Get your spot now…

I'm tepidly optimistic, and agree with 90% of what @Ridgeline posted.

The FMCSA and DOT need to quickly implement change for the reasons he stated, and I don't hang hopes on that happening, and if so, not for a while.

 

I love you bro. But - it's @Chinatown if you want him to see that.

 

This is from Freightwaves Leader. Wrote up very nicely. I see it being one of two ways myself depending on what all is done. It will either create a short term shot to bring in stuff and raise rates for that period and than slow down. Once the big boys understand how to play the game it will be sent to a friendly country or made here in the states. If we get lucky it will bring back manufacturing and more people can do better here in the states. It will take some time to ramp up production in the states but it is a free market and will do much better for everyone here in the long run. Especially our young generation.

Tariffs on retail goods don’t directly dictate the final price consumers pay.
When products are imported into the US, the importer is charged a tariff based on the declared value of those imports, not the marked-up retail price consumers will eventually pay.
This means tariffs don't factor in additional costs like labor, marketing, logistics, or rent, nor do they include the margin retailers attach to the product.
The declared value is usually a fraction of what consumers see on the shelf.
The markup might be only 5% for big-ticket items like cars, while it could be as high as 500% for luxury goods.
Most retail goods have markups of over 100% over their declared value.
Importers have several options when dealing with tariffs:
Absorb the Tariff: They can take the hit from their profit margin.
Find Alternative Suppliers: Moving production to another country that the US has friendlier import terms.
Raise Prices: If the above isn't viable, they might increase product prices.
If cheaper alternatives are found, sourcing shifts there.
Otherwise, depending on the market's willingness to bear the cost, importers might either absorb it or pass it on through higher prices.
Suppliers also have the same considerations.
Since the US is the largest market globally, risking a sharp decline in demand from all US importers will force manufacturers to lower prices to keep their goods attractive to US importers, offsetting some of the costs of tariffs.
Ultimately, demand limits the amount that can be charged. If prices are too high, sales will be lost.
Targeted tariffs on China are wise, as they encourage importers to look for suppliers in countries friendlier to the US or invest in domestic production.
As demand for Chinese exports wanes due to tariffs, Chinese manufacturers must cut prices or face going out of business.
The beauty of the modern supply chain is its agility. Given enough time, sourcing is moved to lower costs and higher reliability.
This adaptability is not a flaw; it's a feature of global economics.

 

You're the right guy to contact whoever replaces Pete Buttigieg as head of the Dept. of Transportation.
While you're at it, stress the problem of not enough truck parking.

 

Nope, not me, I would like to see someone who has more practical experience being an owner/operator as head of the fmcsa. Not a fleet owner.

 

Everything will turn around in our industry when the working class has more disposable income, or inflation becomes deflation. However that comes about.

 

The administration we are about to get let the ELD mandate go through even though they could have stopped it. Don't think for a minute that we are going to get any more than a tiny token of deregulation in the industry.

 

The ELD mandate was part of a funding bill in 2012. It would take a literal act of Congress to make it go away. Or I suppose an executive order from the president, but then the next one could come and undo that. And flip flopping regulations depending on who’s in power probably isn’t the best way to go about things.

 

Who else stumbles across short video clips of supertruckers prouding up on all these “high dollar” loads?
“You gots to get into this bidness bruh!”

always some new faces looking to work for no money.

 

Exactly.
There was already a big effort to get a EO on it but it was ignored. Anything to do with safety he was onboard with and his fmcsa appointment cemented that fact.

“safety, not the inhibition of business, is the goal of the ELD mandate.”