IS TRUCKING FINALLY AT THE BOTTOM? NOT SO FAST | Brake Check

Charles Gracie (0:00)

Welcome back to The Loading Zone.

Jacob Thomas (0:02)

Today's deep thought, trucks have big wheels.

Charles Gracie (0:24)

Six dollars and fifty three cent diesel. Weak rates, too many trucks, but don't worry. The recovery is coming. Cool. When? Because your fuel bill isn't waiting. Your insurance isn't waiting. Your truck payment is damn sure not waiting. And every month, trucking plays the waiting game. Your money keeps disappearing. So today, we're following the money. When do you start betting on trucking again? And until that day comes, how the hell do you keep enough cash to get there? Think about that. See, we're going to talk about that today, because our first guest is going to be John Larkin of Venture 53 Decades reading freight cycles, balance sheets and where smart money moves before everybody else sees it. Are we finally at the bottom? How many more trucks have to disappear? And if John had one million of his own money, where does he put it today? Then after that, we're going to switch gears because Jacob Thomas from AtoB is in the house and at $6.53 diesel, saving a few cents isn't cute anymore. It's survival. Where are you overpaying? Where is cash leaking? And how much money could be sitting right underneath your nose? One guest is telling us when to bed. The other one is telling us how to survive until that moment. This is Brake Check, I'm Charles Gracie, and it's time to go full stop. Now, on top of all of that fun stuff, if you're trying to keep more money, run smarter and stay ahead of the nonsense in trucking, then make sure to hit the like, subscribe and follow on FreightWaves for your top freightcast, trucking news and the conversations with actual teeth. Make sure to do that and while you're at it, make sure to get in the room where conversations are happening, where the real FreightWaves is made. Because F3 is coming up right here in Chattanooga. Use promo code BREAKCHECK to save almost 50% on current pricing. That's right, code BREAKCHECK and we'll see you in Chattanooga. Now, before we get to today's show, I want to go to a message from our sponsors because, well, we got to give a shout out to Apex. We got to make sure that we're showing them some love where you have better options, better solutions, and better services with Apex Factoring at apexcapitalcorp.com.

But now, it's time for our daily pile up.

All right, and up first, well, we're going to show you what it looks like to be a pro. Unlock a certain skill level when you're driving a 13.6 height vehicle underwater in a tunnel like this guy right here.

But then, we're going to talk about what it's like when you're not a pro, like this guy right here. And I don't believe you can park there.

So, we're talking pros and not pros. Let's see another example of a pro.

Now that we covered that, I just want to make it known to everyone out there that you could reach out, send us your video, send us anything that you think is important, and we'll possibly feature it right here on the Daily Pile Up right here, Brake Check. But now it's time to go into our guests, because we got Jacob Thomas here. And listen, we're going to talk about the part that every carrier gives a damn about right now. How do I pay less for fuel? Jacob Thomas runs a merchant partnerships over at AtoB, where fuel cards, payments, and cash flow all eventually collide with the same thing, your cost per mile. Diesel is north of $6.50. Margins are getting murdered and suddenly saving $10, $20, or even $0.40 on a gallon isn't pocket change anymore. So, Jacob, forget the sales pitch. Show me where the money is hiding. Jacob, it's time for your Brake Check moment. Welcome to the show.

We got you. How are you doing, buddy? I'm doing good, man. How are you?

You know, it's a live show, travels, whereas, well, not what they were planning to be. I spent a lot of time sitting at an airport, waiting to get out of the airport to never leave the airport. So, the show must go on.

Jacob Thomas (6:10)

Yeah, I heard about some travel delays and saw you did a nice post about it. That's never good.

Charles Gracie (6:17)

Yeah, well, hey, you know, you roll with the punches. If anyone knows about rolling with the punches, it's trucking because we've been taking them for some years now.

Jacob Thomas (6:26)

Yeah, that's true, man. We've been taking them for years. And hey, it's not just diesel fuel that's up. It's jet fuel that's up too. So who knows? Maybe that maybe that flight delay due to that fuel cost.