FreightCasts Weekly Recap (9/7-9/13)

WHAT THE TRUCK?!?

• The future is now with J.B. Hunt’s Shelley Simpson
  • Dooner and The Dude talk with J.B. Hunt’s Shelley Simpson about advancing opportunities for women in the supply chain, the company’s all-electric truck pilot program with Walmart, and 9/11. Alan Adler breaks down the Hindenburg Research report on Nikola Motor Co.; how valid is the short seller’s scathing screed? And how one owner-operator is using mackonomics in his quest for 10+ mpg.
  • Plus, SONAR-powered data and freight flows, and news regarding the strong pricing power for carriers carrying on, more drug busts at the border, Tesla’s Battery Day, Peloton’s big gains, wind toppling trucks, and the return of the NFL.
  • This episode features Shelley Simpson, chief commercial officer and president of highway services at J.B. Hunt Transport Inc; Jamie Hagen, owner-operator of Hell Bent Xpress LLC.; and Alan Adler, Detroit bureau chief for FreightWaves.
• Women moving America
  • Dooner and The Dude talk with women who are moving America. From university classrooms to the cabs of big rigs, a whole new generation of leaders is emerging in the supply chain.
  • Plus, SONAR-powered data and freight flows, the trucking industry adding jobs, Prime vs. Prime, and Bad News/Good News concerning Safe Driver Week, Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza, and Disney’s Mulan.
  • With music from The Haraway Brothers.
  • This episode features Lisa Ellram, distinguished professor at Miami University; WIll Haraway, founder of Lead Coverage; Ingrid Brown, owner-operator of Rollin’ B; and Kalissa Carver of “Big Rig Barbie.”

Carrier Summit

• Wavestalk: The driver wages rollercoaster
  • For-hire truck drivers are mostly staying with their employers at current pay during the coronavirus pandemic. They are eager for stability in an uncertain time.That is the finding of the National Transportation Institute, which tracks driver pay and retention through surveys of hundreds of fleets.“Turnover is at record lows at most fleets we survey,” Leah Shaver, CEO of the Institute, said during a WavesTalk on the second day of the virtual FreightWaves Carrier Summit on Thursday.Unlike 2018, a banner year for driver pay as spot rates soared amid super-heated freight demand, 2020 shows “no meaningful upward movement” in driver pay. Sign-on bonuses are unnecessary because fleets aren’t doing a lot of recruiting. Two years ago, many drivers jumped from carrier to carrier to collect the cash. Driver turnover reached 100%.
• Fireside chat: Dedicated to improving customer supply chains through integrated solutions
  • The coronavirus crisis has forced Ruan Transportation Management Systems to become more creative and flexible in responding to customer needs. Customers, in turn, are more willing to try new services they would have shunned before, the company’s president says. “We’re finding some more efficient or lower cost ways of doing things that perhaps were taboo in the past,” such as centralized billing or on-site support, “and perhaps exorcising some demons,” President Dan Van Alstine said Thursday during the virtual FreightWaves Carrier Summit to FreightWaves President George Abernathy.

• Fireside chat: Military hiring initiatives
  • Veterans who become truck drivers — and the carriers that hire them — discover that there’s a lot in common between serving in the military and driving a big rig, according to JIm Morbach, vice president of field and government recruiting for Werner Enterprises (NYSE: WERN).Morbach was interviewed by Matt Beach, vice president of sales for SeatMyTrucks, to discuss military hiring in a virtual fireside chat that was part of the FreightWaves Carrier Summit on Thursday.
• Fireside chat: M and A activity in trucking
  • During a virtual fireside chat at the FreightWaves Carrier Summit on Thursday, FreightWaves Chief Strategy Officer JT Engstrom and Spencer Tenney, president and CEO, Tenney Group, discussed the current interest in trucking deals.

Supply Chain Spotlight

• Supply Chain Spotlight – Greg Sanders, CEO, RDS Logistics Group
  • Greg Sanders, CEO, RDS Logistics Group joins FreightWaves President George Abernathy for this edition of Supply Chain Spotlight. Supply Chain Spotlight is a biweekly show on FreightWavesTV that highlights our industry’s thought leaders. The show is hosted by JT Engstrom and George Abernathy. Watch Listen on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on Spotify.

Midday Market Update

• Will Uber Freight Link change the way we manage freight?
  • Kevin Hill and Michael Vincent talk about the SONAR-powered data, issues and news that move you.
  • They’re joined by Bill Driegert, head of operations and co-founder of Uber Freight; Greg Miller, senior editor at FreightWaves; Anthony Smith, lead economist for FreightWaves; and Zach Strickland, director of freight market intelligence at FreightWaves.
  • This is a live interactive event, with viewers encouraged to comment and call-in during broadcasts Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12PM ET on FreightWaves Linkedin and Facebook, channels.
• What Badger partnership means for Nikola and GM
  • Kevin Hill and Michael Vincent talk about the SONAR-powered data, issues and news that move you.
  • This episode features Anthony Smith, lead economist at FreightWaves; Alan Adler, Detroit bureau chief for FreightWaves; and Eric Kulisch, air cargo editor at FreightWaves.

Put That Coffee Down

• Selling on reputation
  • Tim Dooner and Kevin Hill discuss the bad reputation brokers get and how they can improve their image. Defy expectations, build trust, and keep customers for the long haul are logical steps.
  • They’re joined by special guest Liz Wayne, founder and president of Able Transport Solutions.
  • Plus, listener feedback, advice and community building!

Freightonomics

• No days off
  • Anthony Smith and Zach Strickland discuss the latest Logistics Managers’ Index results with guest Dr. Zac Rogers, as well as what is driving continued tightening in the domestic freight market.

Great Quarter, Guys

• Who got the better end of the Nikola-GM deal?
  • Kevin Hill and Andrew Cox joined Ben Gordon, managing partner and CEO of Cambridge Capital and BGSA, to discuss the importance of the Nikola-GM partnership. We also debated whether there will be demand for exoskeletons in warehouses, as well as the role SoftBank plays in the current tech “bubble.”
  • Thanks as always to our friends at CarrierDirect for their research contributions.

Drilling Deep

• StayMetrics data digs into driver retention during pandemic
  • Tim Hindes is the CEO of StayMetrics, a company that offers data and recommendations to trucking companies on retaining drivers.
  • But StayMetrics also has shared insightful data with the industry on the level of retention and his firm has a new data series, the Stay Days table. Coming several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a fascinating look at whether drivers stuck around through the heavy demand period of March, the weakness of April, and the strong rebound since. Hindes joins Drilling Deep host John Kingston on this week’s show to discuss.
  • Hindes also discusses his views on race in the trucking sector.
  • We also take our weekly look at oil and diesel prices, where all the arrows are now pointing downward while freight rates aim higher, a nice combination for drivers.

On The Spot

• Trucking set up for a strong finish to 2020
  • FreightWaves Director of Research Zack Strickland speaks with Associate Editor JP Hampstead about contracted freight.

FreightWaves Morning Minute

• Monday-Friday
  • The fastest minute in freight.
  • The top headlines from FreightWaves.com every weekday morning. Available on FreightWaves.com/podcasts, your favorite podcasts player and Alexa by adding the skill “FreightWaves.”