The Buzz: Transformation in the Trucking Industry

Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Welcome to Supply Chain nowthe number one voice of supply chain.
Join us as we share criticalnews, key insights and real supply
chain leadership from acrossthe globe.
One conversation at a time.
Hey, good morning, goodafternoon, good evening wherever
you may be.
Scott Lewton and RichardDonaldson here with you on Supply
Chain now.
Welcome to today's live stream.

(00:23):
Hey, Richard, how you doing today?
Good, Scott.
Can't complain on a Monday.
Although the world is doingall sorts of great, great stuff.
But we'll leave it to ourconversation into that.
But awesome.
How you doing?
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
You know, I think as thesummer temperatures and humidity
start to rise, it just makesus all do crazy things.
But we'll save that for later.
Folks.
Welcome to the Buzz whereevery Monday at 12 noon Eastern time,

(00:45):
we discuss a variety of newsdevelopments across global supply
chain and business news thatmatters is what we like to call it.
We've got a terrific show here today.
We're going to be talkingabout port volumes on the west coast,
the metal supply chains andhow global conflict impact them,
what the younger generationssay about the trucking industry,
all that much more.
And Richard, in just aminutes, one of our faves will be

(01:05):
joining us.
Romel Watley with Truck and Hustle.
Should be a great addition ofthe Buzz here today, Richard, huh?
Yeah, Absolutely.
And you know, just speaking ofRomel a little earlier in the green
room, I mean, great story,great origin story.
And I think also, I mean, hereally, his tale I think should inspire
a lot of people to revisitpotentially what trucking and logistics
is going to be like over thenext 10 years.

(01:26):
Yes, well said.
Like all superheroes, he doeshave a great origin story, doesn't
he, folks?
Stay tuned as Ron Mel Watleywith Truck and Hustle joins us in
just a second.
So a couple before we get going.
Number one, hey, give us yourtake in the comments like Trisha
here.
Trisha, appreciate what youand Amanda do behind the scenes.
Happy Buzz day.
She says.
So give us your take in the comments.
Whether you're tuned in viaLinkedIn, YouTube X, Facebook, Twitch,

(01:47):
no matter.
Let us know what you think.
We'd love to hear from you.
And if you enjoyed the showtoday, we'd love for you to share
it with a friend and your network.
They'll be glad you did.
And hey, Alan Jacques, reallyenjoyed our seafood dinner last week.
And hello to you, my friendfrom beautiful Montreal, if I'm not
mistaken, Montreal, Alan Jacques.
Okay, Richard, before we bringin our outstanding guest here today,

(02:09):
we've got three things to hit.
I believe Three things up.
First, I want to talk aboutwith that said, which we dropped
over the weekend.
Now this edition spotlightedthe late great Fred Smith.
The founder of FedEx passedaway over the weekend at the age
of 80.
Now, he was born in Marks, Mississippi.
Marks, Mississippi.
I think it's like two or threethousand people there.

(02:30):
And he served with distinctionin the Vietnam War.
He came back.
He founded FedEx in 1971 inLittle Rock, Arkansas.
But then he moved the companyto Memphis a couple years later,
mainly for better weather.
We were just talking about andgeographic proximity.
And we all know the rest ofthe story.
Built a 90, almost a 90billion behemoth that would certainly
shape how global supply chainworks from overnight delivery to

(02:53):
real time tracking, which isone of their innovations, handheld
scanners, one of theirinnovations and much, much more.
Richard, we lost a titan inover the weekend, huh?
We did.
You know, he lived a full lifeand it's one of those moments too.
It's always sad to see someonelike that, you know, pass.
But at the same time too, justlike you were saying, the reflection
on what he's done and hisimpact and quite frankly his legacy,

(03:15):
you know, is going to go oninto decades.
And it even lends itself intothe conversation we're about to have
with Rahm because, you know,Fred, you know, created one of the
legs of the transportationlogistics industry that we see domestically
that's still being innovated,still going to be relevant for the
next 30 years.
No beyond.
Right.
So in that sense, I think hislegacy will be for innovating.

(03:35):
And again dovetails right intoRahm's conversation around aviation
is going through automation,transportation, delivery logistics
is going through innovation.
We've got robotics, we've got AI.
But he literally ushered inthe whole aviation, transportation,
logistics leg of the industries.
And for that, you know, wehave to thank him for that.
And we'll always be remindedof him every time we get a delivery.
That is right.

(03:55):
And there's so many anecdotes,so many anecdotes.
But folks, check out with thatsaid, where we talk about some of
the impact and legacy that heleaves with us.
And you'll find all of ourupcoming live events and a whole
bunch more.
And I think Trisha, as always,has dropped a link right there, folks.
Check that out.
Sign up and subscribe.
Okay, let's see, two morethings I want to get to before we

(04:17):
got our outstanding guests.
Richard, I'm going to coin alittle little thing here, the RD
report.
Richard, you've got eightfingers and Two thumbs on what's
going on out in the industry,especially like from a supply chain
technology standpoint and highfinance, if I said that right.
One supply chain news storythat you are intently tracking lately.
So super simple.
Based on today's guest andepisode, Robotics in delivery and

(04:39):
transportation.
We are now seeing the robotsTesla, Elon Musk pulling out and
saying he's got deliverytrackers now fully automated with
robotics.
A literal robot carrying apackage to your front door.
You know, people see drones,but I think that's something that
is real right now.
Now, because within the nextcouple years the advance, if we go,
go to Boston Dynamics website,see the evolution of robots over

(05:00):
the last 20 years.
I'm sure people have seenthose YouTube videos.
Now Elon's got his ownversions of those both.
He's sending them to Mars inthe next year or two as well as now
putting them in the deliveryvehicles to then complete that last
10ft to drop something off atyour door.
That to me is the hallmark ofthe era we're about to enter.
And it's exciting, it'sthrilling, it's scary.

(05:22):
I mean all the things thatcome with it.
But boy, and I can't wait toget Rom's take on that because I
don't think it decreases theneed for truckers and drivers so
much as it augments them.
And I think that's one of thebiggest things that I would highlight
in all this is I think peopleget adversely afraid of these things
that are.
We're just going toincorporate into our lifestyles 100
years from now.
It's going to be commonplace.
Man, I like it.

(05:42):
I like your vision of the future.
I want to pick up on one thingyou talked about the trip to Mars.
Yeah.
Late last week.
You know, I live on YouTubethese days.
I love the niche content.
And I ran across a video thattalked about what that journey would
be like for the astronauts orthe travelers.
And I was all for it.
It was all exciting until theytold me that all water is recycled

(06:02):
and reused.
And I'm afraid I'm out, Richard.
I'm out.
So I'll save that trip forother people.
Could have my seat.
And this is where the robotscome in because they don't need that.
So we can kind of offload ourexploration a little bit to these
AI driven things which lendsitself into like a science fiction,
I mean people should bepetting their science fiction, you
know, stories right now on howrobots evolved into space at this

(06:25):
juncture of humanity.
I like it.
I Like it.
Okay, stay tuned, folks.
Stay tuned.
Got a lot to get into your day.
Hey, Lucky, tuned in fromSouth Africa via YouTube.
Great to see you.
I was just in Cape Town acouple weeks ago.
We were just talking aboutSouth Africa.
One of our dear friends, DC isthere, doing some great things.
Great to have you here.
Lucky and Robinson from Spain.

(06:46):
Hey Robinson, great to see you.
What part of the country areyou tuned in from?
Look forward to your perspective.
All right, one more thing.
And folks, Richard, we're allabout sharing resources here.
Love to share resources, folks.
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Okay, Richard, I'm excitedabout this guest here.
I think you and I both are.
I wish we had about an hour inthe pre show.
We needed an extra hour in thepreshow today, didn't we?
At least.
At least.
And we needed about threehours just to have the full conversation

(07:49):
we're about to have.
So true.
But we never get what we want.
But folks, we got a greataddition to the buzz.
I want to introduce our guesthere today, Rommel Whatley.
He's a visionary founder ofTruck and Hustle, a full scale brand
that began as a podcast but isnow one of the leading media platforms
and business communitiesdedicated to elevating entrepreneurs
and transportation logisticsand supply chain.

(08:11):
I'm telling y' all, Rommel hasbuilt a movement, truly built a movement
that bridges that gap, thatcritical gap between the street hustle
that we all pride ourselves onand that boardroom strategy.
So please join me in welcomingRommel Whatley, founder of Truck
and Hustle.
Hey.
Hey, Rommel.
How you doing?
Good afternoon, gents.
I made it back to the show, Scott.
I made it back.

(08:32):
Well, that is right.
I was thinking the last timewe had connected and Richard, I don't
know if you caught this, buton national Supply Chain Day, we
had an outstanding live showfeaturing movers and shakers across
industry.
And Rommel, you were ourleadoff hitter.
You're our Otis Nixon of thatlive stream, huh?
When you guys sent over the.
The clip I saw, I was in theintroduction and everything.
I said, oh, man, that's VIPtreatment right there, man.

(08:54):
I appreciated that.
I love it.
I love it.
Hey, we try.
We try.
And Richard, we're all in fora treat here today.
We got some great stories, wegot some great voices.
I look forward to learningfrom both of y' all.
And of course, we've got agreat audience, which really is.
Makes all the holistic value triangle.
I think it's made something upthere, Richard, that makes sense
of geometry and all.
Absolutely.
Let's do it.

(09:14):
Let's envision that there's asymbol there.
All right, let's make it.
Let's make it happen.
All right, that's where we'regoing to start, folks.
If you love pizza, you're inthe right spot today.
Look at this picture here.
I wish I had this in my kitchen.
It's National Detroit stylepizza day here on June 23rd.
This is the pizza.
And Detroit style pizza isknown for having a sauce on top,
just like you see in thispicture here.
So it begs a question, though.

(09:35):
Furious debate all around theglobe, really, certainly here in
the states, about yourfavorite pizza style.
Detroit, Chicago, New York,and plenty more as long as you don't
include pineapple in your pizza.
Hey, I'm all good.
All good.
So I want to ask you, Rommel,what's one of your favorite pizza
joints?
Yeah.
So first of all, I love pizza.
I don't know who doesn't?
So I lived in Buffalo, NewYork for about three years and there

(09:57):
is a place called Lenovo's.
Anybody who's watching rightnow, and if you've been to, you know,
upstate New York, you probablyhave heard of Lenovo's.
It's legendary.
It's probably been inexistence for over a hundred years.
But they make the most amazingpizza, man.
And I mean, the food inBuffalo in general is just great.
Like, yes, it is.
You know, the buffaloing hasoriginated there.
I don't eat meat anymore, butthe anchor bar is there.

(10:19):
That's where get the Buffalowing from.
But the pizza, I don't knowwhat it is about Buffalo, New York,
but I don't know if it's thewater, but man, that pizza, Lenova's
or it's really something special.
In fact, a friend of mine andI, we plan to go back just to get
the pizza.
Really?
Seven hour trip just forpizza, man.
It's Crazy.
All right.
It must be to die for.
Richard.
All that sounded delicious inmy ears.

(10:40):
From Romel.
How about you, though?
Where's the place to go?
Well, there is a little spotin San Francisco, and I'm just completely
blanking on the name.
But I'll think of it as we'regoing through the episode, and I'll
type it in here.
But it is a classically trained.
It's a.
Almost like a Michelin star chef.
And he has built this custompizza place in San Francisco where
he has the four or fivedifferent ovens required to create

(11:03):
everything from Detroit styleor thin style.
Classic Italian margherita pizza.
And all of his pizzas wins awards.
So you can go in there andkind of sample them all at once.
But I'll tell you, I'm asucker for the classic, right?
Just the classic pizza pie,thin crust, almost.
New York has taken that to anew level.
But the Italian Italians kindof own that award since they're very
fastidious about how they makea margherita pizza.

(11:25):
And you have to be certifiedto even do that to me.
You know, that's the apex ofpizza, right?
It's going old is new, new isold kind of thing.
Love it.
And I could hear you pronouncethat ten times a day.
Richard, you really nailedthat with margherita.
But I would just add, oh, thatsounds delicious.
Antico pizza here in Atlantais wonderful.
They have.
They have something called the diavola.
I think I said that right.

(11:45):
And it's spicy.
It's delicious.
But as a throwback, Rommel andRichard, when I grew up in Aiken,
South Carolina, Mr.
Gaddy's was the place to go.
Good pizza, video games, oldprojection, big screen tv.
That was the place.
So I missed the days at Mr.
Gaddy's.
All right, Rommel and Richard,now that we are all starving, as
I think Amanda says, butbefore we carry on.

(12:08):
I heard you guys talking aboutFred Smith earlier.
Definitely a OG in the spaceand basically, like, invented overnight
delivery.
Did you guys ever hear thestory of him with gambling, like
this last $5,000?
Yeah, yeah, but tell it, tell it.
And people need to know that basically.
I don't know exactly how itgoes, but I know I was reading once
and basically, like, FedEx wasalmost going broke, and he had like

(12:28):
$5,000 left in the business.
And he went to.
They say he went to Vegas andbet 5,000 on the blackjack table
and basically came back withlike 27 or $30,000 and used that
money to buy fuel to keep theplanes going and that, you know,
the business almost went under.
And based on that bet, I don'tknow if this is like, I think people
have substantiated and saidit's a true story.
But like that hustle, grit,determination, and not letting anybody

(12:52):
tell you, no, man, I don'tknow if it's a smart thing.
I wouldn't necessarily suggestsomebody else go out and do that.
But, man, that's hustle, man.
Take your last 5k and go toVegas and come back with 25 and get
the business going again.
I love it.
And you know what?
I love the anecdote.
But you know what?
It's only legendary if you win.
If you lose, it ends adifferent way.

(13:13):
But that's a great call out, Romel.
And I'll tell you, this guy,there's so many stories related to
how he did business and hisjourney and the culture, the purple
power culture that he really,really was protective of.
But we lost a titan, Scott.
And this kind of dovetailsinto Ramel as we kind of queue up
his ability to start talkingabout his next generation of innovation.
Right?

(13:33):
But Fred really encompassed atthat time frame what entrepreneurs
really need to learn from.
It's that vision, it's thatfocus, it's that dedication.
And it's, you know, come hellor high water, because the world,
quite frankly, as anentrepreneur, is stacked against
you.
And you don't realize thattill you start getting into this.
But most of humanity doesn'tlike changing the status quo.
He was radically changing thestatus quo, and therefore he had

(13:56):
to go to the extremes to do itand everything.
He had a lot of luck.
Right.
Based on that story.
And that's another thing aboutour entrepreneurship that we don't
always talk about, which is wealways want to think like, oh, hard
work, dedication.
Yeah, sure, absolutely.
You need that.
But you also need a lot of luck.
Right?
Right place, right time.
That's right.
I'm a big believer in creatingour own luck.
We'll probably touch on more.
More of that.

(14:16):
Great call outs there, Richardand Rommel.
All right, let's start with astory that probably wouldn't make
Fred Smith happy.
I don't know.
It's my hunch.
It's my hunch.
As reported by trucking, divetariffs are really hurting business
opportunities for cargotruckers and freight movers at the
Port of LA and probably other places.
Port of Los Angeles, I should say.
Executive director Gene Sorokasaid in a press conference about

(14:38):
10 days ago that, quote, ifyou're a trucker who was hauling
four or five containers a dayprior to these announcements back
in April.
Today you're likely haulingtwo or three loads, end quote.
In May, the port said they hadabout 17 canceled sailings, meaning
that about 225,000 containersdidn't show up as expected.
Overall cargo volumes at ThePort of LA were down 5% year over

(15:00):
year in May when compared to2024 and down 19% when compared to
the month prior of April.
So Rommel, your generalthoughts of what we're seeing volume
wise?
Yeah, so you know, the port ofLA is the, the largest port in the
Western hemisphere.
So I assume it's a trueindicator of what' going on throughout
the country and obviouslythat's a huge hit.

(15:21):
So you know, the carriers thatI know that pull out the port, they
may pull, you know, twocontainers a day, you know, three
if they're lucky.
But when it goes down from twoa day to like two or three a week,
that's a huge problem.
And that's what you know,we're kind of facing here.
It's really tough.
It has not improved and itwill not improve.
Obviously this is due toeverything that's going on right
now with China and so forth.

(15:43):
I'm sure we'll kind of getinto that, tariffs and everything.
But it's not good.
It really affects the smallbusiness owner, the trucker, and
it affects the end user whichus, the consumer the most.
Well said.
Well said, Romel.
And you know, it's ongoingripple effect and I think as we get
deeper and deeper and we'llsee what deal and what negotiations,
how everything evolves.
But you find new ways.

(16:03):
I think we all find new waysof how we're all impacted as consumers,
as professionals, you name itday by day.
Richard, your thoughts on thestory here?
Well, it's both thought andthen kind of a follow up question
to Romel because I'm reallycurious about his take given he's
kind of the expert in the roomright now on logistics and kind of
the transportation industrywhere it's going.
But I think these data points,points are interesting in time frames,

(16:24):
right.
And if you look at thecomparative data, it's about a year
before, maybe, you know, ayear or a month before.
But I'd like to really look atis the ebbing flowing of all this
supply chain stuff.
Right.
Because to me this is a periodthat is, it sucks and we're going
through it like shipping wasduring COVID Right.
Went almost next to nil.
But it all bounces backeventually, right?
I mean commerce is commerceand it will come back.

(16:46):
Right now how it will comeback I think is sort of the operative
question here.
But I look at the short termis just saying like this is awful,
but at the same time I view12, 24, 36 months out and we're going
to be back to normal.
And more importantly, which issomething I'm dying to get Rommel's
take on, is I think the macroeconomic indicators are such that
we're going to have insuringmanufacturing over the next couple

(17:08):
decades.
How is that going to impactall of us here in the US economy?
I mean, we have short termpain, but I think the long term prospects
are really, really good rightnow, more so than they have been
in quite 30 or 40 years.
So I take the negative news ofthe LA report and say, yeah, temporarily
that's kind of bad.
But the long term, 20 yearperspective is actually outstanding
to pick up on.

(17:29):
Richard, if you got yourcrystal ball handy and it's plugged
in, it's calibrated, what's ittelling you?
Right?
Big things coming.
So first I hate to call myselfan expert because I'm a far from
expert.
There's plenty of people whoget that title.
They do a lot more researchand a lot more work on these data
points.
But just kind of my outlookand what I see, I mean obviously
with the ports, we'll have tolook over the Next, I guess 60 days

(17:49):
in August, we'll kind ofrevisit what's going on with the
tariffs there because theyhave the pause now, right, to see
how that kind of impacts everything.
But it's still just a ton ofuncertainty regardless because it's
just something new every day.
Right.
So we really don't know.
And I think a lot of peoplejust are uncertain.
The retailers are uncertainwith the orders and so forth.
So everybody's just kind ofthrowing our hands up and trying
to figure it out.

(18:09):
I'm just going to double downon that.
We're still trying to figureout what the problem is.
All right.
We still hadn't fully definedthe problem and we'll see if the
latest deal sticks and thenwhat's in that deal.
But that's a great call out.
Ramil, finish your thought there.
Yeah.
And I mean, obviously, youknow, I think it just shows that
China is a problem for us.
China has us in a headlock, right.
And they've had us in aheadlock for some time now.

(18:29):
And what you just now calledout, Richard, you know, the near
shoring, you know, kind ofwith Mexico.
That's going to be really bigfor us.
And I think a lot of, I mean,it's right now it's the biggest imports
are coming from Mexico already.
And I think that's really the future.
I think Mexico is really our future.
I'm a data guy.
I love to look, but I love contextualize.
Right.
And so manufacturing grew inthe United States Post World War

(18:50):
II, where the United Statesbecame the manufacturing powerhouse
right up until we decidedsomewhere in the 60s and 70s and
80s to go, oh, we're going tostart outsourcing this stuff.
Right.
That's what we're seeingshifting now after 30, 40, 50 years
of outsourcing going, whoa,time out, let's bring it back in.
That's what I'm calling out.

(19:10):
There's an ebb and flow.
If I look at the historicalmacroeconomic trends and if I kind
of take that analysis andapply that to where we are today,
I actually think we're at aninflection point where you're going
to see manufacturing start toshow up in the United States, therefore
catalyzing all of our economy,all of our jobs, all of our revenues
in a very, very positive way.
That's the goal.
Right.
The end goal is to bringmanufacturing back domestically.

(19:32):
But how long does that take?
Right.
That's really the problem, youknow, and the biggest challenge is
how long does it take for thatto happen.
Yes, all of that.
And Richard, I like yourpractical optimism, but also I think
there's a tremendousopportunity while we're challenging
what's going on in our tradepartnership with China.
I think at the same time, Iwould rather have seen more investment

(19:54):
doubling down on our allies,whether here, north, across North
America, and deepen those tiesand deepen those relationships and
in Europe and elsewhere.
But we'll see how it plays outfrom here.
I appreciate both of yourperspectives, Richard, and Rommel
and I tend to be practicallyoptimistic, too.
So we'll see.
Let me bring this in from Karai.
Karai, wonderful to see you.
I've got a little announcementwe'll be making here shortly, so

(20:16):
stick around.
We'll get your take on acouple of things, too.
But Karai says number offreight vessels from China has sharply
declined.
Seventeen ships cancelingtrips in May 2025, which, as he mentions,
is at 225,000 lower containers.
Weekly vessel arrivals aredown 44% compared to last year, reducing
that need for trucking services.
That's right.

(20:36):
Lucia tuned in from Mexico.
Great to see You, Lucia andMuhammad from Pakistan.
Wonderful.
Great to see you, Muhammad.
Love to get Yalls take on this.
We got to move.
Richard and Rommel, we couldspend an hour talking about this
story and to Richard's point,kind of the bigger macro trends that.
We'll circle back.
We'll circle back.
I want to get over to thisnext topic that's also tied to global

(20:56):
trade.
Let's talk about the metalsupply chains.
The metal supply chains.
So here as reported byChemistry, world conflict, trade
disputes and more havecontinued to disrupt global supplies
of metals, including thoseprecious rare earths.
So military spending continuesto grow which has increased metals
demand.
Export restrictions,especially by China has become quite

(21:18):
a card in negotiations aswe've all heard, heard and seen.
For example, tungsten used ina variety of military applications.
Did you know China controlsover 80% of the market?
Prices for tungsten haveincreased some 375% since the beginning
of 2024.
Now that 80% is actually lowwhen you look at other metals markets

(21:38):
and rare earths.
Now, China does not have amonopoly on the mining per se of
rare earths, but China hasessentially cornered the market when
it comes to processing rareearths and they are using that leverage
in negotiations.
So I want to pick back up hereand Karai, I going to have a comment
for us.
I can't wait.
But Romel, let's get back to you.
Your thoughts on these highstakes trade games in the metal supply

(21:59):
chain market.
Again, it goes back to Chinahaving us in a headlock, man.
I mean, you know, like youjust now pointed out, 80%, right.
They control 80% of theimports and then the processing is
even more important part.
Right.
So it's like we really aretruly dependent on China for this
stuff, whether it's copper,tungsten or any of these rare earth
metals.
So that's a problem.
We need to figure out how tofix that.

(22:20):
And I think that that's what,you know, that's what this is all
about out right now.
Romel, I think we're going tokeep that headlock is going to be
an ongoing analogy.
I love that.
Are you a fellow really quickbefore I get Richard way in, did
you grow up on wrestling?
Yes, absolutely.
All right.
We'll compare notes later.
All right, Richard, back tothis headlock.
But here as it applies to themetal supply chain, your thoughts?

(22:41):
So, and I think Rommel toucheson something that's again, as you
dig into it and find out whatChina's done successfully is, you
know, taken over themanufacturing or refinement of raw
materials, in this case, metals.
Right.
It's another piece of themanufacturing puzzle.
But I think there's alsosomething that's kind of the hidden
little, you know, elephant inthe room, which is pollution associated
with the refinement of metals.

(23:02):
One is the strip mining.
Okay.
We all kind of know thatthere's only so many ways to extract
iron ores, metals up from theearth, but the refining is still
a really dirty, polluting process.
Right.
And one of the things thatChina doesn't care all that much
about is that kind ofpollution, at least currently, and
has.
So I think another reasonwe've outsourced that to some extent
is we just wanted it out ofsight, out of mind.

(23:24):
Unfortunately, we have atendency of doing that in the United
States.
And I think if we hadinnovation around how to ecologically
refine metals in a moresustainable way and bring that in
sourcing into the UnitedStates again, you would find a resurgence
of metal refinement within theNorth America, if we could do it
in a cleaner, more efficient way.

(23:44):
And I think of companies likeAqua Metals now, Redwood Metals,
you know, that are focusing onthe refinement in a cleaner way,
of battery batteries inparticular, but they are the early
warning indicators and shotsacross the bow to China that we're
going to revisit how toactually refine metals, change that
in a cleaner way.
And I would bet every day onthe United States over China in that
innovation game, if you cameto manufacturing and producing at

(24:06):
scale.
Yeah, China's got us right now.
Right.
But when it comes to theactual innovation side of the equation,
the United States still has an edge.
And I think that's where we'regoing to key into the manufacturing
this stuff for the next 20 years.
So, again, I'd bet long on theUnited States refining and innovating
metals more efficiently.
And I always love to talkabout space.
We got unlimited space metalsthat we're going to be pulling down
to earth periodically, quick.

(24:26):
That's right, that's right.
And, you know, to your point,we've got to break up this leverage
and this headlock, as Romel's called.
We're going to have to leaninto that.
And I think whether it's rareEarths or whether it's nuclear power,
I think we got some exciting,innovative new chapters that we're
going to uncover.
We shall see.
But.
Well, there's a footnote, Scott.
I'm not going to let you go onthat one, because you just said it.
You said, nuke power, man.

(24:46):
I can't I can't avoid.
There's an entire episode.
Right, right.
You've got it like I'm talkingnuclear batt batteries.
Nuclear.
In the cars.
Nuclear.
And transportation.
Nuclear.
And data centers.
My former life, I'm seeingnuclear mini packs being built for
all the data centers atMicrosoft, Facebook, Google.
There's a whole episode there.
Scott, on that one.
I'm with you.
And Rommel, you agree?
Yeah.
And it's also just a nationalsecurity issue, right?

(25:07):
Yeah.
Right.
China's like a.
They're a military country.
Right.
And they're doing this for use.
Not only for export, they'redoing it for use.
So they're going to produce itfaster, they're going to produce
it cheaper, but they're alsoproducing it to use it.
Whereas, you know, and theydon't care about losing money.
Money to do it.
Right.
So we just got to up our game, man.
That's right.
Gotta put them in the.
The double suplex.

(25:28):
Scorpio making up somewrestling moves.
All right, really quick.
This is a related note and arelated opportunity.
So, folks, tomorrow, Tuesday.
That's right, Tuesday, June 24th.
Hard to believe we're almostat the end of June.
In a special edition of thebridge, I'll be welcoming in retired
general John Allen who's donesome big things in the U.
S.
Government and the one of akind guru korakoze was just in the

(25:51):
comments for an important topic.
Get this in chaos we createbridging the critical raw materials
gap through strategic convergence.
Folks, join us tomorrow at2:00pm Eastern Time as we dive more
into these topics we're justtalking about with Rommel and Richard.
Okay.
And Trisha's dropping a linkright there.
You're one click away fromjoining us.
And bring your voice.
We'd love to get your take inthat live session.

(26:12):
All right.
We got so much more to get into.
Richard and Rommel.
We're going to have a.
Gosh, we do need that threehours, Romel.
We're going to have to getboth y' all to clear your calendar.
I want to get over to thisnext topic of the now generation.
The now generation, which thisis what we like to call them here
because the next generationdoesn't work because they're already
making an impact.
Interesting read here fromtransport topics.

(26:32):
It shared highlights from arecent TCA event that featured young
professionals doing big thingsin the trucking industry.
Now, some of the key takeawaysthat the article shared from the
panel discussion.
If I got that right, and thisis all kind of from the young professionals
in industry point of view,what they're looking for, number
one, employee experience andenhanced employment.
Employee experience andculture is as important as compensation.

(26:56):
How about that?
Flexible, supportive andcollaborative working environments
are critical.
No dictatorships are allowed.
And I like this last one here.
Mental health resources arebeing expected more and more.
And the article pointed out,you know, as these professional truck
drivers spend so much timeisolated, right.
That having access to mentalhealth resources that can talk through

(27:16):
challenges, that's a great,makes a lot of sense to me at least.
So Rommel, you, as we'veestablished, you are really plugged
in to the space, your take onthose key takeaways and others.
I never thought I'd see theday where they were prioritizing
mental health, you know, whenspeaking about truckers and just
experience.
But that is a great thing.
That is a great indication ofwhere the industry is going.

(27:39):
And you know, as you said,man, the industry is evolving.
As more young people come intoit, they're going to bring the things
that are important to theminto the industry.
And the industry just has toadapt to that.
So I think it's really goodthat the tca, they have this group
of young professionals thatare bringing up these topics and
ultimately, man, they justwant the same experience as everybody
else, right.

(27:59):
Like if Google has like thepickleball court in the premises,
they want one too, man.
It's like they want to have,be able to have fun, have a good
culture, mental health, theywant to touch on the same topics.
And I mean, I think it's wellneeded and I think it's good that
they're finally addressing andstuff like that in this industry.
Well said, Romel.
You know, Richard, he makes agreat point.
I'm a proud Gen Xer.
As I was making my way andreading through that article, I'm

(28:20):
like, I want that, I wantthat, I want that.
And I bet our team membershere at Supply, we want the air table.
In the driver's lounge also.
That's right.
Richard, your take on whatthese young professionals and modern
current generations are demanding?
Well, I don't think it's thedemand so much as just a fact of
the Internet base based society.
Right.
Their expectations are different.

(28:40):
Right.
So I don't actually view themas demanding anything.
I think it's just these arethe table stakes and how you supply
a good working platform, servesomeone, whether it's trucking, whether
it's aviation, whether it's,you know, medical and in this case,
I think the big differentiatorhere is going to be satellite connectivity
is going to be usher in awhole level of connectedness where
a lot of the root causes ofthe mental issues.

(29:01):
If we want to talk about thattopic that I surmise from trucking
is being alone.
Right, right.
Being on the road, being alone.
But now if all of a sudden I'mconnected via Starlink and I have
instant connectivity, I can dozoom meetings, you know, while driving,
not that you would do that orstudy while I'm driving or pull off
the road and have FaceTimechats, you know, instantly from my
cab.
That changes the whole dynamicaround how to be aware and connected.

(29:25):
So I think inadvertently we'rejust again at an inflection point
where the whole logisticstrucking world is going to change
for the better.
Right.
And it's going to address alot of the issues that have been
plaguing the legacy aspects of that.
So I think we're, you know,again, I think these demands shouldn't
be looked at as like demand somuch as that's just how business

(29:46):
is done these days.
That's the expectation arounda good infrastructure.
That's a great call out, Richard.
And I would just add Rommel.
And Richard, you know Imentioned I'm, I'm a big fan of YouTube.
I love exploring all kinds ofniche subjects and there are some
great YouTube channels that istold from the truck driver's perspective.
It's like a daily diary.

(30:06):
You'll find them everywhere on YouTube.
That is a tremendous learning opportunity.
Kind of speaks to what Rommeland Richard, both of you were alluding
to.
And until we really putourselves in those shoes, the critical
Rommel.
What's the latest?
It's almost what 75% of allfreight is carried by our professional
truck drivers.
I mean critical, critical industry.
Until we really seek tounderstand and empathize with what

(30:27):
they go through.
From how tough it is to findsafe, well lit parking space.
Right.
To just the dangers of allthose other crazy drivers.
Do we got to really understandas we continue to try to figure out
what's next for this critical industry.
Your final thought there, Romel?
Yeah, I think you hit it righton the head.
It's all about empathy andunderstanding and just asking the
right questions and reallygiving the drivers a seat at the

(30:49):
table.
Right.
To just really understand whatthey're going through on a day to
day basis.
Because it's a lot.
It's a lot.
It's very stressful being outthere on the road and having to contend
with like you said, just othertraffic as well as do your job and
get your job done effectivelyand efficiently.
So it's really important.
And Richard, as I've learned,I've been watching this flatbed truck
driver, kind of a startup channel.

(31:10):
And it's not just driving,man, this guy's got to get down.
He's got to strap everything down.
There's a lot of risk atstake, a lot of work.
It really has been an eyeopener, but it's been fascinating.
And empathy or Richard, as welead with empathy, I think we're
going to find a better way.
Way.
Your thoughts?
Yeah.
And not only a better way, butjust an evolved way.
And I think Rael's kind of,again, we talked about this, the

(31:31):
green room.
We're going to get to it in asecond here in his origin story.
But I think, you know, if welook at what you're talking about,
these YouTube channels, Imean, I see no difference between,
you know, the truck drivershowing his lifestyle as a digital
nomad.
Because I really think nowthey are digital nomads in the same
way.
I look at a channel withsomeone who is a maritime sailor
who shows all those incredibleclips of sailing around the world

(31:52):
or being a shipping around theworld world or quite frankly, the
industry I'm in now in aviation.
Right.
A pilot who's able to traversethe whole world and transport not
only packages and cargo and people.
So truckers are in a uniqueposition where I think they can really
embrace the digital nomadiclifestyle in a way that most people
cannot.
And I think that's a huge pull.
If I were kind of doing the,you know, pun intended here road

(32:15):
show to entice people torevisit this style of trade.
Right, right.
It would be like, have youever wanted to be a digital nomad?
Right.
This is your ticket to that.
And it's probably the easiestone to get into.
It's still a lot of work.
Getting your CDL is not atrivial thing.
And I think that's.
Ramel can speak to that.
But everyone gets theirdriver's license.
Like, oh, I can go drive a truck.
No, you can't.

(32:37):
I'm sorry, but you cannot.
Well, Richard, as you'redescribing that and using some great
visuals, for some reason, Iheard a Johnny Cash song in your
response.
I don't know.
We'll see if AI can help usnail it down.
But Ramel.
Now one final thought beforewe move on to this innovative fourth
story.
Since you're.
I think I haven't earned a cdl.
I don't think Richard hasearned a cdl.
I think you're the only one here.

(32:57):
It is difficult to get thatCDL right.
Yeah, it's challenging.
I mean, it's not like drivinga car at all.
It definitely takes some time.
It's just, you know, obviouslythe length of the truck, the weight
of the truck, learning how tostop, how to shift.
I mean, now there's automatic,so you don't have to really know
how to work the gears anymore.
So it's a little bit easierfrom that aspect.
But ultimately, just really safety.
Right.
And just learning how tocontrol and navigate with this very

(33:20):
large vehicle, you know, onroads that weren't built for very
large vehicles as the toughestthing because the infrastructure
hasn't adapted to the size ofthese trucks, especially when you
go into more urban areas andso forth.
It's very, very tough.
So that's when you really,really have a challenge.
You get to see where yourskill level is at.
So.
Yeah.
But let me jump in again, Ramel.
And I think you're livingproof of this.
And I.
And I want to say that I thinkwhat you said is absolutely 100%

(33:41):
correct.
But I also think there's a lotmore to it than most people don't
realize.
Driving is just one piece ofthe puzzle.
And in fact, I would say,ironically, probably the smallest
one piece.
Now, you also got, like yousaid, safety, maintenance, engines,
regulations, like planning,because you're on the road, you are
the captain of that landyacht, and you've got to be able
to troubleshoot everything byyourself in a highly remote environment

(34:03):
where you live most of the time.
So it's not just dry.
I mean, how do you plan for that?
How do you make sure you don'trun into issues?
How do you have all the safetyand backups and stuff, even that
kind of logistical workflow?
Planning is a new skill that Ithink is unique to truckers getting
their cdl.
I would absolutely highlight that.
I mean, it's way beyond justdriving driving.
That's right.
And these are a lot of realtime decisions.
Right.
You don't.
You can't even plan.
You have to just adapt in themoment and figure things out.

(34:26):
We're gonna come back, Ipromise, to this topic with our last
topic of the day.
I want to share a couple quick comments.
Nadeem is back with us fromSaudi Arabia.
Nadim, great to see you.
He talks about the IRU Academy.
Geniwa is doing a great jobtraining young professional drivers.
Wonderful.
That blind spot is very critical.
That's right.
And that could be the drivingblind spot.
Or the more generic blindspots that we all have in this journey.

(34:48):
And Muhammad kind of turns thequestion around.
How does a truck industryperceive young truck drivers today?
That's a great billion dollar question.
We'll try to maybe hit some ofthat in the last segment here today.
But really quick, I got to getthis four story in Ramel and Richard,
this is fascinating.
Now that picture there you'reseeing is mocked up.
It's not, not a real, reallife picture.
It's kind of a rendering.

(35:08):
Thank you.
Who said that?
Rendering?
R.
That's right.
Rendering.
Man.
I'm getting a vocabulary.
Listen here today.
All right, so really coolideas for in play for making trade
across the US and Mexicoborder even easier as reported by
the Wall Street Journal Here, here.
A $10 billion project thataims to essentially create a dedicated
elevated train lane for tradeacross the border while it's picking

(35:30):
up steam, pun intended.
Texas based Green corridorsreceived permits from the US government
to build a 165 mile pathwaythat will be used, as you can see
in this rendering, by selfdriving shuttles hauling freight
between Laredo, Texas andMonterey, Mexico.
Why there?
Well, here, did you know thePort of Laredo handled more than
3 million truck crossings justcoming into the US in 2024?

(35:53):
And that up almost 30% from 2019.
Major gateway for importingauto parts, electronics, appliances,
automobiles.
Now, will the southern selfdriven, cargo focused version of
the L train work?
Romel, your thoughts there?
I mean, I think it's anamazing concept.
I mean it's like the future.
It's like looking at theJetsons, man.
It's like the Tesla of, youknow, just moving freight.

(36:16):
And I think it's a clearindication of where we're kind of
going.
I think Mexico is our numberone trading partner.
I think this administration,Trump is really behind it obviously
with approving these permits.
And I think this company isreally innovating and I think this
is going to be really big.
Cool.
I like that.
I like that, Richard.
So same thing.
I mean, it's just this isanother kind of example of innovation

(36:37):
come to life.
It's also necessity.
Right.
The biggest driver, again, wegot to kind of step back for a second
is we got 8 billion people, folks.
That 8 billion is up from 2billion just 100 years ago.
So our population globally isnot shrinking, it's not slowing down.
So trade is going to, to beever present in all of our lives.
We're getting denser anddenser and we're gonna have to move
more and more and more stuffSo I view this as, you know, just

(37:00):
another indication of thedensity of transportation and logistics
and again, a highlight of theopportunity if you wanted to get
into this.
And again, I kind of come backto Rommel's even origin story and
saying, you know, you can comeinto this thinking you're being a
truck driver, but oh my God,there's so much other stuff to apply
yourself to in transportationand logistics once you open that
door and take a peek inside.

(37:21):
So I think, I mean, you couldbe an innovator working on something
like this just from yourlogistics background.
How cool is that?
Yeah, and that's another thing.
That's a great point.
This is going to create abunch of new job opportunities which
is really good for the industry.
That's just another thing toreally, really highlight.
So I think the future isbright and I'm looking forward to
seeing how this thing kind of develops.
Completely agree.
And you know, I think kind ofgoing back to what both of y' all
have mentioned at variouspoints, I think we've got some innovative

(37:44):
infrastructure projects comingup that this is a great example of
and kind of in the bigger picture.
I am hoping and praying andgiven a lot of thought to, you know,
in light of all the challengwe've touched on here today.
And there's plenty more.
Right.
We also would happen over theweekend and we're still waiting to
see how those US strikes onIran, what's next?
Lots of talk about the Straitof Hormuze attempted to be closed.

(38:06):
That's more challenging thanwhat it may sound.
But all the more reason tocontinue to find ways of leaning
into North America and leaninginto these wonderful relationships
we have and finding new ways of.
To your kind of point,Richard, getting more done, getting
more done in innovative ways.
And who knows, knows as welean more into that, who knows what's
around the corner.
So we shall see.

(38:27):
But interesting.
Y' all, check out the WallStreet Journal.
Check out these renderings.
There's a lot more about theproject here.
But I think if I read thisright, I think construction is right
around the corner, if I'm not mistaken.
We'll see.
Okay, Richard and Rommel inthe last bit of time here today.
And this kind of is going tomirror our pre show conversation
which I should have recordedbetween Richard and Rommel.

(38:48):
Rommel, let's use thisquestion as kind of a guide for this
last segment.
You've got your finger on thepulse of the transportation and then
some, especially theentrepreneurs making big things happen.
What's a couple of topics thatdrivers or brokers or other transportation
pros are really dialed in onright now.
I mean, I think we kind ofwere talking about it today.
I think near shoring is likethe biggest opportunity that I think

(39:09):
a lot of people are thinkingabout how they can get a piece of
that.
Whether it's, you know,brokers, carriers and just really
understanding, you know,relations and how to gain some of
that market share and workingwith Mexico.
Mexico, you know, for a lot ofpeople, they just don't understand
like the complexities of itand you know, they're trying to figure
it out.
I think that's something thata lot of people are really thinking
about because it's obviouslylike the kind of the future.

(39:30):
Yes, I like it.
Market share.
Spoken like a true entrepreneur.
Richard, in terms of hisresponse there, your thoughts on
some of the things we'vetalked about in terms of the priorities
of professionals,entrepreneurs and leaders in the
transportation logistics industry?
Richard?
I'm not sure I need to guessat it.
We got a leader and an experthere in ra, right?

(39:50):
That's right.
I mean he's literally the, Imean, I want to say the voice poster
child and the voice of a newgeneration of logistics and trucking
professionals that I mean, Imean, I'm pretty sure I've got the
most gray hair here and I'mpretty sure, Ramel, I got you by
a few years, right?
I can't tell how young youare, but you look pretty damn young,
dude.
All right, you look like youjust came out of high school for

(40:11):
God's sake.
Okay, I'm jealous.
So you're all jealous here.
But I think this goes back tothe question that someone asked,
which is how are youngprofessionals seen within this sort
of quasi legacy industry?
And I think that goes back toyour question, which is this is huge
opportunity for people who arereally looking at, you know, what
do I do with myself in thisnew world?
And a lot of people are, oh,I'm going to go into technology.

(40:32):
Well, shoot, I spent 25 yearsdoing that and doing recruiting and
now I've shifted over intoaviation, a completely different
world.
But now my eyes opened up andI'm sitting here going, oh my God,
if you've ever thought aboutbeing a pilot, now's the time.
And let's just be honest, atruck driver is just a land based
pilot, right?
Their salaries are a lothigher than what most people realize.
The opportunity is going toincrease, I think dramatically over

(40:54):
the next 10, 20 years, not go away.
And I think the source ofTechnological innovation is another
place where, like, again,Romel, look at his story.
He comes in thinking he'sgoing to be a driver.
Next thing you know, now he'sa podcast influencer, deep thinker
in the area of the space.
Right?
Like, who would have thoughtof that?
But that's what I'm talkingabout, the opportunity here.
Like, if you are poised,motivated, and want to get into something
that you can sink your teethinto that a lot of people aren't

(41:16):
looking at, I'd be looking atthis whole industry as an opportunity
moving forward, especially forthe younger generation.
And I asked Romel if that'strue or not.
Yeah, I agree with that.
I think that this youngergeneration needs to reimagine this
industry.
The trucking industry is very antiquated.
There's still, like, a lot ofinnovation that needs to be done.
They're still doing things onpaper, right?

(41:36):
Like, there's still tons ofinnovation, tons of opportunity,
and tons of places where youcan kind of figure out a niche for
yourself and get involved inthe industry, whether it's driving
the truck or whether it's, youknow, somewhere within the processes
of, you know, whatever youwant to.
To do.
So I think, you know, theyounger generation is extremely important
in this process.
And I think that if, you know,we can find a way to make it incentivize

(41:57):
the youth to get more involvedby kind of highlighting all these
different opportunities and,you know, speaking on it, making
it a little bit moreinteresting, a bit more sexy so they
can understand that, hey,like, everything that you want to
do outside of this industry isin this industry as well.
And you can apply your skillsto this industry and help grow this
industry, because this is the future.
Right?
Like you said, everythingthat's sitting in front of us, these

(42:18):
microphones we're talking on,the headphones that you have on Richard,
it all came via a truck.
And it's all supply chain,it's all logistics.
So if there's any industry toget and become a part of, is this
one.
Hey, really quick at a time,we have.
I want to get Muhammad's pointin here.
Digitization throughtechnological innovation would be
the game changer in trucking industry.

(42:38):
That's right.
And Muhammad's also the oneasked about how the trucking industry
perceives young truck drivers.
Really quick, Ramel on that.
Do you see as you're talkingto folks hiring managers or folks
building fleets, runningfleets, what have you.
Is there pause when it comes to.
To, you know, working withyoung truck drivers, or is the urge
to fill those seats.
Just the dominant thing at play.

(42:59):
What do you see out there, Romel?
I think they embrace driversof all ages.
I mean, the typical averagetruck driver is probably 45 to 50
years old and older.
Right.
So a lot of them are retiring.
So there's a big push to getyounger people involved and in the
seats.
So I think they definitelyembrace younger truck drivers.
I think what they look at moreso is they're looking at, you know,
what they can track.
They're looking at their mvrsand they're looking at their driving

(43:22):
records and how safe they areare and stuff like that.
They don't really care ifyou're young or older.
They just want to see, like,what's your safety record, how do
you perform the job and howare you going to represent my company?
So as long as you have that,it doesn't really matter about your
age.
That's, that's not important.
It's kind of like, Richard,what I heard there, a little bit
has in Romel's response waskind of like insurance actuaries.
Yeah, right.

(43:42):
All the data that builds apredictive model of how folks are
going to behave.
That's kind of what I heardthere from Rommel.
Richard, your final thoughtbefore we make sure folks on a connect
with you both.
I'm going to come full circleback to Fred Smith.
You know, I mean, we startedwith an innovator who really disrupted,
when you think about it, howyou were delivering a package, right?
It used to be by horse andbuggy or at that point, you know,

(44:04):
by a car.
And here comes this crazy guysaying, I'm going to get stuff overnight,
you know, using airplanes,which is a new technology.
And let's be honest, he wasyoung, he was an innovator.
He disrupted a legacy at thatpoint, transportation, logistics
industry, and just came at itwith fresh eyes.
And I see the exact same thinghere in the logistics and trucking

(44:24):
industry, especially now, not10 years ago, not 20 years ago, not
30 years ago.
But picking up on the commentsthat people have said in Ramel has
also echoed, which is we'resitting at this technology's infusing
itself into trucking logistics.
It is going to disrupt andthat disruption creates opportunity.
So if I'm a young persontoday, I'm looking at this not just
with like, oh, I'm just goingto drive a truck.
It's like, man, I can go inhere and I can disrupt an industry

(44:46):
and then I will make thatconnective tissue.
Think, think about now showingup with your CDL to not just your
Memphis, you know, FedEx portto pick up packages, but now a spaceport
that Elon Musk has built andyou've got things coming down from
space.
You think I'm crazy?
That's literally going tohappen in the next 10 to 20 years.
Literally.
Sure.
Right.
And so that's a huge change.

(45:07):
Let me get a couple of thesecomments in here.
Let's see.
Muhammad says youngergeneration, Gen Z and beyond, much
more.
More tech pro.
That's right.
They teach us.
My three young kids teach meabout technology all the time.
Nadeem really likes the topics here.
Today he's a certified trainerfrom the IRU Academy doing big things,
training folks, moving freight.
Appreciate that.

(45:27):
Nadine, great to have you as always.
And this LinkedIn user,Amanda, let me know who this is,
please.
Says with many young peopletoday drawn to quick income and digital
side hustles, how can weinspire and equip them with the right
mindset to see long term valuein sectors like trucking, especially
as these industries digitizeand modernize.
That's Angelina.
Angelina, great comments there.

(45:48):
I wish we had another hour toexplore that from Angelina and others,
but let's do this.
Romel and Richard, we'll haveeverybody back.
We'll keep these conversations going.
I want to make sure folks knowhow to connect with you both.
Rommel.
Starting with the cool thingsy' all are doing at Truck and Hustle.
I love it, man.
I tuned into my first livestream of yours not too long ago.
Y' all got some special inperson events I think coming up.

(46:10):
You're all around the world,then some.
I love what you're doing.
How can folks connect with you?
Romel?
Yeah, so the easiest way toconnect with me directly is on LinkedIn.
Rommel Watley, as my name ison the screen, you can find out all
things Truck andhustle@truckandhustle.com Check us
out on YouTube.
Truck and hustle to check outthe podcast.
We have an in studio podcast,really high produced and we have
just amazing guests from allover the industry just talking about,

(46:33):
you know, their kind of originstories and how they built their
businesses or you know, kindof whatever they do and how they
support the industry.
So check us out.
Bestplace truckandhustle.comor like I said, follow me directly.
Rommel Watley on LinkedIn.
I love it.
And Trisha's got your back.
Trisha's got your back.
Truck and Hustle.
Thank you Trish.
Right there, we got Rommel'sLinkedIn right there.

(46:53):
Folks, you're going to love it.
And don't blame me when youget addicted to the conversations
and the movement that Rommelis building and growing.
Okay, Richard, same question.
I wish I had that big,beautiful headshot of yours with.
It looks like you're in midflight coordinating the, the angle
of attacks and all, folks.
How can they track you down, Richard?
So simple just on LinkedIn isthe easiest one for me.

(47:14):
So all my stuff's there, allmy professional stuff's there and
all the links to all my kindof various other things kind of go
from there.
So it'll take you over to myaviation side.
Some of the stuff that I'vewritten, you know, got my own podcast
stuff in other areas there,but LinkedIn's easiest place to find
everything for me.
Awesome.
Awesome.
Well, big thanks.
Rommel Whatley with Truck and Hustle.
Rommel, great to have you here.
Looking forward to your nextappearance already.

(47:35):
Thank you for the invite.
I appreciate you guys.
This was was fun.
It was, wasn't it?
And Richard Donaldson, man,we're gonna have to co host more
often, my friend.
Great to have you here.
Absolutely.
Always fun.
Always fun.
That's right.
All right, folks, big thanksto Rommel and Richard.
Big thanks to man and Trishabehind the scenes, helping to make
it happen every single day.
As Trisha says, you can findand subscribe to Supply Chain Now.

(47:55):
Wherever you get your podcast,check it out.
Don't forget to check outTruck and Hustle.
Don't forget to connect withRichard on LinkedIn.
But most importantly, here'sthe most important home, right?
Take one thing right here.
You heard from Romel or Richard.
Take one thing, put it into practice.
Share it with your team.
Deeds, not words.
That's what it's all about.
We transform this industry.
And gosh, while challengescertainly everywhere, opportunities

(48:17):
abound.
So with all that said, onbehalf of the entire Supply Chain
now team, Scott Luden,challenge you do good, give forward,
be the change that's needed.
And we'll see you next timeright back here on Supply Chain Now.
Thanks everybody.
Join the Supply Chain now community.
For more Supply Chainperspectives, news and innovation,
check out supply chain now.comsubscribe to Supply Chain now on

(48:37):
YouTube and follow and listento Supply Chain Now.
Wherever you get your podcasts.

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