‘Live From Exit 24’ dives into infrastructure bill

November 12, 2021

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Do you have questions about the recently passed infrastructure bill?

Host Mike Matousek, OOIDA President Todd Spencer, OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh and Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of government affairs, will break it all down on the next “Live From Exit 24”

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 5. It reauthorizes surface transportation programs for five years and invests $110 billion in additional funding to repair roads and bridges, as well as other projects.

Share your thoughts by calling 317-67-OOIDA (317-676-6432) at 7 p.m. Central time on Nov. 17, to be a part of the next “Live From Exit 24.”

Every other Wednesday, OOIDA’s live, hourlong internet talk show brings insightful discussions on the regulatory and legislative issues that matter to truckers.

Listeners can tune in to the show on the “Live From Exit 24” website, OOIDA Facebook page, OOIDA’s YouTube channel, iHeartRadio and Apple Podcasts.

Past episodes are archived on the show’s website.

On the Nov. 3, “Live From Exit 24,” the broker-carrier relationship was expounded upon.

Matousek, Pugh and Ken Lund, vice president of logistics from the Allen Lund Co., a national transportation brokerage firm, provide perspective to the discussion.

“Truckers and brokers don’t often have the best rapport with one another,” Pugh said. “Everybody messes up once in a while. Sometimes we don’t get along because we don’t even understand what the other is doing. And that’s why Ken agreed to come on and give the broker perspective. My hat’s off to him for doing this.”

Based in California, Lund detailed the current issues facing his state – many of which affect the entire country.

“We’ve really tried to fight on behalf of the carriers especially,” Lund said. “You can’t regulate all the trucks from existence. The people in California need food and products as well. With what’s going on at the ports now, we’ve been pushing those kind of issues for years. Now you just have all the photographs or videos of all those ships out in the ocean. A lot of that is overregulation.”

In addition to supply chain and a whole host of issues, COVID-19 exacerbated the use of contracted rates, which is common practice for brokers today.

“It was a tough time because no one knew what was going to happen – the rates just crashed,” Lund said. “25 years ago, there were very few contracted rates. Now, a lot of what brokers have to do is put in year-round or quarterly rates. So when the rates shoot back up we’ll go upside down on a lot of the rates. That becomes a strain on the relationship with the shipper. We can weather that for a while, but not for an entire quarter or six months. At the same time, the drivers couldn’t go into restaurants or get food. A silver lining was people realized how important drivers and all those involved in the supply chain are.”

Another factor in transparency is that brokers sign nondisclosure agreements when entering into a contract with large shippers, Lund said.

“It is information we have to be careful with, and in some ways we cannot disclose,” Lund said.
To that, Pugh posed the question of requiring a carrier to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
“We have 45,000 active truck lines in our system, and that’s a lot to add onto it,” Lund said. “It’s been OK to just handle that on a case-by-case basis for us. We’re willing to talk to any carrier about any issue.”

Certain dispatch services, which Lund classified as double brokers, also can damage a broker’s reputation, Lund said.

“A legit dispatch service that’s only acting for the carrier is fine,” Lund said. “We’ve just asked for some definition to make sure they are acting as a dispatch service and not crossing the line and acting as a brokerage. Everybody has to know each other’s roles.”

Lund closed by encouraging drivers to use the brokers as a resource as they can often negotiate issues faster.