November 7, 2025 • 43 mins
Kevin covered the following stories: a correction and update regarding the Louisville UPS cargo plane crash; S&P Global released their October U.S. Services Purchasing Managers' Index and the Institute for Supply Management released their October Purchasing Managers Index for Services Providers; after U.S. President Trump and China's President Xi Jinping met in South Korea last week, trade tensions are thawing; factors affecting oil and gas prices; Kevin has the details, digs into the data, puts the information into historical perspective, offers his insights and a few opinions along the way.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is America's Truncking Network with Kevin Gordon.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Wullhema more. Thanks for tuning in on this Friday morning.
Who says nothing good happens after midnight, I mean, for
crying out loud. I want to correct something. Yesterday we
were talking about the horrible plane crash down there in Louisville, Kentucky,
the ups cargo plane that exploded the way. The description
(00:31):
from the press conference and some of the stuff that
I was reading indicated that the plane had actually taken
off and was maneuvering around. But digging into it and
reading more into what was going on, it was actually
taxiing and it went up, turned a corner, turned left,
and then turned left again and then went to take off.
(00:54):
But somewhere along the line, as it was starting to
take off, the engine caught on fire and fell off,
and then the plane started tumbling and then exploded and
went into those buildings. So it never really got airborne,
and I kind of gave the impression. Well, I did
give the impression yesterday, but it was based on bad
(01:16):
information as far as the news reports coming out. So
I just wanted to clarify that we got some numbers
yesterday that we didn't have a chance to watchally the
day before yesterday, we didn't have a chance to get
to US. Service sector activity accelerates at the fastest pace
since February. And this is all good for the trucking
industry itself, because the more the goods are moving, the
(01:41):
more goods are manufactured, the more availability then obviously, the
more freight is going to have to be carried. And
if the economy is doing well, if spending is up,
if you have in your mind that you know that
the spending is up and that there are increased orders,
that the freight volumes are continuing, that things are going
(02:02):
to go well, and eventually we will get through the
end of this trucking recession. And it's amazing how long
this has gone on. And you that have been involved
in the trucking industry for a number of years have
gone through the different cycles and whatnot. You know that
the trucking or any type of trucking recession usually lasts
(02:25):
anywhere from twelve to fourteen months thereabouts, But we have
basically doubled that to this point now that we're actually
into the third year of a trucking recession, and there
are signs that it's improving. There are signs that volumes
are picking up. And I don't hate to say it,
but where we have had this invasion from the southern
(02:48):
border and where we've had unqualified, non English speaking drivers
out on the highway presenting a safety hazard, safety concerns
for the entire driving public, that as those are being
pulled off, and I've seen numbers in the range of
(03:10):
about seven thousand that have been taken off the road,
and we're not hearing about that. Oh well, you know
there's you know, we've heard for years that there is
a driver shortage, and you have told me at the
Mid America Trucking Show, and every time I've talked to
you individually, you've told me that that's a bunch of crap,
(03:32):
even though ATA and all these different organizations keep talking
about a driver shortage, and you keep emphasizing to me,
and if you you've said this before, that we're more
worried about the not necessarily the number of drivers, but
qualified drivers. And we have seen instances of that English
(03:53):
language proficiency. Two horrible accidents within the space of a
couple of months, one in Florida, one in California, where
three people died each one of those accidents, and those
are the ones that really get reported. Those aren't the
ones that go get swept under the rug. And the
fact that this has been allowed, the fact that there
(04:14):
are companies that would literally put the safety of the
American public ahead of not only qualified drivers and and
being able to earn a living, but at the expense
of the driving public out there with unqualified drivers and
drivers that don't know what the heck they're doing and
potentially causing accidents. I don't understand how people in business,
(04:40):
people that are running companies have such low ethics and
you know this care well. I guess they shouldn't be
surprised by that. If you if you look at what
the federal government over the last four years had done
under the Biden administration, allowing an invasion of somewhere between
ten to twenty million illegal illegal aliens coming into this country.
(05:07):
Now America being a melting pot and being a shining
beacon on the hill. People have always wanted to immigrate,
immigrate to the United States. But where you are absolutely invaded,
you're not permitted, and you don't vet people, you're going
(05:27):
to get people into the country that are less than
have our best interest at heart. Generally, when you had
immigration in years past, you had people that yearned to
be here. They had heard that there was a better
life here. They heard that they could work, work hard
(05:49):
and attain something and gather wealth, and so they were
attracted to the country. But they came here through legal means.
They went through the ports of entry, applied for citizen
they you know, did the citizenship exams, took the exam,
and had a pride and a love of this country,
even though in some instances, like my ancestors, the Irish,
(06:12):
they weren't treated so fairly when they came over here.
There were some Italian immigrants that weren't necessarily treated so well,
Chinese immigrants and of course African Americans weren't treated so well.
But there was a certain amount of love of country
that you that you appreciated being here and that you
worked through all that adversity to where you came out
(06:33):
on top, and that you were in charge at that point.
And the assimilation of the Italians, the African Americans, the Irish,
whole nine yards of being able to assimilate into a
melting pot is what made this country great. But when
You've got people that are claiming or or clamoring as
(06:55):
far as protests that they, you know, don't want the
image creation laws enforced, that they want to protest against ICE,
and they're waving Mexican flags or other flags. I mean,
for crying out loud, you have come here claiming asylum,
claiming that your life was at risk in another country
(07:18):
and came here and claimed asylum, and now all of
a sudden, you're showing your loyalty to the country you
escaped from. How horrible was that country that you are
now waving that flag. So I'm going off on a
tangent here, But again, when you look at what's going
on in the trucking industry and you look at the
people that are being weeded out at this point, and
(07:40):
especially starting with the people that don't have English language proficiency,
and the fact that that has been a regulation that's
been in the FMCSA handbook all these years and was
just not enforced. It was a out of service a
type of violation, but it just wasn't being enforced. And
(08:01):
the fact that that is now coming into play should
decrease what, or at least the perception of or the
overcapacity that we have and this, like I said, this
whole nonsense and I and it's becoming clearer and clearer
how much we werelied to in terms of, yeah, there's
this driver shortage, that we need to have more drivers,
(08:21):
that we need more people in here. Well, you know,
there are different ways of doing that. If it were
in fact true, you would you go out and you
recruit people, You recruit people from schools, you do technical colleges,
you go to different things. Or if in the case
the way the H one B visa were supposed to
be implemented, that you have a situation where somebody has
(08:43):
a qualification or has a specialty that they are good
at that we don't have American workers that can do that,
and so you bring them in. But that program has
been so abused. There were way if there were in
fact driver shortages, there are ways getting around that, in
ways of doing it other than the way it's been.
And the people that have done this, the people that
(09:05):
have ruined the industry, the people that have ruined basically
created even more this trucking recession. There needs to be
some consequences. But anyway, we've got us service sector activity
that has accelerated at the fastest pace since February. We'll
talk about that coming up. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's struck
(09:26):
a Network seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I need this is the raething repard on America's Drugging
Network on seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Looking ahead of the racing weekend, Formula One will hold
the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. Also in Racing news,
IndyCar held a two day test involving Scott Dixon and
Alexander Rossi at Phoenix Raceway as the NTT Series set
the race there in twenty twenty six. Seven time NASCAR
Cup Series champion and Legacy Motor Club owner Jimmy Johnson
(09:56):
will return to the Cup Series next June, competing in
the Cup Race during the inaugural San Diego Weekend. Are
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of the Indianapolis five hundred byre tickets now and save
ticket fees are being waived on items purchased before January fifth,
twenty twenty six, Penske Entertainment and Gamebridge Insurance Company has
(10:17):
announced a multi year sponsorship agreement as Gamebridge will continue
to be the presenting sponsor of the Indianapolis five hundred.
The NHRA has announced special plans to honor veterans during
its annual Veterans Day celebration at the sixtieth Annual In
and out Burger NHRA Finals next weekend in Pomona, California.
For more information, check it out at NHRA dot com.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
This is the briezing report on America's drugging network on
seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Have a nice weekend, SEG.
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(11:28):
the top every network.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Seven hundred WLW as promised, let's get into this US
service sector activity, because again, as I started off in
the previous segment, that if you've got adequate business activity,
that is going to mean more volume, more freight for
you to haul out there. And if you have in
the back of your mind that the economy is strong
(11:50):
and you don't have to worry about whether or not
you're going to be able to put food on the table,
that's got to give you a certain peace of mind.
And I'm people ask me a lot. You know, well,
people have asked me in the past. They've said, you know,
why do you concentrate You do concentrate a lot on
the economy, and it is a trucking show. And I said, well,
you know, how do you separate the two. And we
(12:12):
had that survey from the American Transportation Research Institute last
week or a week before where we were talking about
that survey that was out there. The number one priority
of truckers is the economy. And so if the economy
is strong, and if you were getting the right numbers,
if you're getting the right information rather than some of
(12:33):
the crap that's out there. And I am very proud
of the fact that here on America's truck and Network
we dig through the information, I dig into the numbers,
I look at the stories, and how many times have
I talked about that the story itself doesn't match the headline,
or the headline doesn't match the story, whichever way you
want to look at it. And I have talked at
(12:56):
nauseum about how it appears is that the spoonful regurgitators
in the mainstream media are trying to talk down the
economy and trying to manufacture recession. And you know what,
We're just not going to have any of it. We're
going to know what the facts are. I'm going to
present you with the facts. I'm going to prevent I'm
going to provide you with the available information so that
(13:17):
we know where things are headed. And one of the
areas that people are always concerned about is again the
volumes and what is going on. As far as the activity,
US service sector activity returned to growth as new orders accelerated,
despite concerns about among firms surrounding the government shut down
and tariffs. A monthly survey said this past Wednesday, the
(13:41):
Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers index for service providers
climb to fifty two point four in October from fifty
in September. That's a two point four percent increase in
that survey, reaching its highest point since February. That meant
it moved above the no change mark after September's one
(14:03):
month stagnation. Economists pulled by the Wall Street Journal had
expected it to only be fifty point five, so they
missed it by a full one point nine percent. It
came in at fifty two point four, and the so
called experts said it was going to come in at
fifty point five. Now what is interesting is that marks
(14:26):
the thirty third successive month that that number has been
above fifty. So that's a good sign, and that is
showing steady what you want in an economy. You want increases.
You want, going back to my days as you know,
being a recovering accountant, when you're looking at businesses, you
(14:47):
want to see a trend up and you want to
see increases on a regular basis. You want to keep
your revenue up, you want to hold your costs down,
and you want more profitability. And you're always seeking new
customers because you're if you if you don't go out
and seek new customers, you're going to just as a
matter of attrition, lose a few and if you're not
(15:09):
moving ahead, you're actually moving backwards. You just cannot stay
in one place and stand in one place in the
economy and expect things to go well. You always have
to go out there and push. You've got to go
out there and seek those additional opportunities because once those
opportunities are gone, they generally don't come back. So the
(15:32):
fact that the economy is moving along, that you've had
thirty three months of numbers above fifty percent of fifty
is a very good sign and it shows a steady economy. Again.
You don't want dips and valleys. You don't want you
don't want peaks and valleys. You want a nice, steady
upward growth. Okay, digging into this a little bit more,
(15:54):
the index for new orders rose to a highest level
since October of twenty twenty four, while the business activity
index also expanded. Employment contracted, but not as sharply as
in September, the survey said, which is good news. Steve Miller,
chairman of the Ism Service Business Survey Committee. While there's
(16:17):
no indication of widespread layoffs or reduction in force, the
government shut down was mentioned several times as affecting business
activity and generating concerns for future layoffs. Now again, as
the federal government has closed is shut down, the government
does buy things, They do buy supplies, they do buy
(16:41):
things that are in the economy have to be brought
into the federal office buildings. At the same time, the
employees themselves are earning a paycheck and when they go out,
they spend that in the economy. Now, I've made the
point on this program a couple of times that I
would prefer to see more jobs created in the private
(17:04):
sector rather than in the government, because government jobs are
not although they add to the economy, although the paycheck
is there. They buy houses, they buy clothing, they buy food,
They stimulate the economy and all that. But that economy
is being stimulated by us because they don't get the
(17:24):
they don't get that pay because they're generating revenue, because
they're selling a product, they're selling a service or whatever.
All they're basically selling is regulation and aggravation for us.
The people out there working, So they're not a they're not,
in my opinion, which would consider a productive member of
(17:45):
society because they're not creating things, they're not manufacturing anything,
they're not servicing anything. So even though their pay is
being spent, that pay comes as an expense to us
because they're confiscation our wealth in order to pay for
these employees. So the fact that they're not getting paid
(18:05):
will have an effect on the economy, but probably will
be short lived simply because once these workers come back,
they are paid back pay, they get their money, They
get the money back. I mean it's paid retroactive, so
they're not going to be out any money. It's just
shifting it from one month to another. And you know,
(18:25):
again with bills paid. But I've noticed that as I'm
paying my credit cards, as I went to pay the
mortgage the other day, there was this pink or red
or whatever pop up that said, are you being are
you are you being affected by the government shutdown? We
have ways of working with you in order to overcome
(18:47):
that or to get past that. So the credit card companies,
the people that you owe money to, the whether you know,
might be a little tougher if you're renting, but as
far as mortgage is concerned, the banks generally will work
with you in these instances. So you know, it's not
like you're going to get tossed out in your ear
(19:09):
because the government is shut down for a month, and
you know that ripple effect. Now, if you're laid off
someplace at a business for a month, you don't get
that pay. You have to file unemployment and collect that
to keep make ends meet. But being called back, Once
these workers are called back, they're going to get their
back pay retroactive. So it's not as dire as the
(19:32):
people in the mainstream media would tell you. Uncertainty due
to federal government shutdown has shuttered many non essential functions.
This will lead to project delays likely hurt our overall.
Fiscal year twenty twenty six. The industry survey eight eleven
reported growth last year last month rather one more than
in September, while the number of reporting contraction decreased from
(19:55):
six to six from seven according to their numbers, let's
see here. Meanwhile, the index for prices was the highest
since October of twenty twenty two, highlighting continued inflationary pressures. Now,
what I mean hearing in the aftermath of the elections
is the fact that people were dissatisfied or it was
(20:16):
a pushback on Trump, because Trump said that he was
going to come in and lower prices and that he
was going to rein in inflation. Well, you know, when
you have inflation of three percent the previous year and
you're holding it at three percent, that to a certain
extent is a success. I would like to have seen
(20:39):
some of the prices come down. But as we've discussed
on this program numerous times, when you have contracts being
signed with ups Teamsters, when you have the auto workers contracts,
railroad contract it's being negotiated to dock workers, what those
big increases in those pay those are going to have
(21:02):
a ripple effect through the economy and that is going
to cause price increases. So some of this price increase,
some of this inflation has to do more with salaries
than it does increase in the actual commodity price itself.
Coming up, we've got we'll finish up this particular story
and dig into some more Kevin Gordon America Struck a
network seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Here's your trucking forecast for the Try State and the
rest of the country and the Try sit over nightclouds
increase the low down to forty three showers in a
possible storm into the mid afternoon Friday, then a chance
of showers in a possible storm, a high of sixty four,
mostly Sunday Saturday high of sixty three, rain shower Saturday
night with mostly cloudy skies and a chance of shower
Sunday a high of only forty seven. Nationally colder temperatures
(21:53):
will be felt to the northern plains in the ever
Midwest by Saturday. On Friday, some strongest severe storms will
be possible from the Gulf coast of the Ohio Valley. Meanwhile,
dry conditions will continue from the desert southwest to the
southern plains.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Seven hundred W LW. I'm Kevin Gordon. This is American
instruct A Network. If you missed any of our segment
surround on our show, hit up that iHeartRadio app. Of course,
that's brought to you by Rush Truck Centers. We had
this I been talking about this SMP Global US Service
PMI Purchasing Manager's Index. And it's interesting that the previous
(22:29):
we had the service sector the other day, or the
Manufacturing Purchase Remanding Manager Index in the manufacturing index in
the manufacturing sector, I should say they It was interesting
that the stories that were coming out about that didn't
match what the actual survey said. And I pointed out
(22:52):
yesterday that you had the S and P Global US
you know, whatever survey it was that or the manufacturing
surveing that they came to a conclusion. But the report
on the report was different and there are some key
pieces in this in the summary Chris Williamson, Chief Business
(23:14):
Economists at S and P Global Marketing Intelligence, October Final
PMI data add to signs that the US economy has
entered the fourth quarter with strong momentum. Growth in the
vast services economy has picked up speed to a company
(23:34):
and improve approved performance in the manufacturing sector. Now, the
previous day was the manufacturing sector, so there's been improvements
there and the service sector is catching up to that.
Let's see in total business activity is growing at a
rate commensurate with GDP, rising at an annual pace of
(23:56):
around two point five percent. Now, I think that that
number is off because if you look at some of
the other things, the fact that we were in the
third quarter at three point eight percent, at two point
five percent, we are still expanding and they've been talking
about expansion. So I'm still holding to the fact that
(24:18):
at the end of the fourth quarter we're going to
be seeing a gross domestic products somewhere in the neighborhood
of four point five to five percent, So I disagree
with him in his summary there after. Similarly, let me
see after a similarly solid expansion signal in the third quarter.
(24:38):
While growth is being driven principally in the financial services
and tech sectors, the survey also picking up signs of
improved demand from consumers. However, there are signs that new
business is coming at the cost of the service providers
having to soak up continued high input costs. Customers are
(25:01):
often pushing back on price it rises, especially in the
consumer facing consumer facing markets. Now, that is the way
it should be. The fact that there is so much
and I've got a note here off to the side
where I said that that so many times we have
(25:23):
this need for an instant gratification. If I want it,
I'm going to buy it. There's none. And I've mentioned
this before that again, I one of the few men
I know that actually like going to I actually love
going to the grocery store. Well, I like it now.
I used to really love it, But since the pandemic,
(25:46):
things have shifted around a little bit, and with some
of the availability of stuff and products not being carried
by our local store. It is a little aggravating and
it's not as much fun as you to be, but
it's still fun for me. But anyway, I am not
into this instant gratification. I've mentioned before that I in
(26:09):
the store, I will check prices because if you if
you do it often enough, if you do it every week,
a couple of times a week or whatever, when you're
needing stuff, you kind of know in the back of
your mind, or at least I do that what the
prices are and if there's something I'm looking for or
something I'm interested in, like you know, you think, oh,
gee wiz, I'd like to have this for dinner, and
you go in and you see the price that's higher
(26:31):
than what you want to pay for it. Basically look
at it and say, well, I'm gonna shift gears here
and eat something else. Because I notice that with the
grocery prices at least where I live, is that they
will go up and they will go down. There's kind
of like a three week cycle where one particular week
they're down and then they're up for going to go
(26:53):
back up for a couple of weeks and then come
back down on sale. I notice this in coffee prices.
I know, with with milk, they will put you know,
the gallons on sale one week, and they'll put the
half gallons on sale the next week. There'll be some
of these loss leaders that they put out there, stuff
that people want to buy, that will bring people into
the store, which means that they have to walk through
(27:15):
the store and hopefully they buy other things other than
what they came into the store for. You know the
old saying, you know, I went in for a gallon
of milk and I came out with fifty dollars worth
of food. So you know, you have that factor going
into there. But I am not into instant gratification. I'm
not the first one in line to get the latest
and greatest tech a tech toy. There are certain things
(27:37):
that I'll wait on a particular price. I mean there
are there. Well, I'll give you an example. There was
a sport coat that I wanted and this particular clothing
store had it on sale, and supposedly it was going
to be there for a couple of days. I must
(27:57):
have misread it, but to the I guess the fine
print it said it was only going to be on
sale till one o'clock in the afternoon and I got
there at two o'clock. And I've been wanting that jacket
for well for a couple of years, and I just thought, well,
you know, I'll get around to it. When I get
(28:17):
around to it. It was at a great price, but
it was up a higher price. I still wanted it,
but I want't going to buy it. I waited till
the following year to buy it. And you know, it's
much more satisfaction to me rather than the instant gratification
of obtaining this particular item right here, right now. The
gratification for me is getting it for the price that
(28:40):
I want it and think it's a fair price to
pay for it. So you know, that's just the way
I am. It comes to do with like I said,
with grocery prices. There are certain times, if you know
the cycles, you're going to have certain items that are
going to be on sale, and when you go into
the store, if they're not on sale, well I just
don't buy them. And there's always something in there that
(29:00):
is something I like to eat, and so I'll move
over to that particular right now. But but again I'm
not you know, I've seen in the in the store
as I'm as I'm going through, I'll see people walk
up and just grab something, not even paying attention to
the expiration date on it, not paying attention to the
price of it, just go up and grab it and
(29:22):
toss it in their grocery cart and go on. I'm
pretty sure that they're going to pay the price later on,
because I know a couple. I know a couple of
friends that do that. And I brought up one time
with them about some of the some of the produce
and stuff that you buy, and they said, I can't
tell you the number of times I brought stuff home
(29:44):
and then the next couple of days it's all. It's
it's all, you know, mushy and rotted and I and
I've mentioned to him, I said, well, do you check
the expiration dates when you buy? No, I'm just go
on and I grab it. Well, a lot of times,
you know, they've got to rotate that stuff out, and
the stuff that's expiring is upfront, reach in the back
and grab something that's a little fresher, it lasts longer.
(30:05):
You don't throw so much stuff out. And it's just
one of those things that I've always done, and stuff
that I picked up I mentioned that I used to
go grocery shopping with my father who was in that business,
and wanted to see where his products were placed in
the store, etcetera. I've talked about that story before, but
I picked up these buying habits in the shopping habits
from him. He always, you know, my dad was one
(30:27):
of these guys that always kind of made a game
out of everything. You know, he took enjoyment out of
everything he did. He went into it with a positive attitude.
And I heard somebody call it making a game out
of it. It was Donnie Osmond. They were talking to
him about I was watching an interview with him, and
(30:48):
he was talking about how, you know, trying to have
this positive attitude and that you know, things that are
a grind, things that are you know, you have to
do or whatever, and he said, I try to make
a game out of it. I try to see if
I can get it done quicker than I did before,
or I try to do it in a different way
or attack it a different way. And I thought, man,
(31:09):
that's exactly how my father was. He was one of
these guys that always had a very positive attitude, and
would you know, it was very difficult to shake him.
It was very difficult to get him out of a
good mood. It's just his personality. And so trying to
adapt that for myself has made things a lot easier.
(31:32):
And so as you you know, are going through this,
try to make you know something that you know. Like
I said, I am one of the few guys I
know that enjoy grocery shopping. So if you're the type
that doesn't like it, try to figure out something that
makes it interesting for you and then get some enjoyment
out of it. Don't make it such a task. Anyway.
We'll pick this up on the other side of the break.
(31:53):
Kevin Gordon, America struck a Network seven hundred WLW run
a business and not thinking about radio. Think again, because
more people are listening to the radio on iHeart today.
This is America's trucking Network seven hundred wlw IM Kevin Gordon,
(32:15):
pentanching off this SMP Global US Service Sector PMI pursuing
Manager's Index. And you know, like the other day this story,
the summary is off to the side, its smaller print,
and it's in a gray background, and unless the light
hits it right, it's kind of difficult to read. So
(32:35):
I pulled out the flashlight on my phone and shined
it on here, and guess what, it's easier to read.
Business expectations about the year ahead have also fallen sharply
and are now running at one of the lowest levels
seen over the past three years, as signs of spending
caution from customers is accompanying the heightened political and economic uncertainty. However, however,
(33:02):
listen to this. Where have you heard this before? Lower
interest rates have helped offset some of the drags to
the business confidence, for which the October FOMC, that's the
Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates
will have helped and helped further. Again, interest rates is
(33:24):
what's keeping this come, this economy back. It is pulling
on the reins. People are wanting to get out, and
the economy wants to explode. The fact that our interest
rates are double what they are in some of the
more democratic and westernized, westernized economies. You know, you look
(33:46):
at Japan, you look at the European Union, you look
at the different markets. Their overnight market or interest rate
is around one to one and a half percent, ours
being at three point seventy five to four, even though
they're bragging about, oh, we've lowered interest rates by a
quarter percentage point, Well, these other countries have lowered at
(34:07):
times by a full half a percentage point or a
full percentage point to get it down in that range,
which is exactly where we should be. One of the
things that's going to be spurring the economy along here
is that we're starting to see a little bit of
how should we say, not a break, but a falling
of the relationship between China and the United States. We're
(34:31):
seeing that as a result of Trump being over in
South Korea and meeting with Jijingpeng and then being face
to face and kind of hashing out some of the
differences on these tariffs and what's going on China. China
buys the first cargoes. Well, actually, let me back up here.
Back at the end of October, the story came out
(34:53):
China buys first cargoes of US soybeans this season. Beijing
had shun the US soybeans so far this export season,
using the commodity as a bargaining chip. Well, that has
kind of gone by the wayside, and they are now
back to buying our soybeans. China's appetite for US soybeans
(35:15):
may be tempered as the world's second largest economy struggles
to RecA regain growth momentum, limiting demand for animal feed
and food. Moreover, Beijing's long term strategy to diversify suppliers
and reduce the reliance on US is expected to remain
in place. But what they're mentioning here in here is
(35:37):
that the quality and the availability of soybeans from other countries.
They tried to switch purveyors or providers of that and
found that that ability to get that wasn't quite as
reliable as the American pipeline is concerned. So that has
(35:58):
created some problems for them, and now they're back to buying.
Then the following week, on November third, China seeks to
buy US wheat for the first time this year. Major
grand importer in Asia's largest economy made inquiries over the
weekend for US cargoes. China hasn't purchased any American week
since October of last year, according to the US Department
(36:21):
of Agriculture, but now they are open to doing that.
Beijing is committed to open its market to US agriculture exports,
according to a fact sheet related to the White from
the White House, then the other Actually yesterday morning, I
saw this article which kind of summarized that up. Beijing
will also lift export controls on some American firms. China
(36:45):
announced that we'll remove retaliatory tariffs on some US farm
products and lift export controls on an array of American firms.
After Washington had in cut and half the fentanyl related
levies on Chinese good well, the levees were put in
place there to encourage the Chinese government to cut down
(37:06):
on the supply of the items that are used the
chemicals and stuff the components that are used to make fentanyl. Now,
there was an agreement back in twenty sixteen where Trump
had asked Jijingping, you know, in his first term, to
get a handle on that and eliminate that. He said
(37:27):
he would, but he didn't. And that's one of the
things and one of the reasons that these Liberation Day
on April to second, that Trump was so adamant on
making sure that these retaliatory teriffs went to China again
because of the fentanyl influx into this country, because these
(37:49):
items are shipped overseas, put together in either Canada or Mexico,
and then flood into the United States and kill upwards
of two hundred thousand of our citizens every year, poisoning us.
And the fact that they said they were going to
stop it back in his first term and they haven't
(38:10):
kind of makes you a little pissed off, I guess,
And so holding the line on that, insisting that they
actually enforce what they said they're going to do. And
a lot of people have said, you know, when they
make treaties with China, China never lives up to the
individual treaty. They never hold up to their promises. This
from a country where they never want to admit that
(38:31):
they're wrong. That type of society or that mentality is
that when they do something, even if they know they've
made a mistake, they've got to figure out some way of,
as they say, saving face, to make sure that they're
not embarrassed. So what does it say about a society
(38:52):
or the leader of that country that says, I will
stop allowing these companies and these proper to be manufactured
and shipped overseas that kill your population, and then the
fact that they don't follow through with it. Where is
the saving face on that? Where is the concern about
(39:13):
the embarrassment of your word doesn't mean anything. But apparently
this time around, hopefully it will come about. China is
going to suspend twenty four percent suspend twenty four percent
US tariffs and maintain a ten percent for the year.
So they're lowering their terriffs down. There'll still be a
ten percent tariff in place. Hours later, Commerce Ministry said
(39:38):
it would remove fifteen American firms from an export control
list while taking ten other firms a US company's off
its unreliable list. They go into the different scenarios here
in terms of let's see where they're reducing because they're
reducing them not across the board, but on certain products.
(40:00):
It's interesting how they are specifically targeting certain items that
they're going to remove the tariffs and reduce those retaliatory tariffs.
So it appears as though things are coming back to
normal between US and the Chinese government. Now, let's take
a look real quick before we get out of here,
as far as oil and gas prices, because there's been
(40:24):
this discussion and there's been this talk that we're going
to have an oil glut because of overproduction and so on.
But what we're seeing is that the demand is there,
and the volumes are decreasing, the inventories are decreasing and fluctuating,
(40:48):
and there seems to be no sign of a glut,
even though the OPEC plus is indicated that they're going
to increase their production by one hundred and thirty seven
thousand barrel over the you know, each month over the
last few months, but it's not really seen its way
(41:08):
into the publics anyway. Let's gets go through the numbers
real quick. West Texas intermediate crued currently is fifty nine
dollars and thirty seven cents of barrel. That's down twenty
three cents a barrel or thirty nine cents. Brent crude
currently is sixty three dollars and thirty cents a barrel.
That's down twenty two cents now. Just since the first
of the year. West Texas intermediate crude is down seventeen
(41:30):
dollars fifty two cents of barrel, or twenty three percent.
Brent crude is down sixteen dollars and sixty cents or
twenty one cents of barrel, which is good news. Gasoline,
on the other hand, we're not quite seeing the reductions
that i'd like to see. I think our gas prices
should actually be about ten to fifteen percent lower than
what they currently are. Anyway, a national average across the
(41:51):
board gasoline is currently at three dollars and eight cents
a gallon. Diesel is currently a three dollars and seventy
one cents. Now, as far as what's going on in
the oil markets themselves, oil falls is investors' way potential
supply glut and weak demand. Oil price has declined on
Thursday as investors considered a potential supply glut as well
(42:12):
as weakening demand in the United States and the world's markets.
Global oil prices fell for a third straight month in
October on fears of oversupply as OPEQ and its allies
known as OPEC plus increased output, while production from non
OPEC producers is also going up. Now, what is interesting
is that the previous day, the headline was oil dips
(42:35):
on fear of oversupply, strong US fuel demand. Now the
following day they're talking about weak demand. Now I got
to ask the question, which is it. I mean, on
one day you're talking about that there's going to be
this over demand, and then the next day it's not
so very interesting, and it doesn't make sense from day
(42:57):
to day. Sometimes well, folks, we're up against clock time
for a scoot out the door. Hope you have a
great weekend. Stay tuned for ATI Radio at the top
of the hour. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck in Network
seven hundred WLW
This is America's Truncking Network with Kevin Gordon.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Wullhema more. Thanks for tuning in on this Friday morning.
Who says nothing good happens after midnight, I mean, for
crying out loud. I want to correct something. Yesterday we
were talking about the horrible plane crash down there in Louisville, Kentucky,
the ups cargo plane that exploded the way. The description
(00:31):
from the press conference and some of the stuff that
I was reading indicated that the plane had actually taken
off and was maneuvering around. But digging into it and
reading more into what was going on, it was actually
taxiing and it went up, turned a corner, turned left,
and then turned left again and then went to take off.
(00:54):
But somewhere along the line, as it was starting to
take off, the engine caught on fire and fell off,
and then the plane started tumbling and then exploded and
went into those buildings. So it never really got airborne,
and I kind of gave the impression. Well, I did
give the impression yesterday, but it was based on bad
(01:16):
information as far as the news reports coming out. So
I just wanted to clarify that we got some numbers
yesterday that we didn't have a chance to watchally the
day before yesterday, we didn't have a chance to get
to US. Service sector activity accelerates at the fastest pace
since February. And this is all good for the trucking
industry itself, because the more the goods are moving, the
(01:41):
more goods are manufactured, the more availability then obviously, the
more freight is going to have to be carried. And
if the economy is doing well, if spending is up,
if you have in your mind that you know that
the spending is up and that there are increased orders,
that the freight volumes are continuing, that things are going
(02:02):
to go well, and eventually we will get through the
end of this trucking recession. And it's amazing how long
this has gone on. And you that have been involved
in the trucking industry for a number of years have
gone through the different cycles and whatnot. You know that
the trucking or any type of trucking recession usually lasts
(02:25):
anywhere from twelve to fourteen months thereabouts, But we have
basically doubled that to this point now that we're actually
into the third year of a trucking recession, and there
are signs that it's improving. There are signs that volumes
are picking up. And I don't hate to say it,
but where we have had this invasion from the southern
(02:48):
border and where we've had unqualified, non English speaking drivers
out on the highway presenting a safety hazard, safety concerns
for the entire driving public, that as those are being
pulled off, and I've seen numbers in the range of
(03:10):
about seven thousand that have been taken off the road,
and we're not hearing about that. Oh well, you know
there's you know, we've heard for years that there is
a driver shortage, and you have told me at the
Mid America Trucking Show, and every time I've talked to
you individually, you've told me that that's a bunch of crap,
(03:32):
even though ATA and all these different organizations keep talking
about a driver shortage, and you keep emphasizing to me,
and if you you've said this before, that we're more
worried about the not necessarily the number of drivers, but
qualified drivers. And we have seen instances of that English
(03:53):
language proficiency. Two horrible accidents within the space of a
couple of months, one in Florida, one in California, where
three people died each one of those accidents, and those
are the ones that really get reported. Those aren't the
ones that go get swept under the rug. And the
fact that this has been allowed, the fact that there
(04:14):
are companies that would literally put the safety of the
American public ahead of not only qualified drivers and and
being able to earn a living, but at the expense
of the driving public out there with unqualified drivers and
drivers that don't know what the heck they're doing and
potentially causing accidents. I don't understand how people in business,
(04:40):
people that are running companies have such low ethics and
you know this care well. I guess they shouldn't be
surprised by that. If you if you look at what
the federal government over the last four years had done
under the Biden administration, allowing an invasion of somewhere between
ten to twenty million illegal illegal aliens coming into this country.
(05:07):
Now America being a melting pot and being a shining
beacon on the hill. People have always wanted to immigrate,
immigrate to the United States. But where you are absolutely invaded,
you're not permitted, and you don't vet people, you're going
(05:27):
to get people into the country that are less than
have our best interest at heart. Generally, when you had
immigration in years past, you had people that yearned to
be here. They had heard that there was a better
life here. They heard that they could work, work hard
(05:49):
and attain something and gather wealth, and so they were
attracted to the country. But they came here through legal means.
They went through the ports of entry, applied for citizen
they you know, did the citizenship exams, took the exam,
and had a pride and a love of this country,
even though in some instances, like my ancestors, the Irish,
(06:12):
they weren't treated so fairly when they came over here.
There were some Italian immigrants that weren't necessarily treated so well,
Chinese immigrants and of course African Americans weren't treated so well.
But there was a certain amount of love of country
that you that you appreciated being here and that you
worked through all that adversity to where you came out
(06:33):
on top, and that you were in charge at that point.
And the assimilation of the Italians, the African Americans, the Irish,
whole nine yards of being able to assimilate into a
melting pot is what made this country great. But when
You've got people that are claiming or or clamoring as
(06:55):
far as protests that they, you know, don't want the
image creation laws enforced, that they want to protest against ICE,
and they're waving Mexican flags or other flags. I mean,
for crying out loud, you have come here claiming asylum,
claiming that your life was at risk in another country
(07:18):
and came here and claimed asylum, and now all of
a sudden, you're showing your loyalty to the country you
escaped from. How horrible was that country that you are
now waving that flag. So I'm going off on a
tangent here, But again, when you look at what's going
on in the trucking industry and you look at the
people that are being weeded out at this point, and
(07:40):
especially starting with the people that don't have English language proficiency,
and the fact that that has been a regulation that's
been in the FMCSA handbook all these years and was
just not enforced. It was a out of service a
type of violation, but it just wasn't being enforced. And
(08:01):
the fact that that is now coming into play should
decrease what, or at least the perception of or the
overcapacity that we have and this, like I said, this
whole nonsense and I and it's becoming clearer and clearer
how much we werelied to in terms of, yeah, there's
this driver shortage, that we need to have more drivers,
(08:21):
that we need more people in here. Well, you know,
there are different ways of doing that. If it were
in fact true, you would you go out and you
recruit people, You recruit people from schools, you do technical colleges,
you go to different things. Or if in the case
the way the H one B visa were supposed to
be implemented, that you have a situation where somebody has
(08:43):
a qualification or has a specialty that they are good
at that we don't have American workers that can do that,
and so you bring them in. But that program has
been so abused. There were way if there were in
fact driver shortages, there are ways getting around that, in
ways of doing it other than the way it's been.
And the people that have done this, the people that
(09:05):
have ruined the industry, the people that have ruined basically
created even more this trucking recession. There needs to be
some consequences. But anyway, we've got us service sector activity
that has accelerated at the fastest pace since February. We'll
talk about that coming up. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's struck
(09:26):
a Network seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
I need this is the raething repard on America's Drugging
Network on seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Looking ahead of the racing weekend, Formula One will hold
the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. Also in Racing news,
IndyCar held a two day test involving Scott Dixon and
Alexander Rossi at Phoenix Raceway as the NTT Series set
the race there in twenty twenty six. Seven time NASCAR
Cup Series champion and Legacy Motor Club owner Jimmy Johnson
(09:56):
will return to the Cup Series next June, competing in
the Cup Race during the inaugural San Diego Weekend. Are
you planning to attend the one hundred and tenth running
of the Indianapolis five hundred byre tickets now and save
ticket fees are being waived on items purchased before January fifth,
twenty twenty six, Penske Entertainment and Gamebridge Insurance Company has
(10:17):
announced a multi year sponsorship agreement as Gamebridge will continue
to be the presenting sponsor of the Indianapolis five hundred.
The NHRA has announced special plans to honor veterans during
its annual Veterans Day celebration at the sixtieth Annual In
and out Burger NHRA Finals next weekend in Pomona, California.
For more information, check it out at NHRA dot com.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
This is the briezing report on America's drugging network on
seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Have a nice weekend, SEG.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Dennison, a t N.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
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the cost to every veteran who gave their own. Your
courage fuels our future. Seven hundred WLWN. Aim Surplus say
thank you.
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(11:28):
the top every network.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Seven hundred WLW as promised, let's get into this US
service sector activity, because again, as I started off in
the previous segment, that if you've got adequate business activity,
that is going to mean more volume, more freight for
you to haul out there. And if you have in
the back of your mind that the economy is strong
(11:50):
and you don't have to worry about whether or not
you're going to be able to put food on the table,
that's got to give you a certain peace of mind.
And I'm people ask me a lot. You know, well,
people have asked me in the past. They've said, you know,
why do you concentrate You do concentrate a lot on
the economy, and it is a trucking show. And I said, well,
you know, how do you separate the two. And we
(12:12):
had that survey from the American Transportation Research Institute last
week or a week before where we were talking about
that survey that was out there. The number one priority
of truckers is the economy. And so if the economy
is strong, and if you were getting the right numbers,
if you're getting the right information rather than some of
(12:33):
the crap that's out there. And I am very proud
of the fact that here on America's truck and Network
we dig through the information, I dig into the numbers,
I look at the stories, and how many times have
I talked about that the story itself doesn't match the headline,
or the headline doesn't match the story, whichever way you
want to look at it. And I have talked at
(12:56):
nauseum about how it appears is that the spoonful regurgitators
in the mainstream media are trying to talk down the
economy and trying to manufacture recession. And you know what,
We're just not going to have any of it. We're
going to know what the facts are. I'm going to
present you with the facts. I'm going to prevent I'm
going to provide you with the available information so that
(13:17):
we know where things are headed. And one of the
areas that people are always concerned about is again the
volumes and what is going on. As far as the activity,
US service sector activity returned to growth as new orders accelerated,
despite concerns about among firms surrounding the government shut down
and tariffs. A monthly survey said this past Wednesday, the
(13:41):
Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers index for service providers
climb to fifty two point four in October from fifty
in September. That's a two point four percent increase in
that survey, reaching its highest point since February. That meant
it moved above the no change mark after September's one
(14:03):
month stagnation. Economists pulled by the Wall Street Journal had
expected it to only be fifty point five, so they
missed it by a full one point nine percent. It
came in at fifty two point four, and the so
called experts said it was going to come in at
fifty point five. Now what is interesting is that marks
(14:26):
the thirty third successive month that that number has been
above fifty. So that's a good sign, and that is
showing steady what you want in an economy. You want increases.
You want, going back to my days as you know,
being a recovering accountant, when you're looking at businesses, you
(14:47):
want to see a trend up and you want to
see increases on a regular basis. You want to keep
your revenue up, you want to hold your costs down,
and you want more profitability. And you're always seeking new
customers because you're if you if you don't go out
and seek new customers, you're going to just as a
matter of attrition, lose a few and if you're not
(15:09):
moving ahead, you're actually moving backwards. You just cannot stay
in one place and stand in one place in the
economy and expect things to go well. You always have
to go out there and push. You've got to go
out there and seek those additional opportunities because once those
opportunities are gone, they generally don't come back. So the
(15:32):
fact that the economy is moving along, that you've had
thirty three months of numbers above fifty percent of fifty
is a very good sign and it shows a steady economy. Again.
You don't want dips and valleys. You don't want you
don't want peaks and valleys. You want a nice, steady
upward growth. Okay, digging into this a little bit more,
(15:54):
the index for new orders rose to a highest level
since October of twenty twenty four, while the business activity
index also expanded. Employment contracted, but not as sharply as
in September, the survey said, which is good news. Steve Miller,
chairman of the Ism Service Business Survey Committee. While there's
(16:17):
no indication of widespread layoffs or reduction in force, the
government shut down was mentioned several times as affecting business
activity and generating concerns for future layoffs. Now again, as
the federal government has closed is shut down, the government
does buy things, They do buy supplies, they do buy
(16:41):
things that are in the economy have to be brought
into the federal office buildings. At the same time, the
employees themselves are earning a paycheck and when they go out,
they spend that in the economy. Now, I've made the
point on this program a couple of times that I
would prefer to see more jobs created in the private
(17:04):
sector rather than in the government, because government jobs are
not although they add to the economy, although the paycheck
is there. They buy houses, they buy clothing, they buy food,
They stimulate the economy and all that. But that economy
is being stimulated by us because they don't get the
(17:24):
they don't get that pay because they're generating revenue, because
they're selling a product, they're selling a service or whatever.
All they're basically selling is regulation and aggravation for us.
The people out there working, So they're not a they're not,
in my opinion, which would consider a productive member of
(17:45):
society because they're not creating things, they're not manufacturing anything,
they're not servicing anything. So even though their pay is
being spent, that pay comes as an expense to us
because they're confiscation our wealth in order to pay for
these employees. So the fact that they're not getting paid
(18:05):
will have an effect on the economy, but probably will
be short lived simply because once these workers come back,
they are paid back pay, they get their money, They
get the money back. I mean it's paid retroactive, so
they're not going to be out any money. It's just
shifting it from one month to another. And you know,
(18:25):
again with bills paid. But I've noticed that as I'm
paying my credit cards, as I went to pay the
mortgage the other day, there was this pink or red
or whatever pop up that said, are you being are
you are you being affected by the government shutdown? We
have ways of working with you in order to overcome
(18:47):
that or to get past that. So the credit card companies,
the people that you owe money to, the whether you know,
might be a little tougher if you're renting, but as
far as mortgage is concerned, the banks generally will work
with you in these instances. So you know, it's not
like you're going to get tossed out in your ear
(19:09):
because the government is shut down for a month, and
you know that ripple effect. Now, if you're laid off
someplace at a business for a month, you don't get
that pay. You have to file unemployment and collect that
to keep make ends meet. But being called back, Once
these workers are called back, they're going to get their
back pay retroactive. So it's not as dire as the
(19:32):
people in the mainstream media would tell you. Uncertainty due
to federal government shutdown has shuttered many non essential functions.
This will lead to project delays likely hurt our overall.
Fiscal year twenty twenty six. The industry survey eight eleven
reported growth last year last month rather one more than
in September, while the number of reporting contraction decreased from
(19:55):
six to six from seven according to their numbers, let's
see here. Meanwhile, the index for prices was the highest
since October of twenty twenty two, highlighting continued inflationary pressures. Now,
what I mean hearing in the aftermath of the elections
is the fact that people were dissatisfied or it was
(20:16):
a pushback on Trump, because Trump said that he was
going to come in and lower prices and that he
was going to rein in inflation. Well, you know, when
you have inflation of three percent the previous year and
you're holding it at three percent, that to a certain
extent is a success. I would like to have seen
(20:39):
some of the prices come down. But as we've discussed
on this program numerous times, when you have contracts being
signed with ups Teamsters, when you have the auto workers contracts,
railroad contract it's being negotiated to dock workers, what those
big increases in those pay those are going to have
(21:02):
a ripple effect through the economy and that is going
to cause price increases. So some of this price increase,
some of this inflation has to do more with salaries
than it does increase in the actual commodity price itself.
Coming up, we've got we'll finish up this particular story
and dig into some more Kevin Gordon America Struck a
network seven hundred WLW.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Here's your trucking forecast for the Try State and the
rest of the country and the Try sit over nightclouds
increase the low down to forty three showers in a
possible storm into the mid afternoon Friday, then a chance
of showers in a possible storm, a high of sixty four,
mostly Sunday Saturday high of sixty three, rain shower Saturday
night with mostly cloudy skies and a chance of shower
Sunday a high of only forty seven. Nationally colder temperatures
(21:53):
will be felt to the northern plains in the ever
Midwest by Saturday. On Friday, some strongest severe storms will
be possible from the Gulf coast of the Ohio Valley. Meanwhile,
dry conditions will continue from the desert southwest to the
southern plains.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Seven hundred W LW. I'm Kevin Gordon. This is American
instruct A Network. If you missed any of our segment
surround on our show, hit up that iHeartRadio app. Of course,
that's brought to you by Rush Truck Centers. We had
this I been talking about this SMP Global US Service
PMI Purchasing Manager's Index. And it's interesting that the previous
(22:29):
we had the service sector the other day, or the
Manufacturing Purchase Remanding Manager Index in the manufacturing index in
the manufacturing sector, I should say they It was interesting
that the stories that were coming out about that didn't
match what the actual survey said. And I pointed out
(22:52):
yesterday that you had the S and P Global US
you know, whatever survey it was that or the manufacturing
surveing that they came to a conclusion. But the report
on the report was different and there are some key
pieces in this in the summary Chris Williamson, Chief Business
(23:14):
Economists at S and P Global Marketing Intelligence, October Final
PMI data add to signs that the US economy has
entered the fourth quarter with strong momentum. Growth in the
vast services economy has picked up speed to a company
(23:34):
and improve approved performance in the manufacturing sector. Now, the
previous day was the manufacturing sector, so there's been improvements
there and the service sector is catching up to that.
Let's see in total business activity is growing at a
rate commensurate with GDP, rising at an annual pace of
(23:56):
around two point five percent. Now, I think that that
number is off because if you look at some of
the other things, the fact that we were in the
third quarter at three point eight percent, at two point
five percent, we are still expanding and they've been talking
about expansion. So I'm still holding to the fact that
(24:18):
at the end of the fourth quarter we're going to
be seeing a gross domestic products somewhere in the neighborhood
of four point five to five percent, So I disagree
with him in his summary there after. Similarly, let me
see after a similarly solid expansion signal in the third quarter.
(24:38):
While growth is being driven principally in the financial services
and tech sectors, the survey also picking up signs of
improved demand from consumers. However, there are signs that new
business is coming at the cost of the service providers
having to soak up continued high input costs. Customers are
(25:01):
often pushing back on price it rises, especially in the
consumer facing consumer facing markets. Now, that is the way
it should be. The fact that there is so much
and I've got a note here off to the side
where I said that that so many times we have
(25:23):
this need for an instant gratification. If I want it,
I'm going to buy it. There's none. And I've mentioned
this before that again, I one of the few men
I know that actually like going to I actually love
going to the grocery store. Well, I like it now.
I used to really love it, But since the pandemic,
(25:46):
things have shifted around a little bit, and with some
of the availability of stuff and products not being carried
by our local store. It is a little aggravating and
it's not as much fun as you to be, but
it's still fun for me. But anyway, I am not
into this instant gratification. I've mentioned before that I in
(26:09):
the store, I will check prices because if you if
you do it often enough, if you do it every week,
a couple of times a week or whatever, when you're
needing stuff, you kind of know in the back of
your mind, or at least I do that what the
prices are and if there's something I'm looking for or
something I'm interested in, like you know, you think, oh,
gee wiz, I'd like to have this for dinner, and
you go in and you see the price that's higher
(26:31):
than what you want to pay for it. Basically look
at it and say, well, I'm gonna shift gears here
and eat something else. Because I notice that with the
grocery prices at least where I live, is that they
will go up and they will go down. There's kind
of like a three week cycle where one particular week
they're down and then they're up for going to go
(26:53):
back up for a couple of weeks and then come
back down on sale. I notice this in coffee prices.
I know, with with milk, they will put you know,
the gallons on sale one week, and they'll put the
half gallons on sale the next week. There'll be some
of these loss leaders that they put out there, stuff
that people want to buy, that will bring people into
the store, which means that they have to walk through
(27:15):
the store and hopefully they buy other things other than
what they came into the store for. You know the
old saying, you know, I went in for a gallon
of milk and I came out with fifty dollars worth
of food. So you know, you have that factor going
into there. But I am not into instant gratification. I'm
not the first one in line to get the latest
and greatest tech a tech toy. There are certain things
(27:37):
that I'll wait on a particular price. I mean there
are there. Well, I'll give you an example. There was
a sport coat that I wanted and this particular clothing
store had it on sale, and supposedly it was going
to be there for a couple of days. I must
(27:57):
have misread it, but to the I guess the fine
print it said it was only going to be on
sale till one o'clock in the afternoon and I got
there at two o'clock. And I've been wanting that jacket
for well for a couple of years, and I just thought, well,
you know, I'll get around to it. When I get
(28:17):
around to it. It was at a great price, but
it was up a higher price. I still wanted it,
but I want't going to buy it. I waited till
the following year to buy it. And you know, it's
much more satisfaction to me rather than the instant gratification
of obtaining this particular item right here, right now. The
gratification for me is getting it for the price that
(28:40):
I want it and think it's a fair price to
pay for it. So you know, that's just the way
I am. It comes to do with like I said,
with grocery prices. There are certain times, if you know
the cycles, you're going to have certain items that are
going to be on sale, and when you go into
the store, if they're not on sale, well I just
don't buy them. And there's always something in there that
(29:00):
is something I like to eat, and so I'll move
over to that particular right now. But but again I'm
not you know, I've seen in the in the store
as I'm as I'm going through, I'll see people walk
up and just grab something, not even paying attention to
the expiration date on it, not paying attention to the
price of it, just go up and grab it and
(29:22):
toss it in their grocery cart and go on. I'm
pretty sure that they're going to pay the price later on,
because I know a couple. I know a couple of
friends that do that. And I brought up one time
with them about some of the some of the produce
and stuff that you buy, and they said, I can't
tell you the number of times I brought stuff home
(29:44):
and then the next couple of days it's all. It's
it's all, you know, mushy and rotted and I and
I've mentioned to him, I said, well, do you check
the expiration dates when you buy? No, I'm just go
on and I grab it. Well, a lot of times,
you know, they've got to rotate that stuff out, and
the stuff that's expiring is upfront, reach in the back
and grab something that's a little fresher, it lasts longer.
(30:05):
You don't throw so much stuff out. And it's just
one of those things that I've always done, and stuff
that I picked up I mentioned that I used to
go grocery shopping with my father who was in that business,
and wanted to see where his products were placed in
the store, etcetera. I've talked about that story before, but
I picked up these buying habits in the shopping habits
from him. He always, you know, my dad was one
(30:27):
of these guys that always kind of made a game
out of everything. You know, he took enjoyment out of
everything he did. He went into it with a positive attitude.
And I heard somebody call it making a game out
of it. It was Donnie Osmond. They were talking to
him about I was watching an interview with him, and
(30:48):
he was talking about how, you know, trying to have
this positive attitude and that you know, things that are
a grind, things that are you know, you have to
do or whatever, and he said, I try to make
a game out of it. I try to see if
I can get it done quicker than I did before,
or I try to do it in a different way
or attack it a different way. And I thought, man,
(31:09):
that's exactly how my father was. He was one of
these guys that always had a very positive attitude, and
would you know, it was very difficult to shake him.
It was very difficult to get him out of a
good mood. It's just his personality. And so trying to
adapt that for myself has made things a lot easier.
(31:32):
And so as you you know, are going through this,
try to make you know something that you know. Like
I said, I am one of the few guys I
know that enjoy grocery shopping. So if you're the type
that doesn't like it, try to figure out something that
makes it interesting for you and then get some enjoyment
out of it. Don't make it such a task. Anyway.
We'll pick this up on the other side of the break.
(31:53):
Kevin Gordon, America struck a Network seven hundred WLW run
a business and not thinking about radio. Think again, because
more people are listening to the radio on iHeart today.
This is America's trucking Network seven hundred wlw IM Kevin Gordon,
(32:15):
pentanching off this SMP Global US Service Sector PMI pursuing
Manager's Index. And you know, like the other day this story,
the summary is off to the side, its smaller print,
and it's in a gray background, and unless the light
hits it right, it's kind of difficult to read. So
(32:35):
I pulled out the flashlight on my phone and shined
it on here, and guess what, it's easier to read.
Business expectations about the year ahead have also fallen sharply
and are now running at one of the lowest levels
seen over the past three years, as signs of spending
caution from customers is accompanying the heightened political and economic uncertainty. However, however,
(33:02):
listen to this. Where have you heard this before? Lower
interest rates have helped offset some of the drags to
the business confidence, for which the October FOMC, that's the
Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates
will have helped and helped further. Again, interest rates is
(33:24):
what's keeping this come, this economy back. It is pulling
on the reins. People are wanting to get out, and
the economy wants to explode. The fact that our interest
rates are double what they are in some of the
more democratic and westernized, westernized economies. You know, you look
(33:46):
at Japan, you look at the European Union, you look
at the different markets. Their overnight market or interest rate
is around one to one and a half percent, ours
being at three point seventy five to four, even though
they're bragging about, oh, we've lowered interest rates by a
quarter percentage point, Well, these other countries have lowered at
(34:07):
times by a full half a percentage point or a
full percentage point to get it down in that range,
which is exactly where we should be. One of the
things that's going to be spurring the economy along here
is that we're starting to see a little bit of
how should we say, not a break, but a falling
of the relationship between China and the United States. We're
(34:31):
seeing that as a result of Trump being over in
South Korea and meeting with Jijingpeng and then being face
to face and kind of hashing out some of the
differences on these tariffs and what's going on China. China
buys the first cargoes. Well, actually, let me back up here.
Back at the end of October, the story came out
(34:53):
China buys first cargoes of US soybeans this season. Beijing
had shun the US soybeans so far this export season,
using the commodity as a bargaining chip. Well, that has
kind of gone by the wayside, and they are now
back to buying our soybeans. China's appetite for US soybeans
(35:15):
may be tempered as the world's second largest economy struggles
to RecA regain growth momentum, limiting demand for animal feed
and food. Moreover, Beijing's long term strategy to diversify suppliers
and reduce the reliance on US is expected to remain
in place. But what they're mentioning here in here is
(35:37):
that the quality and the availability of soybeans from other countries.
They tried to switch purveyors or providers of that and
found that that ability to get that wasn't quite as
reliable as the American pipeline is concerned. So that has
(35:58):
created some problems for them, and now they're back to buying.
Then the following week, on November third, China seeks to
buy US wheat for the first time this year. Major
grand importer in Asia's largest economy made inquiries over the
weekend for US cargoes. China hasn't purchased any American week
since October of last year, according to the US Department
(36:21):
of Agriculture, but now they are open to doing that.
Beijing is committed to open its market to US agriculture exports,
according to a fact sheet related to the White from
the White House, then the other Actually yesterday morning, I
saw this article which kind of summarized that up. Beijing
will also lift export controls on some American firms. China
(36:45):
announced that we'll remove retaliatory tariffs on some US farm
products and lift export controls on an array of American firms.
After Washington had in cut and half the fentanyl related
levies on Chinese good well, the levees were put in
place there to encourage the Chinese government to cut down
(37:06):
on the supply of the items that are used the
chemicals and stuff the components that are used to make fentanyl. Now,
there was an agreement back in twenty sixteen where Trump
had asked Jijingping, you know, in his first term, to
get a handle on that and eliminate that. He said
(37:27):
he would, but he didn't. And that's one of the
things and one of the reasons that these Liberation Day
on April to second, that Trump was so adamant on
making sure that these retaliatory teriffs went to China again
because of the fentanyl influx into this country, because these
(37:49):
items are shipped overseas, put together in either Canada or Mexico,
and then flood into the United States and kill upwards
of two hundred thousand of our citizens every year, poisoning us.
And the fact that they said they were going to
stop it back in his first term and they haven't
(38:10):
kind of makes you a little pissed off, I guess,
And so holding the line on that, insisting that they
actually enforce what they said they're going to do. And
a lot of people have said, you know, when they
make treaties with China, China never lives up to the
individual treaty. They never hold up to their promises. This
from a country where they never want to admit that
(38:31):
they're wrong. That type of society or that mentality is
that when they do something, even if they know they've
made a mistake, they've got to figure out some way of,
as they say, saving face, to make sure that they're
not embarrassed. So what does it say about a society
(38:52):
or the leader of that country that says, I will
stop allowing these companies and these proper to be manufactured
and shipped overseas that kill your population, and then the
fact that they don't follow through with it. Where is
the saving face on that? Where is the concern about
(39:13):
the embarrassment of your word doesn't mean anything. But apparently
this time around, hopefully it will come about. China is
going to suspend twenty four percent suspend twenty four percent
US tariffs and maintain a ten percent for the year.
So they're lowering their terriffs down. There'll still be a
ten percent tariff in place. Hours later, Commerce Ministry said
(39:38):
it would remove fifteen American firms from an export control
list while taking ten other firms a US company's off
its unreliable list. They go into the different scenarios here
in terms of let's see where they're reducing because they're
reducing them not across the board, but on certain products.
(40:00):
It's interesting how they are specifically targeting certain items that
they're going to remove the tariffs and reduce those retaliatory tariffs.
So it appears as though things are coming back to
normal between US and the Chinese government. Now, let's take
a look real quick before we get out of here,
as far as oil and gas prices, because there's been
(40:24):
this discussion and there's been this talk that we're going
to have an oil glut because of overproduction and so on.
But what we're seeing is that the demand is there,
and the volumes are decreasing, the inventories are decreasing and fluctuating,
(40:48):
and there seems to be no sign of a glut,
even though the OPEC plus is indicated that they're going
to increase their production by one hundred and thirty seven
thousand barrel over the you know, each month over the
last few months, but it's not really seen its way
(41:08):
into the publics anyway. Let's gets go through the numbers
real quick. West Texas intermediate crued currently is fifty nine
dollars and thirty seven cents of barrel. That's down twenty
three cents a barrel or thirty nine cents. Brent crude
currently is sixty three dollars and thirty cents a barrel.
That's down twenty two cents now. Just since the first
of the year. West Texas intermediate crude is down seventeen
(41:30):
dollars fifty two cents of barrel, or twenty three percent.
Brent crude is down sixteen dollars and sixty cents or
twenty one cents of barrel, which is good news. Gasoline,
on the other hand, we're not quite seeing the reductions
that i'd like to see. I think our gas prices
should actually be about ten to fifteen percent lower than
what they currently are. Anyway, a national average across the
(41:51):
board gasoline is currently at three dollars and eight cents
a gallon. Diesel is currently a three dollars and seventy
one cents. Now, as far as what's going on in
the oil markets themselves, oil falls is investors' way potential
supply glut and weak demand. Oil price has declined on
Thursday as investors considered a potential supply glut as well
(42:12):
as weakening demand in the United States and the world's markets.
Global oil prices fell for a third straight month in
October on fears of oversupply as OPEQ and its allies
known as OPEC plus increased output, while production from non
OPEC producers is also going up. Now, what is interesting
is that the previous day, the headline was oil dips
(42:35):
on fear of oversupply, strong US fuel demand. Now the
following day they're talking about weak demand. Now I got
to ask the question, which is it. I mean, on
one day you're talking about that there's going to be
this over demand, and then the next day it's not
so very interesting, and it doesn't make sense from day
(42:57):
to day. Sometimes well, folks, we're up against clock time
for a scoot out the door. Hope you have a
great weekend. Stay tuned for ATI Radio at the top
of the hour. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck in Network
seven hundred WLW
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