Radio Recap: getting on board the final ELD deadline, transparency and more

FreightWaves Radio’s tenth national show was broadcast on Saturday, April 27 on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Channel 146. Unlike other industry-specific radio shows that often have particular messaging or lobbying aims, FreightWaves Radio is an independent, data-driven look at what’s really going on in the freight world, and the episode proved just that. Hosts Chad Prevost and John Kingston kicked things off from both the SiriusXM studios in Rockefeller Center in downtown Manhattan, and from the Freight Alley studio in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Quotable from Rustin Keller, CEO and president of J.J. Keller and Associates:

“I can just give you our own personal example, when the first mandate [for ELD compliance] went through in December of 2017, our call center went from 400 calls a day to 4,000 overnight. That was a lot of people trying to get devices and get set up for the original mandate, but if people don’t get on top of it [switching from AOBRDs to ELDs], and they wait until late November, early December, I think they’re going to be calling into companies who don’t have the capacity to help them with the transition either in the back office, or help them with training or questions, so I would definitely not wait that long.”

Quotable from Chad Bobblett, independent owner-operator and founder of Rates per Mile Masters Facebook Group:

“Public shaming, that’s kind of a harsh word, it’s just bringing reality, it’s done in a professional way. We’re keeping it to the point, and a huge part of the people that are in my group – I would say above 30 percent of the people – are broker agents. I’ve held speeches at the TIA and DAT for brokers…They keep a close eye on what’s happening. So, yes, social media has shook a nerve with those big brokerages too.”

Quotable from Greg Price, CEO and cofounder of Shipwell:

“True transparency comes when you know who your network is. You’ve got the people, process and technology to manage it. It’s going to give those folks outside gains, and everyone else is going to be left behind. That’s what I think about when I think about transparency. It’s connectivity, and it’s alignment on the people and the processes and the technology that you use to run your supply chain.”

Quotable from Mark Solomon, FreightWaves managing editor of markets:

“Amazon recognizes that this [one-day guaranteed shipping] will be a challenge. It will be more difficult, at least at the outset, to build sufficient density. Density is based on time. The longer you have, the more opportunity you have to build density on your routes. Going from two days to one day will make it harder for Amazon to build the density it needs to make this a viable service right off the bat.”

Quotable from Brian Straight, FreightWaves managing editor:

“Adding the range is so important to the trucks, but it’s also important to note that when Nikola launches its hydrogen model, they’re also going to release a battery electric model. CEO Trevor Milton understands that the hydrogen model is not going to work in every application, so they want to have those options available to companies that just want battery electric. They don’t anticipate those orders being more than 20 percent of their sales.”

The FreightWaves Radio show will keep on coming live to you each and every week from 3:00-5:00 p.m. EDT on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Channel 146. If you can’t tune in then, the show is also replayed on Saturday from 9:00-11:00 p.m. EDT and then again on Sunday from 7:00-9:00 p.m. EDT. Also, the show is available for two weeks via SiriusXM’s on-demand feature. Join the discussion on all things freight and see how so much connects to transport and the movement of goods.