10-4 Magazine January 2025

10-4 Magazine / January 2025 47 in general, troubled times of my career. It started during covid – remember when people hung signs from overpasses thanking truck drivers and calling them heroes? Well, that didn’t last long. The price of equipment skyrocketed, and then rising operating costs followed, and the latecomers to the game paid a horrific price. Those $200K price tags for used equipment may have looked promising at the time, but the reality of cheap freight soon tarnished the prospect of any get-rich-quick schemes, leaving a path of scorched earth and ashes, and making life harder for those who have been in this deal for the long haul. In case you’re wondering why I’m so optimistic about this year over the last few years, I will enlighten you. There is a new sheriff in town (Washington D.C.) and, along with him, there are a few more conservative senators and congressional people, too. That means that if he (the President) gets his way, we might see fewer new regulations dictating how we run our businesses here in these United States. Along with that, there is hope that some of the outdated and downright unnecessary rules will eventually be removed from the books, as well. In his campaign he told us he wants to bring jobs back to our shores. That means manufacturing products here in the good ol’ U.S.A. like we used to. For every worker we put on the assembly line or plant floor and get off the unemployment rolls, there will be trickle-down effects. Someone needs to bring in the raw materials for all these products, and someone will need to haul out the waste or discarded trimmings. That means trucking jobs, local work, and specialty niche work for so many of us who have parked our dump trailers and scrap wagons. It also means we have to spend less time dealing with the inbound port systems from other countries, most of which benefited from our loss of manufacturing jobs. It won’t be the incoming President that “Makes America Great Again” – it will be people like you and me who do the heavy lifting or, in this case, the moving. I’m really excited for the next few years and to see new ideas and more faces enter our industry. I’m sure I will eventually be replaced by some new technologies and much more modern equipment, but the opportunities for the next generation of drivers, for now, are exhilarating. Now, don’t get ahead of yourselves here and run out to buy more equipment or that new truck, just yet. Let’s let the market catch up. Inflation is still at an unacceptable rate and will need to be reduced in order for this to happen. This could take a minute before the tables turn and freight rates rise to an acceptable level. As it stands today, we have too much equipment available for the freight that needs to be moved. That translates to cheap rates and makes it a shipper’s market. If I were to offer any advice, it would be to hold fast and keep your eyes on the horizon. When opportunities do arise, and in time they will, be prepared. Have your house in order, or in this case, your truck ready to move. I’m not just preaching this to you, I’m actively doing the same thing. Now is still a good time to seek positive purchases – things like new tires or oil and filters. The normal items you will need regardless of the times. With the truck sales market in a slump, the dealerships need to attract sales, so they are offering some great savings. I’m seeing national warehouses selling big ticket items at greatly reduced prices. Success happens when ambition meets opportunity.