tuned for more examples of Laura explains it all right here on Always Pneumatic, 492 00:48:02,319 --> 00:48:08,019 never static in the future. Don't forget one more reminder to go take the quizzes that are 493 00:48:08,019 --> 00:48:14,859 associated with the episodes@ podcast.bulktransit.com. That is how you are going to get 494 00:48:14,860 --> 00:48:21,699 entered into our drawing for the $400 Amazon gift card. And with the holidays approaching ever 495 00:48:21,699 --> 00:48:27,418 so quickly, I know that you all would love to have that gift card in your pocket. So take the quizzes 496 00:48:27,459 --> 00:48:34,019 get entered and we will tell you when we're going to draw sometime in the very, very near future. 497 00:48:34,019 --> 00:48:38,620 Thank you so much for being here today. All you book and spur drivers, stay safe out there on the 498 00:48:38,620 --> 00:48:44,100 road and we'll see you next Wednesday for another hour of content right here from always pneumatic, 499 00:48:44,100 --> 00:48:50,698 never static. Be good out there. And that's all she blows for today's episode of Always Pneumatic, 500 00:48:50,699 --> 00:48:57,019 never static. Your number one and probably only Pneumatic Trucking podcast, brought to you by Bulk 501 00:48:57,060 --> 00:49:02,539 Transit. Thanks for rolling with us today. Till next time, stay safe, keep those lines clear and 502 00:49:02,539 --> 00:49:03,699 keep it pumping.