January 2, 2026 • 34 mins
Kevin discusses a story criticizing President Trump's tariffs; compares the stock market at the beginning of the year and the end of the year; President Trump's push for U.S. energy dominance; November Truck tonnage numbers; November Pending home sales; Kevin has the details and offers his insights and opinions.
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
This is America's Trucking Network with Kevin Gordon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome aboard, Thanks for tuning in on this. I guess
basically first workday of the year, the new year for
a lot of people. Well, of course you in the
trucking industry, and it's just another day for you, because
a lot of people didn't have the time off because
they're keeping the wheels of the economy flowing. Also first responders,
(00:38):
police and fire, hospital workers, food service employees, hotel motel workers,
store clerks, convenience store employees.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
All of those worked over the holiday.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
And I hope they got a few compliments from people
stopping by and saying, hey, thanks for being here because
we're out having fun and you know, we need gas,
we need to go to the hospitals and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
That.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So again, hats off to all the people that work.
But also, this is the ninth to day of Christmas.
Because the Christmas season, the twelve days of Christmas are
not the twelve days before Christmas. It's the twelve days
after Christmas. And we've talked about that on this program
numerous times now. This is like the first day after
(01:21):
in my opinion, well, it seems like.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
This has been one of the most unusual weeks.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
You know, there are times when you have a holiday
that falls on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, and people
will say that, well, it feels like we've had two
Mondays this week, because you know, they're off on Wednesday
and then they come back into work on Thursday. They
had the Monday and then now Thursday. But this holiday,
or this Christmas season was kind of unusual because with
(01:48):
Christmas being on Thursday, and then of course New Year's
Day being on Thursday as well, some.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
People took off that Friday.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And people were trying to cram in there final week
of vacation, and they time that so that they could
get that in before the end of the year. And
it just seemed like some people and some businesses, like
they are companies, they didn't know what to do with
that time period in between. Do you just say, okay,
because we're going to come back to work on that
Monday after Christmas and then be there Monday Tuesday, and
(02:20):
then half a day on New Year's Day or something
along those lines. So it's been kind of a topsy
turvy period of time. And I can't tell you the
number of people I've talked to that when you get
into conversation with them because of their mind being that, Okay,
my day off or a day off is like a weekend,
and then you ask them what it seems like a
(02:41):
lot of people were confused as to what day it was.
They said, oh, yeah, today's Today's Tuesday. It's not Monday,
it's not whatever. And I think it was just because
the way the holiday fell on a Thursday, and then
some people again taking off on Friday, then coming back
in on Monday, and then you know, the short work week.
So at some point, like I said, a lot of people,
(03:03):
I can't tell you the number of people that I
talked to that they would be in a conversation and
they go, well, okay, well I'm going to schedule this
for well wait a minute, I can't schedule this for Wednesday,
because that's that's New Year's even most people won't be off.
And even some businesses and people that I tried to
contact to get something scheduled should they were actually off
(03:24):
for almost the entire well they kind of closed business
on that Wednesday before Christmas and we're off the entire week.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Again, some people in the retail business, I don't know
how people do that, but you know, there were a
lot of people that did. I'm just you know, just
ranting here because it's been kind of a confusing time,
and like I said, there's a lot of people I've
talked to that kind of seemed like they were off
in terms of kind of figuring out what actually what
day it was. And one of the stories I've seen
that kind of piqued my interest talking about looking back
(03:54):
in the rearview mirror, and everybody wants to look back
on twenty twenty five and try to, you know, draw
some of some sense to it or or kind of
summarize it or whatever. But one article I read, the
title of it was how Trump overturned decades of US
policy in twenty twenty five. And like a lot of stories,
(04:15):
and as you heard me talk about on this program,
there's a lot of stories that when you see the
headline and then you dig into the story itself, they
kind of approach it with a certain I guess intent
where they want to make a particular point and it
tends to be somewhat negative. But then within the conversation
(04:37):
or within the story itself, there are gems or certain
things that you pick out and you say, well, wait
a minute, this isn't kind of flowing with what they
are trying to get across here, and let's just kind
of explain that when we get into this.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Okay, they say.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald
Trump has overturned decades of US trade policy. See building
a wall of tariffs around what used to be a
wide open economy. Well, right off the bat, my question
is really trade and balance from World War Two. Now,
(05:13):
tariffs in the early days of our country was the
driving force of income to this country. There was no
income tax prior to until right around World War One,
and really got solidified after World War Two. But tariffs
generally brought in a lot of money. After World War Two,
(05:33):
with Europe being decimated, Japan decimated, and a lot of
countries around the world being decimated because they were on
the battlefield there, America was at a diss of Us
was at an advantage because our factories hadn't been blown up.
We were and we had the ocean between us and
where all the conflict was going on. And so it
(05:56):
was a heyday for American business because no factories in Germany,
a lot of destroyed in England, of course, in China,
Japan and so on, So we were making money hands
over fist. Now as those economies started to build up,
they started we started allowing them or when they put
tariffs in to kind of protect as a protectionist situation
(06:19):
for themselves. They wanted to keep their economy going, and
they wanted their goods to be competitive. They were a
little bit more expensive than ours, so they put up
these trade barriers to slow down some of our goods
coming into their country. We did not put tariffs on
their goods coming into our country, so they were a
lot more competitive. Some of their prices were even cheaper,
(06:41):
and so people had alternatives to buy, which by them
buying these foreign goods, then built up the economies in
these other countries. Well, this went on for obviously for
decades of where this protectionist policy of keeping our goods
out of their country or making our goods that much
more defensive. For instance, you hardly ever saw any kind
(07:03):
of an American automobile in Japan. You didn't have any
Ford f one fifties. If you look around Europe, a
lot of people are driving taxi cabs that are Mercedes Benz,
which are luxury items here in the United States, but
they were relatively inexpensive there. You don't see American cars
on the roads in Europe. Now, granted some of them
(07:24):
are a lot more narrow, but you look at the
Mercedes Benz, they're not all that narrow. So if they
can negotiate those streets over there, so can American cars.
So a lot of our goods, again, we're being kept
out of these areas artificially because of terrace. Donald Trump
comes along, looks at the trade deficit we have with
all these different countries and says, you know, what we're
(07:47):
at kind of an unfair advantage or a disadvantage because
these countries are charging X number of dollars and we're
not charging any. On Liberation Day, he put up the
various props and showed all one hundred and eighty countries.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
He had them.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
You know, listen out. You know four different things that
he showed. They were like a folders or a placards
or whatever that you could hold up. But he showed
each one of those and showed each one one after
the other, showing what they charged on our goods coming
into their country versus what we charged on their goods
(08:24):
coming into our country, and the numbers were astronomical. Charging
thirty five percent tariff on our goods going into certain countries,
we charging hardly any going into ours. So he decided
and said he was going to level the playing field.
We're all for free trade, but we're also for fair trade,
and so started increasing the tariffs on their goods coming
(08:46):
into our country to level the playing field and to
basically reciprocal tariffs. Now, of course, all hell broke loose
at that point in time, and people were saying this
was going to throw us into a recession, unemployment, rapid inflation,
and so on.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
But those and when they in this article.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
As soon as he says that they used to be
a wide open economy. And my question is, as I've
been explaining, is a wide open economy for who? Not
for our goods going into these countries, but for their
goods coming in. And so again, that was a negotiating
tool to get them to lower their terraces on our
goods going into their countries, and to a large extent
(09:31):
that has been successful. Continuing on here, Trump has argued
that a steep new import taxes are necessary to bring
back wealth that was stolen from the US. He says
it was by a narrow He said, well, narrow America's
trade deficit, old trade deficit, and bring manufacturing back to
this country. It was out of balance when we realized
(09:53):
how But anyway, we'll pick this up on the other side.
I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck a Network, seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Here's your trucking forecast for the Try State and the
rest of the country and the Tri State. Overnight, mostly claudy,
the low down to twenty three, a mostly sunny sky. Friday,
a high of thirty six. Going into the weekend. Saturday,
mostly claudy highs again in the upper thirty sunny Sunday,
a high of thirty seven, and for those finally getting
back to workers school Monday following the holiday, sunny and warmer.
The high year fifty. Nationally, the West Coast scene more
(10:23):
wet weather to start the new year. Meanwhile, much above
average temperature scene from the northern Rockies, through the plains
and into the lower Mississippi Valley, while below average temperatures
are expected from the Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes region
and the Northeast. Like effects, no expected into Saturday downwind
of lakes Erie, Ontario and Eastern Superior.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I'm Kevin Gordon, America's Trucking Network seven hundred WLW. Continue
our conversation from the previous segment, talking about this story
how Trump overturned decades of US trade policy in twenty
twenty five. For the most part, in my opinion, it's
been a good thing. And of course we'll see some
of those numbers coming up. But I was talking about how,
(11:03):
you know, are you that bringing manufacturing back to this country.
We saw during the pandemic when all of a sudden,
you know, businesses were shut down, restaurants were closed, and
everybody was buttoned up.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
People were unemployed people.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
You know, some people could work from home, but your
restaurant workers are manufacturing a lot of that.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Sort of stuff. Those businesses closed down.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
And when we saw how much of our goods were
manufactured and brought in from China. You know, when you're
going through the store, I don't know how many people
pay attention to where goods are coming from. All they
care about is they walk into the store, stuff's on
the shelf, They buy the stuff. But when we started
seeing how much medical equipment face mask gowns, that personal
(11:48):
protection equipment had come from China. How much of our
medicines came from China. That kind of woke people up
to like, what the hell are we doing because they
tried to deny it, but it was obvious that where
the coronavirus had come from COVID nineteen. You know, of
course they try again. They tried to deny it, but
(12:10):
it was pretty clear where it came from, to the
point where people are asking about, Okay, this is a
country that started this pandemic, and yet they're the ones
that are profiting by this because of all the goods
and all the.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Stuff that we're buying from them.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
So the thought at the time was that we need
to start redomiciling a lot of our manufacturing and bringing
that back to the United States so they're not so
dependent upon other countries to keep our wheels of our
economy flowing. So they go into this and they start
showing the teriff rates remain elevated throughout twenty twenty five
(12:45):
and so on. And they go into this and they're
talking about twenty twenty five per data per the Yale
Budget Lab, and they go through some of the numbers
November's effective terif rate was nearly seventeen percent, seven times
greater than January's average, the highest scene since nineteen thirty five. Now,
let me just make a quick point here, all right,
(13:07):
If the tariff rate was nearly seventeen percent, and this
was charged on across the board on goods coming into
the United States, if that was inflationary, and if it
was going to cause rampant in a tremendous inflation, why
wasn't the inflation rate around seventeen percent. Our inflation rate
(13:28):
at the latest reading is at two point seven percent.
As I said from the beginning, because going back to
my studies of economics when I was back in school,
they talked about tariffs do not necessarily lead to inflation.
They are a revenue generating tool for a country and
to try to balance out trade as far as exports
(13:52):
and imports. Now, as far as that is concerned, again,
at a seventeen percent rate, our inflation rate is his own.
And what is causing inflation is out of control government spending.
When they start issuing checks that don't need to be issued,
when they start subsidizing things, and when they start this
was an inflation reduction Act, which was nothing more than
(14:15):
a payoff to the green energy or the climbiness as
I call them, to try to bolster green energy and
basically categorize and put in place the Green New Deal
that was being proposed a couple of years before, or
as I refer to it, the Green News Steel because
it's a transfer of wealth from one sector of the
(14:37):
economy to another. But again, when you're looking at this,
the seventeen percent across pretty much on average rate of tariffs,
our inflation rate was at two point seven percent. What
happened and what had been being talked about by certain
people like our friend Phil Flynn with Price Futures Group,
Kevin O'Leary, Shark Tank Cudlow, Larry Cudlow from Fox Businesses
(15:03):
and a very few handful of people around the country
talking about tariffs we're going to be we're not going
to lead to inflation and the fact that it levels
the playing field. Now, when you look at how that
is done, you look at the manufacturing country overseas that
has very low hourly wages, like in China, their average
(15:25):
hourly rate is between five dollars and seven dollars an hour.
They don't have any benefits, they don't have any vacation
time or whatever. So their cost per hour is about
five to seven dollars. In the United States, our average
annual rate hourly rate across the board, averaging every industry
is around thirty seven and a half dollars per hour.
(15:46):
Now that includes the fact that we've got certain things
in terms of vacation pay and benefits and that type
of thing, and so just on par the labor costs
here are a lot higher. The manufacturers over there have
a large margin between what they manufacture the item for
and what they can sell it for. They're concerned about
(16:08):
them keeping market share so that they don't price themselves out,
so they ate some of those tariffs. The exporter that
has some of the business and then shipping those overseas,
they absorbed some of that tariff. Then on the other end,
you got the importer that again wants to sell these
products and keep the goods flowing, they absorbed some of
(16:30):
that tariff. Then you have the wholesalers or distributors that
again looked at that and said, well, you know, we've
got a pretty decent market share.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
We don't want to overprice our products.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
And then them.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Sit on the shelves a lot longer, and.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
So that goes to the they absorb some of this tariff,
and then you've got the retailers again concerned about market share,
keeping customers in their store as opposed to going to
another store. They cut some of those things. Walmart absorbed
some of that, and yet you saw the profits of
these companies still going up, and we've reported that on
(17:04):
this program. So again at a seventeen percent rate. Why
is interesting? And you know the point of this is
to kind of trash what was done as far as
the Trump administration was. But within their article, there are
things that if you read between the lines, like I'm
doing that, that shows that a lot of the stuff
that they were saying was crap. Again this line, November's
(17:25):
effective tariff rate was seventeen percent, seven times greater than
January's average, and the highest scene since nineteen thirty five. Well, again,
we're not seeing that in the seventeen percent inflation rate.
And so where did that money go? Where was it absorbed?
And I just explained that Trump's higher tariffs, as they
(17:45):
say here, are certainly raising money. They've raked in more
than two hundred and thirty six billion dollars this year
through November, much more than in the year's past, but
they still account for just a fraction of the federal
government's total revenue. And see this, this is one of
those things that we started hearing about when Doze was
going into effect and started to go into some of
(18:06):
these agencies and cut money. They're saying, well, you know,
this is overinflated, and we need to cut this budget
here in this agency by a billion dollars. And people
would say, well, a billion dollars, that's just a small
fraction of the revenue. Well as somebody I forget who
it was, but they were on one of these talk
shows one time. I'm talking back during the time of
a Johnny Carson. It was a senator or a congressman
(18:28):
or whatever. He says, you know, a billion here, a
billion there. Pretty soon you're talking about a lot of money. Well,
I'll tell you what for me, A billion dolls would
do a whole lot of good for me. I'm sure
a billion dollars would do a pretty good for you.
But again, it's a small fraction of the economy, or
a small fraction of the government spending. But with a
government spending being as out of control as it is.
(18:49):
Any cuts that we can make is a good thing.
And to pull back some of that and put more
money in the pockets in the American public, that is
a good thing. So again saying, oh, well, it's just
a small fraction of the budget, Well, like I said,
a billion here, billionaire, pretty soon it adds up. US
trade deficit, meanwhile, has fallen significantly since the start.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Of the year.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
The trade gap peaked to a monthly record of one
hundred and thirty six point four billion in March, as
consumers and businesses hurried to import foreign products before Trump
could impose his tariffs on them. The trade gap narrowed
to fifty two point five fifty two point eight billion,
almost eighty billion dollars less, according to the latest numbers,
(19:34):
seventeen percent ahead of January. Let me see, but you're
to date. The deficit was still running seventeen percent ahead
of January twenty ahead of the January to September twenty
twenty four numbers. Growing economy, consumers buying more would have
accounted for that, and why that is the seventeen percent increase.
And then they start getting into these stories and you know,
(19:57):
later on or actually will pick this up, but they
start it almost seems like they're making excuses for and
being fans of and protection is for China. We'll get
into this coming up. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's Trucking Network.
Seven hundred WLW is.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
The last game of the season and the Bengals are
looking to finish with a win. To do it, they
have to beat the Browns. I have some comments about Cleveland,
but I probably shouldn't share them. Will Zach Taylor's team
pull off the Battle of Ohio the Bengals Battle of
the Browns. Get the call live from Dan Hort and
Dave Levin. The game kicks off at one VM, with
(20:39):
coverage starting at nine AM Sunday. Stream for free on
the new and improved iHeartRadio app or on seven hundred WLW,
home of the Best Bengals coverage.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Hey y'all, this is Aaron Tibbitt.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Being in the music business, traveling working late doesn't do
great thanks from my team, but I found that's staying
active and making time to work out helps keep my
energy where it needs to be to perform my best.
No matter what you do or where you are, make
time to stay in shape, You'll feel better and have
(21:15):
the energy you need to accomplish your goals.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
This message rocked you by the US Air Force. I'm
jumping in with my clothes off.
Speaker 6 (21:25):
Most party fouls are pretty dumb, but if you decide
to drink and drive under age, you could lose your
license and your freedom. Learn more at Ultimate partyfoul dot org.
Brought to you by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
and the AD Council.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I'm a FLII fighter, a teacher, I'm a farmer. I'm
a barber, a waitress, a mom. We're all part of
your community.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
Every day we move in and out of each other's
busy lives. It's easy to take for granted all the
little moments that make up our every day.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Some are good, others not so much, but that's life.
It's when you experience a moment of uncertain something or
someone's behavior that doesn't seem quite right.
Speaker 7 (22:04):
These are the moments to take a pause, because if
something doesn't feel right, it's probably nuts.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
It's not about paranoia or being afraid.
Speaker 8 (22:13):
It's about standing up and protecting our communities.
Speaker 7 (22:15):
One detail out of time, because a lot of little
details can become a pattern.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
We we we We trust our instincts, just like you should,
because only you know what's not supposed.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
To be in your every day.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
So protect your every day.
Speaker 8 (22:31):
If you see something suspicious, say something to local authorities.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Excuse me, I know you have a nine o'clock so
I'll keep this short. I'm a business suit in the
back of your closet. You wore me nearly every day
before your office went quote casual. I used to be
the CEO of your closet. Now I'm just that one
intern no one ever talks to. I always thought you'd
circle back with me, get granular, keep me in the pipeline.
(22:57):
But nada, nothing. Don't you remember the McKittrick presentation. You
spilled coffee on me and I still looked amazing during
the breakout talk back Q and A. So I think
it's time for me to move on. I've got a
great resume and I absolutely crush it in interviews. Okay,
let's make this a clean break shift the paradigm. The
only thing I ask is that you think outside the
(23:17):
box here and do this. Take me to good Will
where I can really make a difference.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
Your donations to Goodwill create new jobs, training, programs and
education assistance for people in your community. To find your
nearest donation center, go to Goodwill dot org. Donate stuff,
Create jobs. A message from Goodwill and the AD Council.
Speaker 8 (23:37):
Some things in life are preventable.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Ooh, gas station sushi.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Yuh, that's preventable. I'm just gonna tell my boss what I.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Really think of him.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Oh, that's preventable. Hmmm, maybe a face tattoo would look good.
That's preventable too.
Speaker 8 (23:53):
The Colorectal Cancer Alliance wants you to know a lot
of things in life are preventable. Colon cancer is common
and deadly, but that's also preventable.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
Oh my gosh, it's a bear.
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The Alliance is doing its part to end colorectal cancer.
Now do yours get involved, And if you're forty five
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Speaker 3 (24:18):
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Speaker 7 (24:22):
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Speaker 8 (24:25):
Good and Colorectal Cancer dot org to learn more. That's
Colorectal Cancer dot org. And together we can save lives.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Hey running Jack no no no, no, no.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
No no, Live from those seven hundred W l W.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I'm Kevin Gordon.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Before we get to some of these other things, I
want to touch on, you know, what's going on as
far as the energy markets are concerned, and the Energy
report from our friend Phil Flynn was very spot on
in some in terms of some of the things he
was talking about in terms of what Donald Trump has
been doing. Not only well, you know the article that
we've been covering talking about how Trump overturned decades of
(25:04):
US foreign policy, but what he's also done is actually
put us back on a level of where we are
going to be energy dominant and what that is going
to do. And as I've talked about on this program
numerous times, you look at what has done as far
as energy prices. Energy prices go across the entire segment
of this economy. I don't care what business you're in,
(25:27):
there is energy involved. Obviously in the trucking industry, manufacturing
with electricity. Even if you're in an office what white
collar attorney's accountants, you depend on energy because of keeping
the lights on, people transferring, you know, people traveling, salesman
deliveries and so on based on gasoline, so energy cuts
(25:49):
across all sectors of the economy, and if the energy
prices go down, those are going to be very good
and those things are going to be going to be
very good for the economy. One of the things that
started off as far as Phil Flynn's Energy Report was
talking about how we are moving towards an area of
energy independence back when what we were back in twenty twenty.
(26:13):
So again that was recognizing something that needed to be done.
But looking at oil and gas prices real quick. West
Texas Intermedia crude is at fifty seven dollars and forty
five cents a barrel. It's down fifty cents on the day,
but just since January the twentieth, when Trump took office,
West Texas Intermediate crued is down nineteen dollars and forty
(26:37):
four cents a barrel, down twenty five percent. Brent krude,
currently at sixty dollars and ninety cents a barrel, is
down nineteen dollars just since January the twentieth, or a
twenty four percent decrease. Looking at gasoline, current national average
across the board is two dollars and eighty four cents
(26:58):
for gasoline three dollars fifty seven cents.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Again, across the board.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Average US for diesel, looking at a year ago, gas
prices are down twenty cents. They're down seven percent from
this time last year. So if you're talking about your
family budget and your gas that you're gassing up your
car with is now down seven percent, and in some areas.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Even more than that.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I know in my neck of the woods here or
where I live in Campbell County, gas prices are extremely low.
They're low compared to the two dollars and eighty some cents.
I think they're down now around I think, well, in
my neighborhood right now, the gasoline is at two dollars
and forty eight cents, So that is down from two
(27:45):
dollars and eighty some cents at the beginning of the year.
Diesel to night let me see, two sixty nine is
down considerably. And again if you're paying attention to gasoline prices,
and I'm you know, when I look at just in
my neighborhood, the fluctuation of gas from the highest to
the lowest. Sometimes if you pick up those apps that
(28:08):
tell you where the cheapest gas is, you can save
a lot of money, because there's sometimes when I look
at these numbers and gallon and gas in one part
and just this is just in my zip code. This
isn't the entire county that I live in, it is
just the zip code. Those prices can fluctuate by about
thirty cents a gallon, So again that is something that
(28:30):
needs to be paid attention to when we look at
energy prices, When we look at gasoline prices compared to
where they were back in twenty twenty, we are seventeen cents.
Let me see, we were seventeen cents higher than we
were back in twenty twenty, which again that's a six
percent increase, but that's a six percent increase going back
to five years ago. So again, energy prices are moving
(28:54):
in the right direction. A truck tonnage nudges up zero
point two percent higher in number.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Again, this is very good.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
American Trucking Associations ATA seasonally adjusted to higher A four
higher truck tonnage index rose point two percent sequentially after
falling one point nine percent in October and point eight
percent in September. In September, Federation said December twenty third,
November ata's index came in at one twelve point four,
(29:24):
up from one twelve point two in October. Pluminary figures
had shown a two point one percent decrease. But again,
as the truck volume starts going up and starts inching up,
maybe we can start seeing an end to this tonnage
and truck recession that we've been in now for more
than three years. Going into some of the numbers a
(29:45):
little bit further, the index based on twenty ten or
twenty fifteen as one hundred nudged up point three percent
lower year over year compared with November, but again is
heading in the right direction bringing up some these numbers.
According to ATA American Trucking Association's chief economist Bob Costello,
(30:07):
November tonnage reading continue to point to a constrained freight market.
Despite the smaller sequential increase, the index was also down
from the year earlier, the second straight year over year decline.
In addition to challenging volumes, more capacity appears to be
leaving the industry after a prolonged freight downturn and increased
(30:30):
government enforcement measures targeting unqualified drivers and non compliant carriers.
So as the capacity goes down, those rates should start
seeing a little bit of an uptick and then the
tonnage for those left in the industry and the good
ones left in the industry. I mean, we have talked
(30:50):
a lot about some of these CDL mills, some of
these people that are not qualified to be out on
the road driving an eighteen wheeler, an eighty thousand pounds
piece of equipment, and they can't read road signs, they
can't read where they are, they're not even really proficient
at being able to handle that kind of equipment. That's
(31:13):
got to be good for overall. Let's see we talk
about in here in terms of certain volumes in the
capacity and in certain areas where it is up only
see meanwhile, for higher freight shipments as measured by cocks
by what was the number here by cast Freight Index
rows zero point seven percent for the month. The shipments
(31:36):
fell seven point six in October. Now, what they're talking
about coming into this year frigid December weather might affect
some of these numbers. But according to ACT Research senior
analyst Tim Denauur, some of these items might affect Freight
Transportation Research Associates FTR Transport Intelligence data for the whe
(32:00):
weekending December nineteenth showed a much stronger spot market than usual.
Drive in spot rates posted their best year over year
comparisons since February of twenty twenty two. Meanwhile, flatbed spot rates,
the key indicator of industrial and construction industry demand.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
Posted their largest year over year.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Increase since mid twenty twenty two and reached their highest
level since April of twenty twenty four. So, again, within
certain segments of the trucking industry, certain components, some of
these rates are going up, the spot rates are going up,
and as that, hopefully that continues on into twenty twenty
(32:41):
six and we can finally put this truck recession in
the rearview mirror.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
That would be a good thing. Let's see.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Again, there are certain companies that are not doing really well.
FedEx is kind of lowering their expectations. There's been some
switch in terms of what they are doing as far
as their business outlook and business components. They have lost
some major contracts to other people, and so when you
do that, of course, your bottom line is going to
be adversely affected by that. We're not going to have
(33:15):
time to get into pending home sales. But let me
just say that, certainly, let me just give it a
thumbnail sketch. Month over month pending home sales because of
interest rates coming down, and is if stress that one
of the things holding back our economy is higher interest rates.
With interest rates coming down, people have more affordability of
getting into homes and actually being able to afford homes.
(33:38):
Month over months saw a three point three percent increase
in pending home sales and gains in all four regions
of the country. Year over year, two point six percent
increase in pending home sales, and that again crossed all sectors,
all segments of the country. So a lot of good
news starting off twenty twenty six, and hopefully we can
(33:59):
keep the moment. I'm going well, folks, that does it
for us? Stay tuned for Red Eye Radio at the
top of the hour. I'm Kevin Gordon. America's Struck A
Network seven hundred WLW
This is America's Trucking Network with Kevin Gordon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome aboard, Thanks for tuning in on this. I guess
basically first workday of the year, the new year for
a lot of people. Well, of course you in the
trucking industry, and it's just another day for you, because
a lot of people didn't have the time off because
they're keeping the wheels of the economy flowing. Also first responders,
(00:38):
police and fire, hospital workers, food service employees, hotel motel workers,
store clerks, convenience store employees.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
All of those worked over the holiday.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
And I hope they got a few compliments from people
stopping by and saying, hey, thanks for being here because
we're out having fun and you know, we need gas,
we need to go to the hospitals and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
That.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So again, hats off to all the people that work.
But also, this is the ninth to day of Christmas.
Because the Christmas season, the twelve days of Christmas are
not the twelve days before Christmas. It's the twelve days
after Christmas. And we've talked about that on this program
numerous times now. This is like the first day after
(01:21):
in my opinion, well, it seems like.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
This has been one of the most unusual weeks.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
You know, there are times when you have a holiday
that falls on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, and people
will say that, well, it feels like we've had two
Mondays this week, because you know, they're off on Wednesday
and then they come back into work on Thursday. They
had the Monday and then now Thursday. But this holiday,
or this Christmas season was kind of unusual because with
(01:48):
Christmas being on Thursday, and then of course New Year's
Day being on Thursday as well, some.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
People took off that Friday.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And people were trying to cram in there final week
of vacation, and they time that so that they could
get that in before the end of the year. And
it just seemed like some people and some businesses, like
they are companies, they didn't know what to do with
that time period in between. Do you just say, okay,
because we're going to come back to work on that
Monday after Christmas and then be there Monday Tuesday, and
(02:20):
then half a day on New Year's Day or something
along those lines. So it's been kind of a topsy
turvy period of time. And I can't tell you the
number of people I've talked to that when you get
into conversation with them because of their mind being that, Okay,
my day off or a day off is like a weekend,
and then you ask them what it seems like a
(02:41):
lot of people were confused as to what day it was.
They said, oh, yeah, today's Today's Tuesday. It's not Monday,
it's not whatever. And I think it was just because
the way the holiday fell on a Thursday, and then
some people again taking off on Friday, then coming back
in on Monday, and then you know, the short work week.
So at some point, like I said, a lot of people,
(03:03):
I can't tell you the number of people that I
talked to that they would be in a conversation and
they go, well, okay, well I'm going to schedule this
for well wait a minute, I can't schedule this for Wednesday,
because that's that's New Year's even most people won't be off.
And even some businesses and people that I tried to
contact to get something scheduled should they were actually off
(03:24):
for almost the entire well they kind of closed business
on that Wednesday before Christmas and we're off the entire week.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Again, some people in the retail business, I don't know
how people do that, but you know, there were a
lot of people that did. I'm just you know, just
ranting here because it's been kind of a confusing time,
and like I said, there's a lot of people I've
talked to that kind of seemed like they were off
in terms of kind of figuring out what actually what
day it was. And one of the stories I've seen
that kind of piqued my interest talking about looking back
(03:54):
in the rearview mirror, and everybody wants to look back
on twenty twenty five and try to, you know, draw
some of some sense to it or or kind of
summarize it or whatever. But one article I read, the
title of it was how Trump overturned decades of US
policy in twenty twenty five. And like a lot of stories,
(04:15):
and as you heard me talk about on this program,
there's a lot of stories that when you see the
headline and then you dig into the story itself, they
kind of approach it with a certain I guess intent
where they want to make a particular point and it
tends to be somewhat negative. But then within the conversation
(04:37):
or within the story itself, there are gems or certain
things that you pick out and you say, well, wait
a minute, this isn't kind of flowing with what they
are trying to get across here, and let's just kind
of explain that when we get into this.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Okay, they say.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald
Trump has overturned decades of US trade policy. See building
a wall of tariffs around what used to be a
wide open economy. Well, right off the bat, my question
is really trade and balance from World War Two. Now,
(05:13):
tariffs in the early days of our country was the
driving force of income to this country. There was no
income tax prior to until right around World War One,
and really got solidified after World War Two. But tariffs
generally brought in a lot of money. After World War Two,
(05:33):
with Europe being decimated, Japan decimated, and a lot of
countries around the world being decimated because they were on
the battlefield there, America was at a diss of Us
was at an advantage because our factories hadn't been blown up.
We were and we had the ocean between us and
where all the conflict was going on. And so it
(05:56):
was a heyday for American business because no factories in Germany,
a lot of destroyed in England, of course, in China,
Japan and so on, So we were making money hands
over fist. Now as those economies started to build up,
they started we started allowing them or when they put
tariffs in to kind of protect as a protectionist situation
(06:19):
for themselves. They wanted to keep their economy going, and
they wanted their goods to be competitive. They were a
little bit more expensive than ours, so they put up
these trade barriers to slow down some of our goods
coming into their country. We did not put tariffs on
their goods coming into our country, so they were a
lot more competitive. Some of their prices were even cheaper,
(06:41):
and so people had alternatives to buy, which by them
buying these foreign goods, then built up the economies in
these other countries. Well, this went on for obviously for
decades of where this protectionist policy of keeping our goods
out of their country or making our goods that much
more defensive. For instance, you hardly ever saw any kind
(07:03):
of an American automobile in Japan. You didn't have any
Ford f one fifties. If you look around Europe, a
lot of people are driving taxi cabs that are Mercedes Benz,
which are luxury items here in the United States, but
they were relatively inexpensive there. You don't see American cars
on the roads in Europe. Now, granted some of them
(07:24):
are a lot more narrow, but you look at the
Mercedes Benz, they're not all that narrow. So if they
can negotiate those streets over there, so can American cars.
So a lot of our goods, again, we're being kept
out of these areas artificially because of terrace. Donald Trump
comes along, looks at the trade deficit we have with
all these different countries and says, you know, what we're
(07:47):
at kind of an unfair advantage or a disadvantage because
these countries are charging X number of dollars and we're
not charging any. On Liberation Day, he put up the
various props and showed all one hundred and eighty countries.
Speaker 3 (08:03):
He had them.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
You know, listen out. You know four different things that
he showed. They were like a folders or a placards
or whatever that you could hold up. But he showed
each one of those and showed each one one after
the other, showing what they charged on our goods coming
into their country versus what we charged on their goods
(08:24):
coming into our country, and the numbers were astronomical. Charging
thirty five percent tariff on our goods going into certain countries,
we charging hardly any going into ours. So he decided
and said he was going to level the playing field.
We're all for free trade, but we're also for fair trade,
and so started increasing the tariffs on their goods coming
(08:46):
into our country to level the playing field and to
basically reciprocal tariffs. Now, of course, all hell broke loose
at that point in time, and people were saying this
was going to throw us into a recession, unemployment, rapid inflation,
and so on.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
But those and when they in this article.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
As soon as he says that they used to be
a wide open economy. And my question is, as I've
been explaining, is a wide open economy for who? Not
for our goods going into these countries, but for their
goods coming in. And so again, that was a negotiating
tool to get them to lower their terraces on our
goods going into their countries, and to a large extent
(09:31):
that has been successful. Continuing on here, Trump has argued
that a steep new import taxes are necessary to bring
back wealth that was stolen from the US. He says
it was by a narrow He said, well, narrow America's
trade deficit, old trade deficit, and bring manufacturing back to
this country. It was out of balance when we realized
(09:53):
how But anyway, we'll pick this up on the other side.
I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck a Network, seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
Here's your trucking forecast for the Try State and the
rest of the country and the Tri State. Overnight, mostly claudy,
the low down to twenty three, a mostly sunny sky. Friday,
a high of thirty six. Going into the weekend. Saturday,
mostly claudy highs again in the upper thirty sunny Sunday,
a high of thirty seven, and for those finally getting
back to workers school Monday following the holiday, sunny and warmer.
The high year fifty. Nationally, the West Coast scene more
(10:23):
wet weather to start the new year. Meanwhile, much above
average temperature scene from the northern Rockies, through the plains
and into the lower Mississippi Valley, while below average temperatures
are expected from the Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes region
and the Northeast. Like effects, no expected into Saturday downwind
of lakes Erie, Ontario and Eastern Superior.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I'm Kevin Gordon, America's Trucking Network seven hundred WLW. Continue
our conversation from the previous segment, talking about this story
how Trump overturned decades of US trade policy in twenty
twenty five. For the most part, in my opinion, it's
been a good thing. And of course we'll see some
of those numbers coming up. But I was talking about how,
(11:03):
you know, are you that bringing manufacturing back to this country.
We saw during the pandemic when all of a sudden,
you know, businesses were shut down, restaurants were closed, and
everybody was buttoned up.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
People were unemployed people.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
You know, some people could work from home, but your
restaurant workers are manufacturing a lot of that.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Sort of stuff. Those businesses closed down.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
And when we saw how much of our goods were
manufactured and brought in from China. You know, when you're
going through the store, I don't know how many people
pay attention to where goods are coming from. All they
care about is they walk into the store, stuff's on
the shelf, They buy the stuff. But when we started
seeing how much medical equipment face mask gowns, that personal
(11:48):
protection equipment had come from China. How much of our
medicines came from China. That kind of woke people up
to like, what the hell are we doing because they
tried to deny it, but it was obvious that where
the coronavirus had come from COVID nineteen. You know, of
course they try again. They tried to deny it, but
(12:10):
it was pretty clear where it came from, to the
point where people are asking about, Okay, this is a
country that started this pandemic, and yet they're the ones
that are profiting by this because of all the goods
and all the.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Stuff that we're buying from them.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
So the thought at the time was that we need
to start redomiciling a lot of our manufacturing and bringing
that back to the United States so they're not so
dependent upon other countries to keep our wheels of our
economy flowing. So they go into this and they start
showing the teriff rates remain elevated throughout twenty twenty five
(12:45):
and so on. And they go into this and they're
talking about twenty twenty five per data per the Yale
Budget Lab, and they go through some of the numbers
November's effective terif rate was nearly seventeen percent, seven times
greater than January's average, the highest scene since nineteen thirty five. Now,
let me just make a quick point here, all right,
(13:07):
If the tariff rate was nearly seventeen percent, and this
was charged on across the board on goods coming into
the United States, if that was inflationary, and if it
was going to cause rampant in a tremendous inflation, why
wasn't the inflation rate around seventeen percent. Our inflation rate
(13:28):
at the latest reading is at two point seven percent.
As I said from the beginning, because going back to
my studies of economics when I was back in school,
they talked about tariffs do not necessarily lead to inflation.
They are a revenue generating tool for a country and
to try to balance out trade as far as exports
(13:52):
and imports. Now, as far as that is concerned, again,
at a seventeen percent rate, our inflation rate is his own.
And what is causing inflation is out of control government spending.
When they start issuing checks that don't need to be issued,
when they start subsidizing things, and when they start this
was an inflation reduction Act, which was nothing more than
(14:15):
a payoff to the green energy or the climbiness as
I call them, to try to bolster green energy and
basically categorize and put in place the Green New Deal
that was being proposed a couple of years before, or
as I refer to it, the Green News Steel because
it's a transfer of wealth from one sector of the
(14:37):
economy to another. But again, when you're looking at this,
the seventeen percent across pretty much on average rate of tariffs,
our inflation rate was at two point seven percent. What
happened and what had been being talked about by certain
people like our friend Phil Flynn with Price Futures Group,
Kevin O'Leary, Shark Tank Cudlow, Larry Cudlow from Fox Businesses
(15:03):
and a very few handful of people around the country
talking about tariffs we're going to be we're not going
to lead to inflation and the fact that it levels
the playing field. Now, when you look at how that
is done, you look at the manufacturing country overseas that
has very low hourly wages, like in China, their average
(15:25):
hourly rate is between five dollars and seven dollars an hour.
They don't have any benefits, they don't have any vacation
time or whatever. So their cost per hour is about
five to seven dollars. In the United States, our average
annual rate hourly rate across the board, averaging every industry
is around thirty seven and a half dollars per hour.
(15:46):
Now that includes the fact that we've got certain things
in terms of vacation pay and benefits and that type
of thing, and so just on par the labor costs
here are a lot higher. The manufacturers over there have
a large margin between what they manufacture the item for
and what they can sell it for. They're concerned about
(16:08):
them keeping market share so that they don't price themselves out,
so they ate some of those tariffs. The exporter that
has some of the business and then shipping those overseas,
they absorbed some of that tariff. Then on the other end,
you got the importer that again wants to sell these
products and keep the goods flowing, they absorbed some of
(16:30):
that tariff. Then you have the wholesalers or distributors that
again looked at that and said, well, you know, we've
got a pretty decent market share.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
We don't want to overprice our products.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
And then them.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Sit on the shelves a lot longer, and.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
So that goes to the they absorb some of this tariff,
and then you've got the retailers again concerned about market share,
keeping customers in their store as opposed to going to
another store. They cut some of those things. Walmart absorbed
some of that, and yet you saw the profits of
these companies still going up, and we've reported that on
(17:04):
this program. So again at a seventeen percent rate. Why
is interesting? And you know the point of this is
to kind of trash what was done as far as
the Trump administration was. But within their article, there are
things that if you read between the lines, like I'm
doing that, that shows that a lot of the stuff
that they were saying was crap. Again this line, November's
(17:25):
effective tariff rate was seventeen percent, seven times greater than
January's average, and the highest scene since nineteen thirty five. Well, again,
we're not seeing that in the seventeen percent inflation rate.
And so where did that money go? Where was it absorbed?
And I just explained that Trump's higher tariffs, as they
(17:45):
say here, are certainly raising money. They've raked in more
than two hundred and thirty six billion dollars this year
through November, much more than in the year's past, but
they still account for just a fraction of the federal
government's total revenue. And see this, this is one of
those things that we started hearing about when Doze was
going into effect and started to go into some of
(18:06):
these agencies and cut money. They're saying, well, you know,
this is overinflated, and we need to cut this budget
here in this agency by a billion dollars. And people
would say, well, a billion dollars, that's just a small
fraction of the revenue. Well as somebody I forget who
it was, but they were on one of these talk
shows one time. I'm talking back during the time of
a Johnny Carson. It was a senator or a congressman
(18:28):
or whatever. He says, you know, a billion here, a
billion there. Pretty soon you're talking about a lot of money. Well,
I'll tell you what for me, A billion dolls would
do a whole lot of good for me. I'm sure
a billion dollars would do a pretty good for you.
But again, it's a small fraction of the economy, or
a small fraction of the government spending. But with a
government spending being as out of control as it is.
(18:49):
Any cuts that we can make is a good thing.
And to pull back some of that and put more
money in the pockets in the American public, that is
a good thing. So again saying, oh, well, it's just
a small fraction of the budget, Well, like I said,
a billion here, billionaire, pretty soon it adds up. US
trade deficit, meanwhile, has fallen significantly since the start.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Of the year.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
The trade gap peaked to a monthly record of one
hundred and thirty six point four billion in March, as
consumers and businesses hurried to import foreign products before Trump
could impose his tariffs on them. The trade gap narrowed
to fifty two point five fifty two point eight billion,
almost eighty billion dollars less, according to the latest numbers,
(19:34):
seventeen percent ahead of January. Let me see, but you're
to date. The deficit was still running seventeen percent ahead
of January twenty ahead of the January to September twenty
twenty four numbers. Growing economy, consumers buying more would have
accounted for that, and why that is the seventeen percent increase.
And then they start getting into these stories and you know,
(19:57):
later on or actually will pick this up, but they
start it almost seems like they're making excuses for and
being fans of and protection is for China. We'll get
into this coming up. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's Trucking Network.
Seven hundred WLW is.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
The last game of the season and the Bengals are
looking to finish with a win. To do it, they
have to beat the Browns. I have some comments about Cleveland,
but I probably shouldn't share them. Will Zach Taylor's team
pull off the Battle of Ohio the Bengals Battle of
the Browns. Get the call live from Dan Hort and
Dave Levin. The game kicks off at one VM, with
(20:39):
coverage starting at nine AM Sunday. Stream for free on
the new and improved iHeartRadio app or on seven hundred WLW,
home of the Best Bengals coverage.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
Hey y'all, this is Aaron Tibbitt.
Speaker 5 (20:54):
Being in the music business, traveling working late doesn't do
great thanks from my team, but I found that's staying
active and making time to work out helps keep my
energy where it needs to be to perform my best.
No matter what you do or where you are, make
time to stay in shape, You'll feel better and have
(21:15):
the energy you need to accomplish your goals.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
This message rocked you by the US Air Force. I'm
jumping in with my clothes off.
Speaker 6 (21:25):
Most party fouls are pretty dumb, but if you decide
to drink and drive under age, you could lose your
license and your freedom. Learn more at Ultimate partyfoul dot org.
Brought to you by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
and the AD Council.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I'm a FLII fighter, a teacher, I'm a farmer. I'm
a barber, a waitress, a mom. We're all part of
your community.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
Every day we move in and out of each other's
busy lives. It's easy to take for granted all the
little moments that make up our every day.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Some are good, others not so much, but that's life.
It's when you experience a moment of uncertain something or
someone's behavior that doesn't seem quite right.
Speaker 7 (22:04):
These are the moments to take a pause, because if
something doesn't feel right, it's probably nuts.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
It's not about paranoia or being afraid.
Speaker 8 (22:13):
It's about standing up and protecting our communities.
Speaker 7 (22:15):
One detail out of time, because a lot of little
details can become a pattern.
Speaker 3 (22:20):
We we we We trust our instincts, just like you should,
because only you know what's not supposed.
Speaker 6 (22:27):
To be in your every day.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
So protect your every day.
Speaker 8 (22:31):
If you see something suspicious, say something to local authorities.
Speaker 7 (22:36):
Excuse me, I know you have a nine o'clock so
I'll keep this short. I'm a business suit in the
back of your closet. You wore me nearly every day
before your office went quote casual. I used to be
the CEO of your closet. Now I'm just that one
intern no one ever talks to. I always thought you'd
circle back with me, get granular, keep me in the pipeline.
(22:57):
But nada, nothing. Don't you remember the McKittrick presentation. You
spilled coffee on me and I still looked amazing during
the breakout talk back Q and A. So I think
it's time for me to move on. I've got a
great resume and I absolutely crush it in interviews. Okay,
let's make this a clean break shift the paradigm. The
only thing I ask is that you think outside the
(23:17):
box here and do this. Take me to good Will
where I can really make a difference.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
Your donations to Goodwill create new jobs, training, programs and
education assistance for people in your community. To find your
nearest donation center, go to Goodwill dot org. Donate stuff,
Create jobs. A message from Goodwill and the AD Council.
Speaker 8 (23:37):
Some things in life are preventable.
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Ooh, gas station sushi.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Yuh, that's preventable. I'm just gonna tell my boss what I.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Really think of him.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
Oh, that's preventable. Hmmm, maybe a face tattoo would look good.
That's preventable too.
Speaker 8 (23:53):
The Colorectal Cancer Alliance wants you to know a lot
of things in life are preventable. Colon cancer is common
and deadly, but that's also preventable.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
Oh my gosh, it's a bear.
Speaker 8 (24:04):
Let's get a selfie with it.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
Also previncable.
Speaker 8 (24:07):
The Alliance is doing its part to end colorectal cancer.
Now do yours get involved, And if you're forty five
or older, talk to your doctor about the colon cancer
screening options available to you.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
Betch I can eat fifty hot dogs in an hour. Preventable.
Speaker 7 (24:22):
Actually, runner, I'm representing myself.
Speaker 8 (24:25):
Good and Colorectal Cancer dot org to learn more. That's
Colorectal Cancer dot org. And together we can save lives.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Hey running Jack no no no, no, no.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
No no, Live from those seven hundred W l W.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I'm Kevin Gordon.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Before we get to some of these other things, I
want to touch on, you know, what's going on as
far as the energy markets are concerned, and the Energy
report from our friend Phil Flynn was very spot on
in some in terms of some of the things he
was talking about in terms of what Donald Trump has
been doing. Not only well, you know the article that
we've been covering talking about how Trump overturned decades of
(25:04):
US foreign policy, but what he's also done is actually
put us back on a level of where we are
going to be energy dominant and what that is going
to do. And as I've talked about on this program
numerous times, you look at what has done as far
as energy prices. Energy prices go across the entire segment
of this economy. I don't care what business you're in,
(25:27):
there is energy involved. Obviously in the trucking industry, manufacturing
with electricity. Even if you're in an office what white
collar attorney's accountants, you depend on energy because of keeping
the lights on, people transferring, you know, people traveling, salesman
deliveries and so on based on gasoline, so energy cuts
(25:49):
across all sectors of the economy, and if the energy
prices go down, those are going to be very good
and those things are going to be going to be
very good for the economy. One of the things that
started off as far as Phil Flynn's Energy Report was
talking about how we are moving towards an area of
energy independence back when what we were back in twenty twenty.
(26:13):
So again that was recognizing something that needed to be done.
But looking at oil and gas prices real quick. West
Texas Intermedia crude is at fifty seven dollars and forty
five cents a barrel. It's down fifty cents on the day,
but just since January the twentieth, when Trump took office,
West Texas Intermediate crued is down nineteen dollars and forty
(26:37):
four cents a barrel, down twenty five percent. Brent krude,
currently at sixty dollars and ninety cents a barrel, is
down nineteen dollars just since January the twentieth, or a
twenty four percent decrease. Looking at gasoline, current national average
across the board is two dollars and eighty four cents
(26:58):
for gasoline three dollars fifty seven cents.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Again, across the board.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Average US for diesel, looking at a year ago, gas
prices are down twenty cents. They're down seven percent from
this time last year. So if you're talking about your
family budget and your gas that you're gassing up your
car with is now down seven percent, and in some areas.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Even more than that.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I know in my neck of the woods here or
where I live in Campbell County, gas prices are extremely low.
They're low compared to the two dollars and eighty some cents.
I think they're down now around I think, well, in
my neighborhood right now, the gasoline is at two dollars
and forty eight cents, So that is down from two
(27:45):
dollars and eighty some cents at the beginning of the year.
Diesel to night let me see, two sixty nine is
down considerably. And again if you're paying attention to gasoline prices,
and I'm you know, when I look at just in
my neighborhood, the fluctuation of gas from the highest to
the lowest. Sometimes if you pick up those apps that
(28:08):
tell you where the cheapest gas is, you can save
a lot of money, because there's sometimes when I look
at these numbers and gallon and gas in one part
and just this is just in my zip code. This
isn't the entire county that I live in, it is
just the zip code. Those prices can fluctuate by about
thirty cents a gallon, So again that is something that
(28:30):
needs to be paid attention to when we look at
energy prices, When we look at gasoline prices compared to
where they were back in twenty twenty, we are seventeen cents.
Let me see, we were seventeen cents higher than we
were back in twenty twenty, which again that's a six
percent increase, but that's a six percent increase going back
to five years ago. So again, energy prices are moving
(28:54):
in the right direction. A truck tonnage nudges up zero
point two percent higher in number.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Again, this is very good.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
American Trucking Associations ATA seasonally adjusted to higher A four
higher truck tonnage index rose point two percent sequentially after
falling one point nine percent in October and point eight
percent in September. In September, Federation said December twenty third,
November ata's index came in at one twelve point four,
(29:24):
up from one twelve point two in October. Pluminary figures
had shown a two point one percent decrease. But again,
as the truck volume starts going up and starts inching up,
maybe we can start seeing an end to this tonnage
and truck recession that we've been in now for more
than three years. Going into some of the numbers a
(29:45):
little bit further, the index based on twenty ten or
twenty fifteen as one hundred nudged up point three percent
lower year over year compared with November, but again is
heading in the right direction bringing up some these numbers.
According to ATA American Trucking Association's chief economist Bob Costello,
(30:07):
November tonnage reading continue to point to a constrained freight market.
Despite the smaller sequential increase, the index was also down
from the year earlier, the second straight year over year decline.
In addition to challenging volumes, more capacity appears to be
leaving the industry after a prolonged freight downturn and increased
(30:30):
government enforcement measures targeting unqualified drivers and non compliant carriers.
So as the capacity goes down, those rates should start
seeing a little bit of an uptick and then the
tonnage for those left in the industry and the good
ones left in the industry. I mean, we have talked
(30:50):
a lot about some of these CDL mills, some of
these people that are not qualified to be out on
the road driving an eighteen wheeler, an eighty thousand pounds
piece of equipment, and they can't read road signs, they
can't read where they are, they're not even really proficient
at being able to handle that kind of equipment. That's
(31:13):
got to be good for overall. Let's see we talk
about in here in terms of certain volumes in the
capacity and in certain areas where it is up only
see meanwhile, for higher freight shipments as measured by cocks
by what was the number here by cast Freight Index
rows zero point seven percent for the month. The shipments
(31:36):
fell seven point six in October. Now, what they're talking
about coming into this year frigid December weather might affect
some of these numbers. But according to ACT Research senior
analyst Tim Denauur, some of these items might affect Freight
Transportation Research Associates FTR Transport Intelligence data for the whe
(32:00):
weekending December nineteenth showed a much stronger spot market than usual.
Drive in spot rates posted their best year over year
comparisons since February of twenty twenty two. Meanwhile, flatbed spot rates,
the key indicator of industrial and construction industry demand.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
Posted their largest year over year.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
Increase since mid twenty twenty two and reached their highest
level since April of twenty twenty four. So, again, within
certain segments of the trucking industry, certain components, some of
these rates are going up, the spot rates are going up,
and as that, hopefully that continues on into twenty twenty
(32:41):
six and we can finally put this truck recession in
the rearview mirror.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
That would be a good thing. Let's see.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Again, there are certain companies that are not doing really well.
FedEx is kind of lowering their expectations. There's been some
switch in terms of what they are doing as far
as their business outlook and business components. They have lost
some major contracts to other people, and so when you
do that, of course, your bottom line is going to
be adversely affected by that. We're not going to have
(33:15):
time to get into pending home sales. But let me
just say that, certainly, let me just give it a
thumbnail sketch. Month over month pending home sales because of
interest rates coming down, and is if stress that one
of the things holding back our economy is higher interest rates.
With interest rates coming down, people have more affordability of
getting into homes and actually being able to afford homes.
(33:38):
Month over months saw a three point three percent increase
in pending home sales and gains in all four regions
of the country. Year over year, two point six percent
increase in pending home sales, and that again crossed all sectors,
all segments of the country. So a lot of good
news starting off twenty twenty six, and hopefully we can
(33:59):
keep the moment. I'm going well, folks, that does it
for us? Stay tuned for Red Eye Radio at the
top of the hour. I'm Kevin Gordon. America's Struck A
Network seven hundred WLW
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