Ever had that heart-sinking moment when you're slapped with an overweight load fine? Well, strap in, because I've got a tale of a close shave that could've turned my wallet into roadkill. And, while we're keeping things real, let's talk brass tacks about the new Illinois bill that's threatening to lighten truckers' pockets. With over 4,000 downloads in two weeks, I'm not just sharing my on-the-road sagas; I'm bringing the latest trucking news straight to your ears. From a crucial international road check reminder to a promising survey that has carriers cautiously optimistic, we're covering it all with the candidness you've come to expect.
But wait, there's more than just personal anecdotes and legislative rumbles. Have you felt the tension rise with the 46% surge in cargo thefts this year? It's not just about the goods; it's about our safety and the ripple effect on the economy. That's why I'm here to arm you with the knowledge to stay vigilant and prepared. Plus, I'm committed to keeping our content tight and timely, with thrice-weekly episodes that respect your need for brevity and substance. So whether you're looking to stay informed, be entertained, or just find a familiar voice on those long hauls, I've got your back. Welcome to the family on the road—where every update and piece of advice is tailored for you, the lifeline of our highways.
Ever had that heart-sinking moment when you're slapped with an overweight load fine? Well, strap in, because I've got a tale of a close shave that could've turned my wallet into roadkill. And, while we're keeping things real, let's talk brass tacks about the new Illinois bill that's threatening to lighten truckers' pockets. With over 4,000 downloads in two weeks, I'm not just sharing my on-the-road sagas; I'm bringing the latest trucking news straight to your ears. From a crucial international road check reminder to a promising survey that has carriers cautiously optimistic, we're covering it all with the candidness you've come to expect.
But wait, there's more than just personal anecdotes and legislative rumbles. Have you felt the tension rise with the 46% surge in cargo thefts this year? It's not just about the goods; it's about our safety and the ripple effect on the economy. That's why I'm here to arm you with the knowledge to stay vigilant and prepared. Plus, I'm committed to keeping our content tight and timely, with thrice-weekly episodes that respect your need for brevity and substance. So whether you're looking to stay informed, be entertained, or just find a familiar voice on those long hauls, I've got your back. Welcome to the family on the road—where every update and piece of advice is tailored for you, the lifeline of our highways.
Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
Speaker 1:
Hello drivers and welcome to Roland 18 podcast. I'd like you to visit my website at roland18podcastcom. Remember that Roland is not rolling, does not have the G, but you will find me all over Google. I am amazed at the amount of attention those algorithms are giving me. I must be doing something right. We're well over 4,000 downloads in two weeks. I'm amazed by that. I'm really pleased and I'm glad I can provide you, drivers, with pertinent information that you rely on every single day on the road. Now the first thing I'm going to get to is the road check reminder. The international inspection is set for May 14th through the 16th, so it's very important.
Speaker 1:
During this high-visibility, high-volume commercial motor vehicle inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative, it is imperative that you get all your oars in the water, because they will inspect commercial motor vehicles and drivers at way inspection stations, at rest areas, at truck stops. Temporary sites are being set up all over the nation and mobile patrols to verify compliance with federal, state, provincial, I guess, and territorial regulations. I don't know why we don't just all over the nation and mobile patrols to verify compliance with federal, state, provincial, I guess, and territorial regulations. I don't know why we don't just all call them cities, towns and states, but they don't. So I guess that's part of the deal. But anyway, the other day, two days ago, I was pulled over by the state patrol in Iowa on Highway 330, and I knew I was underweight, but this was a pickup truck, so I knew they were going to scale the wagon. They did Everything, came back clean, they didn't find nothing and I was pleased with that. It's always good to be pleased when you know you're within weight. But the ironic thing is the next load that I picked up was about 400 pounds, over 80,000, so I got off scot-clear on that one. So remember, inspections stations, vehicle enforcement. It's going to go full throttle in two days and it's going to last for two to three days. So you guys, watch out for that.
Speaker 1:
Now this next story provided by CDL Life is a proposed bill that charges $8 per semi-truck leaving intermodal yard in Illinois. Illinois is like a lot of them other cities and states that have such outrageous taxes, and I always thought that our federal dollars paid for the roads and, you know, for roads to be redone in cities and towns across America. But I guess I was wrong. Now the intermodal yard charge of $8, and the bill says it can be anywhere from 50 cents to $8. I don't know what the difference is going to be. We'll have to get into it a little bit more by reading the bill, and I will but the proposed bill would allow counties to charge semi-trucks up to $8 just for hauling goods from an intermodal yard in Illinois. And that means on your way out you pick up a container or whatever. You're going to be paying that fee to get out of there and I don't. I've never understood taxes. They've made it so complicated, federal and statewide, that we can't understand it. Anyway. We almost have to go to a CPA to get everything done.
Speaker 1:
This proposed bill, brought forward by Illinois Senator, rachel Ventura, would allow municipalities and counties to charge semi-trucks carrying goods from an intermodal yard to Illinois between 50 cents and eight dollars. Now they say they have the highest truck traffic. That may be true, but the point I'm trying to get at is this is ridiculous and they get so much money from so many different things and I think what Illinois is doing, like a lot of other states are doing they're reducing the taxes for their citizens, but they're raising the taxes for the people that deliver the citizens' goods. They're finding other avenues to go after mainly people out of state and then reducing the burden on their constituents. It's a smart move if you're a politician. It's a bad move if you're a truck driver, because we're already having so many troubled times in this industry and now to be hit with another charge. Now this bill is pending, so it hasn't passed yet, or anything.
Speaker 1:
You guys look forward to another bill. You know, whether it be 50 cents or $8, there's still more money that comes out of your pocket. And you know how it is when you go into a big city. You go to get yourself a chicken and fries basket or a soda. Prices are going up drastically.
Speaker 1:
My brother went up to the Northeast. He ended up paying 40 something dollars for lunch. You know fast food, lunch, lunch he can grab from behind the counter and then leaving. He didn't even realize it until I got to the register and it was crazy. The amount was just horrific. He bought it anyway because he didn't have the time to deal with it, but, man, it pissed him off for several days and I do not blame him at all.
Speaker 1:
Now there is some good news Truck Stop and Bloomberg. Their survey reveals hope in the rise of spot rates. This is off the truckercom. It's a news story and I found it to be really interesting because carriers are showing some optimism about freight rates, and this includes the carriers, the companies, the owner-operators, everybody, the brokers and that is according to the latest Bloomberg truck stop survey. The survey, which polled owner-operators and small fleets, revealed sentiment among North American carriers operating in the truckload spot market has improved over the past three months, which is good, because our next story is not good about what happened in the last three months. There's always a yin and a yang to everything. Now, according to them, despite 62% of the carriers reporting lower freight volume in the first quarter, 33% freight demand to increase in the next three to six months, only 19% predict freight demand to decline in the same time frame, which represents a 12-point percentage decline versus the fourth quarter survey. This is encouraging news, simply because of the fact that the companies are going to struggle less, the owner-operators are going to struggle less, things are going to start getting better, and you can almost expect that in an election year. Anyway, we've only got a few more months left and somebody's going to be voted president of the United States and if everything continues the same, we're in trouble If we get some new blood in there and they do something differently, that could help out. It could be great, but either way the balance beam could fall either way, so I'm not going to keep my hopes up.
Speaker 1:
Politicians generally do not care about the general public, especially the national politicians. State politicians are a little different, but even then they get greedy and they do things that cost everybody a lot of money. The survey revealed a majority of carriers believe better times are around the corner with truck stops market demand index up nine percent in the first quarter from last year. This represents the first year-over-year gain after seven quarterly declines. That's huge. Only 26% of respondents expect rates to decline over the next three to six months, six percentage points less than in the fourth quarter survey, while 28% see rates rising Six percentage points more than in the fourth quarter. More money means a stronger economy, a stronger company.
Speaker 1:
I've always said drivers that we have to do our, our due diligence to keep up on this stuff. And you say what do I got to do with this? I just work for a company. You know truck drivers are a dime a dozen. I don't really care as long as I get paid. That's not true. You need to keep up on this stuff. One day you may want to become an owner operator. One day you may fall in love with the company you work for and don't want to go anywhere, and you want to retire, and when everything hits the fan, it's going to break your heart. You don't want to invest your time and all your energy in a company that's going to end up going under because of some change in the market. You want to keep up on this stuff. You want to make sure your company's strong, and the best way to do that is for things like this and then also for you to be the best employee you can be so that your company can make the profit they need to make, you know be substantial. Otherwise, they're just going to fold it and close the doors and you're going to park the truck. Nobody wants that, that's for damn sure. Now I'm not sure where most of you guys deliver to. We're truck drivers. We deliver all over the United States.
Speaker 1:
When I first started driving, I was running, you know, southern California all the way up to Washington State. Then I expanded out and started going more east. Then I started doing the western half of the United States. Then I started running LA to Philly and I just went all over the place. I hit all 48 states in my time. I have been off the road a little over three years. I work for a farm. Now. I do pull about 500 to 600 miles per night because I work from noon to about midnight, one in the morning. I'm never anywhere where I have to be exposed to what I'm about to tell you, but the wave of cargo thefts has grown up 46% over the first quarter of 2023. These stats just came in by the way. Now that is crazy.
Speaker 1:
The surge of cargo thefts, often by elaborate fraud and identity theft schemes, plaguing the truck industry continues to mount. And don't think this doesn't affect you, because it affects everybody, even if you're driving a four-wheeler, because you're talking a total loss in the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 of 76 million 29 207 dollars. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, criminal activities impacting the logistics and transportation industry reached new heights, even amidst the sustained crime wave that began in late 2022. Cargonet said in a statement that it documented 925 incidences, marking a substantial 46% increase compared to the first quarter of 2023. So even 2023 was high. There was a 10% rise from the fourth quarter of 2023. That's a lot of money, ladies and gentlemen. The average stolen shipment value in the first quarter of 2024 was $281,000, almost $282,000, while the declared total value was $76 million.
Speaker 1:
Once again, it's getting crazy, and you know when they steal something, it also brings danger to you, because if they happen to do it and you get caught in the middle, you might just die, and that's crazy. Always be aware of your surroundings, always, because you never know when these sort of things are going to happen. Now, the cool story is the vast majority of thefts are done online, through fictitious paperwork and things like that, where a guy actually makes a legitimate delivery and then that merchandise is stolen from some warehouse that closes down two days later. I'm not sure exactly how that works. We know the stories, we've seen the movies. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:
There are times when trucks are hijacked, trailers are hijacked and, let's say, you drop a trailer somewhere. They know that trailer's filled with very high valued computers or whatever components auto parts, truck parts. You go to leave. They go to swoop in to steal that trailer. You turn around and come back because you forgot something. They catch you. You look at them. They don't want to be identified. Boom, you're gone. I know it's a morbid story, but it has to be told because you guys have to be safe out there. We all have to be safe out there.
Speaker 1:
The average stolen shipment value, they said, was almost $282,000. That is the average shipment value across events, without a declared value. Cargonet estimates a total of 154.6 million worth of goods were stolen during this period. Now, while reported events increased in most states, the most significant spikes were observed in California. Of course, their three highest states was number one California, number two Illinois and number three Texas. Who would have thought? Now I can understand California and Illinois, because those people are a little bit I don't know whimsy. You know, they just don't. They don't let the law enforcement do what they're supposed to do. But Texas, you know they're always bragging about how tough they are, how big things they build. Uh, you know, it doesn't make any sense to me why they don't just come out guns and blazes anymore. But it must be some policies that have changed in those cities that cater to the criminals and then that way the the law enforcement doesn't engage with them the way they should. People do not do things like this if there's a severe consequence, and that goes for any human being in the world.
Speaker 1:
Now I want to thank you guys for listening to Rollin' 18 Podcast. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I also want to let you know that as time goes on and things get more populated, with more downloads and I am going to work on getting six sponsors they're going to be very brief sponsors so they're not going to take up a lot of time on the podcast. You're not going to have to listen to several minutes of advertising or anything like that. It's going to be sponsors that are going to promote the show or sponsors that are going to sponsor the show, and I will mention one in the beginning and one at the end, but it's not going to be for a while, so don't worry about it. But I really do appreciate you folks tuning in to this and listening.
Speaker 1:
They're not that long. Eventually they'll become a half hour long because we want to get the pertinent information out there, but we are starting off at 15 minutes because that's the way we want to do it. We don't want to bore you with stuff that doesn't matter. We want a good show and that's the way we're going to do it. You guys have a great day and, as always, god bless, be safe and keep it between the lines. Driver, thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast. Visit our website at wwwroland18podcastcom. Remember we have a new episode every Monday, wednesday and Friday. Be safe out there, drivers. We love all of you.