This is America's truck and Network with Kevin Gordon, one.
Of the more Thanks for tuning in on this Wednesday morning.
You know, last week we started seeing.
Well, in the last couple of weeks, we've been seeing you know, the news in review looking back in the past, some of the top stories and where things were in terms of what they had expected at the beginning of the year, where they were versus the end of the year. Now this week we're starting to see stuff about well, what is twenty twenty six going to bring? And you know, based on their estimates for last year, I'm not so
sure that we can really depend on those. But what you can depend on is at N because we have been right more often than they have been right. But let's just go. Let's play the game and see what they have to say. Market uncertainty to follow trucking into twenty twenty six. Now, Eric Starks, the chairman of FTR Transportation Intelligence, he's having his predictions in here. One of
the things kind of skipped to the chase here. I think the best case scenario would be a flat market into quarter one, but you could see noticeable softening quarter one into quarter two if we start seeing substantial layoffs and consumers pulling away. Well, we haven't seen any examples
of that so far. We haven't seen any hint of that happening based on what we've seen as far as retail sales, what we saw as far as gross domestic product in the third quarter, and we're also anticipating now what we're going to be seeing the gross domestic product in the fourth quarter coming up here in the next few days. Complicating outlooks starts note is a lack of capacity of certainty on how long stable environment would need to be in place to instill calm in the marketplace,
not going to require any time at all. Once they're are standard, once the playing field is known, and once people know what's going on, it will go pretty rapidly, because let's not forget the fact that we are rugged individualists, not the crazy crap that we're getting out of Mondani in New York that we want to have collectivism and all that.
It's a story for another day.
He suspects business will remain cautious on investing, especially when it comes to equipment and technology. Yeah, centering around interest rates, which we should see a break in that come May when the new FED chairman is installed, and hopefully this guy will be a supply side economist and get the economy moving with lower interest rates. And I may want to interject here that our interest rates are twice what
they are in other developed countries. So if we get those down, we'll see an economic boom and businesses expanding, employees getting hired, and so on. This could contribute to tough for operation conditions in the first part of next year, according to him. Chris Rogers, head of supply chain research at S and P Global Market Intelligence, let me see the story of terrorists.
Is over, he says.
We still have to have a decision from the Supreme Court about the International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs that President had implemented, whether they're legal. They're going to make that determination, and if they're not, what will replace them. There's a whole lot of national security tariff reviews still going on, covering electronics, medical supplies, machinery, and critical minerals.
I will be very disappointed with the Supreme Court if they're stupid enough to rule against the Trump administration, because by all accounts, these terroifts have been good. They've been a good generator for the American public plus, it levels the playing field, it makes it more fair trade instead of just free trade.
And they ought to understand.
And you know, I got to tell you, you know, when it comes down to law and it comes down to interpretations. I have seen on a personal basis and with clients that I've had in the past, that you can have all the facts on your side, and you can even have the law on your side, but when it comes to certain decisions, certain people, like Kentucky Supreme Court several years ago, took a look at a situation that was clearly being violated by a non governmental.
Entity that was collecting taxes.
But they looked at it from the standpoint that, well, gee whiz, if they've got to go back and refund and do that and these other not only that particular county, but like eighty eight other counties in Kentucky, that would be a headache and a nightmare. So they just took a pass on it and said well, and their determination was that you know, everybody knew based on.
What the law was, that they were wrong.
But the comment from the Supreme Court was, well, the Institution did the good faith effort in following the law and I'm telling you. From that point on, I kept saying, you know, I'll tell you what next time. I you know, if I ever pull up to a stop sign and I rolled through it and I get pulled over, I'm going to tell the cop. Hey, look, I made a good faith effort to stop there. Oh, I made a good faith effort to keep my speed not overspeeding. And you know, with that kind of method, maybe I could
get by with it now. But this is what their ruling actually said, that they had made a good faith effort. So, you know, politics aside and whatever, what's good for the country. These tariffs have been good for the country. If the Supreme Court knows what's best, they will go ahead and side with the Trump administration. Just one man's opinion there, and of course, you know I have an opinion. I'm
not afraid to use it. SMP Global in twenty twenty six outlook side of these legal challenges surrounding Trump's use of the i EPA, which again is International Emergency Academic Powers Act in settlling terraiffs, specifically as it relates to implementation of Section two thirty two duties. This Section two thirty two provisions of the Trade Expansion Act empowers the use of levies to address imports that are deemed a
threat to national security. Trump has used this rule as the basis for most of the tariffs, and I think he's dead on as far as that's concerned, but the legal interpretation has been challenged.
With the ongoing cases.
Working their way through the courts, legal determinations are expected to be finalized in early twenty twenty six. Trade policy that has nothing to do with terriffs also expected to remain in flux as twenty twenty six arrives, according to Rogers, and of course that is Chris Rogers, head of supply chain research at S and P Global Market Intelligence. He's saying, the big one is that we're watching, obviously, is to
negotiate renegotiation in the United States Mexico Canada agreement. He said, that's going to be going on throughout next year and should be completed ahead of the US midterm elections. But I wouldn't take that for granted, and then we have
the deals being signed elsewhere in the world. Talks about in this article rule crackdown, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration stepped up enforcement of English language proficiency for truck drivers and titaned scrutiny on issuance of non domiciud commercial driver license threatens long term removal of capacity from the market. While safety stands at the forefront of the effort. The net result could be smaller driver pool that puts upward
pressure on freight rates. This according to Jason Jason Seedel, managing director of the investment banking firm TD Cowen. Now, the purpose of that of cracking down on the non domiciout English proficiency and these CDL mills and getting rid of incompetent drivers and drivers that don't have the skill is a safety issue and keeping insurance rates low, keeping the American public safe and cause less deaths on the highway.
And if it pulls out excess capacity and freight rates start going up a little bit so that these companies can make some money and get things back on a level playing field, that will be good for the economy as well. So they're kind of taking this approach as though it's going to tighten scrutiny and capacity will be taken out of the market. Well, do you want over capacity or you want safety?
You know?
I just people keep taking out the human element in terms of these decisions and what is possibly going to cause havoc around the war, around the trucking industry, and as far as safety on the highway in terms of historic norms. Title notes that the that over the road trucking demand tends to be softer following the holiday season. Of course, we'll see how things pick up in the spring.
US Bank Corporate Payment Systems Jeff Pate, manager of Transportation US Corporate Payment Systems, says fleets that embrace artificial intelligence and ring efficiencies should do a little bit better. And I think that is important as well. When you implement certain areas of artificial intelligence and get those get more efficiencies within the trucking industry, that will pay off. Also,
they talk about possible industry cooperation. Let's see there is much greater emphasis on collaboration and transparency on both sides, leveraging data and technology to make smarter, faster decisions instead of focusing solely on price. So a lot of estimates going into twenty twenty six and coming up we're going
to be talking to in relating to this. As far as the CDLs and illegal aliens obtaining CDO license, we're going to be speaking with Mike Kucharski, co owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, and then I will get into a little bit of our predictions from ATN. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's Trucking Network seven hundred WLW a's America's Trucking Network. My guest is Mike Kucharski. He is co owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, has over thirty
years experienced. JKC Trucking is the largest refrigerated trucking company based out of Chicago, Illinois.
Welcome to the program, Mike.
Nam program again, thank you.
Now, as if a three year freight recession, increasing cargo theft, cyber attacks pushed to during the prior administration to convert the EVS weren't enough, or some of the other EPA restrictions that were there, if that weren't enough, Now we have to deal with illegal aliens obtaining CDLs and in many cases unable to demonstrate English language proficiency. So welcome to the trucking industry in twenty twenty six.
Yes it is. You know what's what's happening out there is? How is this number one? The trucking industries is overregulated, a very hard industry. But you know what's happening out there with.
These non domicile drivers and illegal driving these trucks, you know, is eye opening and concerning because this is a is a serious safety crisis on American roads and pretending.
It isn't happening. No longer is that option.
Because the trucking industry runs on trust from a from a safety standpoint, this kind of enforcement, you know, matters, you.
Know, thinking about it.
Every every morning we put our kids on the school buses, millions of commuters had to work in their cars, millions of families will be traveling up for the holidays.
They and they need they need trust.
And the professional is driving eight thousand pound trucks around them that they can read roadsigns or safety commands and reacting to emergency commercial This.
Isn't about you know who someone is or where someone is from.
It's about whether they're qualified safety, safety operating heavy equipment.
On public grows exactly. And the question, well, actually it's this kind of started. I guess over the last couple of years they were talking about I guess at some of these trucking shows talking about the English language proficiency. That was was a reason for out of service being put out of service, but wasn't enforced during the latter
years of the Obama administration. But at that time there wasn't this invasion from the southern border, so some of these were a lot, I guess more, fewer and far between. But now once we have this invasion from the southern border under the last administration, this has exploded. And then you have states where like California and I think you're in Illinois, that they can actually gain the system, find somebody that will certify them, sign the documents falsely, and
issue a driver's license. It just makes things a whole lot worse.
It does.
It does, And I'm glad you brought the English proficient language because back in the nineteen seventy two is when they made the law saying that English proficiency costruck drivers should English's language.
You must speak English.
That was in the seventies, right, And then twenty sixteen a Bottle orginistation change that role a little bit saying, look, you don't have to be proficient in English, but you could use a device like a Google Translate to to communicate with law enforcement and everybody else.
And that sounded great.
But what they what they did is they took that and they twisted it completely different way. And the drivers that are out there right now speak very little English. And if you want of these videos, there's drivers out there, truck divers making videos of all other truck drivers talking drivers, troopers talking to these drivers, and they speak very little English. And if they do speak English, there's they don't understand
a word or they're giving the completely wrong answer. Ian this is you know, this is alarming because you know truckers.
Truckers are the.
Heartbeat of the American economy and the supply chain. You know, a truckers only move at least only seventy percent of all the goods nationwide. You know, because of the scale and responsibility trucking, his formula recognized as a critical infrastructure to something America relies on every day.
Well, and we saw the example this past summer. We saw that hard genders sing who did that illegal you turned down in Florida, and then another guy by the name of Josh and pret saying no, I don't think they're related, but had that crash he was under the influence and rear ended a bunch of cars out in California and when these fiery crashes happen, and then of
course it gets people's attention. But going back to what was it in April that President Trump did the executive order demanding that English language proficiency be there and that the CDL licensing process be regulated. Sean Duffy then issued a proclamation that this was going to be enforced, and then it was supposed to go into effect or whatever in June. This guy gets pulled over in July in
New Mexico. They did the English language proficiency, let him go, he didn't pass, and then a month later, in less than a couple of weeks later, causes this accident down in Florida. So this is something that the Trump administration has been working on, but there needs to be some cooperation with the individual states and possibly some legislation from Congressman and senators to put some teeth to some of these laws.
Correct, correct, and the whole main the goal of this is is two things. Number One, safety for all the commuters on the road are family.
Members, mothers, fathers, daughters that you know children.
And two, protecting American jobs and ensuring the integrity of our workforce is absolutely centre. Look, my primary concern is always going to be who's behind the wheel. Example, law abiding truckers pay for training, insurance, and compliance, and when others cut corners, it undercuts the trucking and undercuts the truckers doing the right thing every day.
You know, if you look up this.
Year, about twenty thousand trucking companies or studior last year have gone out of business. You know, these truckers are killing the American dream and truckers. You know, for for small business, for small trucking companies like mine, Enforcing enforcement, keeps things honest and fair and protecting the jobs of law abiding citizens.
Well, American jobs first.
Basically levels the playing field, so everybody's playing by the same rules. My guess is Mike Kucharski. He is co owner and vice president of JKC Trucking. So I guess the problem I have is trying to figure out how in the heck a company would hire somebody who doesn't have the qualifications. That's going to shoot up your insurance rates, that's going to put the public at risk. How do
you sleep at night? How do you go through this and know that you're actually with a ticking time bomb out there, and then when this happens, it gives a bad reputation to all truckers. You know, used to be in the dad and my wife talks about this a lot when we're out driving. She said, you know, it used to be that the best drivers out on the
road were the truck drivers. And once in a while you see somebody that really doesn't seem to be that good of a truck driver, but that ruins it for the thirty or so out there that.
Are correct, correct, correct, you know, I mean, I mean, it's crazy what's happened in this country. Let me let me explain to you what's happening and how these people are maybe paying a picture of how these people are getting licenses.
You know, these people are coming to.
Stays like California, where they've set up these trucking companies, well truck driving schools that they'll pay to go to this school. This school will quickly push them through, and they're getting grants from the government to obviously, uh train these drivers usually and then when these drivers get a license, they're brought to a trucking company or a truck lease program where they take these drivers and they say, look, we're gonna lease to a truck, a trailer.
H you're gonna work for us, You're.
Gonna we're gonna deduct the payments every month from from your paycheck. And on top of that, they say, look, I'm giving you a truck and a job.
We're gonna give you loads to two haul.
And these are like, well, these guys are like, this is great, this is the full package. Let you know where do I sign? And these guys all ten nine ten ninety nine. Because truckers should be W two's unless you are independent driver, so they put them in an independent class, which.
Is, you know, rooting for independent drivers.
In my opinion, they're getting these jobs, getting your truck and put on the road with very little experience. And on top of that, these companies are also selling them insurance. And shame on the insurance companies for you know, covering these guys, because for example, if I are a driver, he needs to have two years of experience. These guys have no experience. Obviously they have to I assume, you know, I mean they're looking the other way and then giving them licenses.
You know, So there's.
Insurance, and the insurance area is something to talk about, and we need to take a quick break here and when we come back, we'll pick that up on the other side of the break. Speaking with Mike Keacharski, co owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck in Network seven hundred w L.
We stayed in the rest of the country in the Tri State O but I'm mostly claudy. They'll go down to forty partly sunny Wednesday, a high of fifty three. Thursday, mostly claudy with a slight chance of afternoon rain. Highs in the lower sixties. Rain likely in the morning Friday. Otherwise claudi hies in the mid sixties Nationally through Thursday. Heavy mountain snow expected in the Cascades as well as parts of the interior West in the Northeast State, which
are storm tonight bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain. Meanwhile, well above average temperature scene from the Great Plains of the Appalachians through Thursday.
This is America struck In Network seven hundred WLW. I'm
Kevin Gordon. Continuing our conversation with Mike Kacharski. He is co owner and vice president of JKC Trucking, Before the break, we talked about the insurance angle of this, where you talked about how these drivers who are ill equipped, ill trained, got some sort of I guess a pass or paid off the licensing bureaus and motor vehicles to get the license, go to these companies, get hired to get a lease, option to buy truck or at least i'm a truck,
and then provide the insurance for them. But the insurance companies themselves are probably well, aren't less than reputable, and they will have a bunch of policies out there like this, and if one of them, you know, gets in a major accident, then they just you know, go file bankruptcy and go on from there.
Did I have that correct?
Correct? Correct? Yeah? So there's there's four people to blame.
Number one is that the driver getting the license because he knows that he did not get enough training, got pushed through to get a license too.
I blame whoever gives them the license, whoever part.
Of the DMV, like especially in California where they had the giving seventeen thousand licensed to trug evers.
That had expired work V Size three to blame is the insurance company.
How you mean How could these insurance companies hire these guys when they knew they have zero experience? And for I blame the people that are giving them them the freight. The shippers are giving them the freight that they're not checking to because they're liable if they get an accent, I mean they're they're partially liable to give to give these drivers inexperience, brand new drivers freight.
I mean, we're living in a crazy world.
Now, you mentioned your drivers. You don't hire people that have at least two years worth of experience. Now that could be well, of course, you talk about somebody who comes out of school, a rifidal school, they get the CDO license, then they have to basically partner with another person to where they shadow them or train them on the road for a period of time before they let them loose. Describe that process and you know how quickly is somebody capable of being out on the road or
I guess, I guess there's two pronged question here. You've got in state deliveries or you have interstate deliveries, and of course with interstate, then you go into other areas with different climates, different temperatures, cold, hot, snow, whatever within the individual state. It's a little different than being cross country.
Correct. Just to give me an idea.
So my insurance, my liability insurance company says I cannot hire nobody.
With less than two years driving experience. The insurance companies you know, say that, look, you need two years.
They believe that's enough for them.
For some drivers.
Yes, I believe in my opinion, you know, it takes two three years to be a well run of drivers. But let me let me give you a let me paint a picture. Let's say you and I go truck driving school. We'll be in truck driving school two three months, we'll graduate, we'll get our medical card, and then we need to find a trucking company that will train us.
Further to get this experience, because you mean, all we did.
Is passive drivery TSK. We know the very bare essentials. Now need to get the experience and truck other trucking companies. For example, we have a truck driving program that we ran for Native American Indians.
They would get they would go to truck driving school, and they.
Would come to our shop and we would give them a local job for three months at least ninety days, sometimes one hundred and twenty days of these they would have to they would go with another driver training driver and they would do a lot of local deliveries and pickups so they could get used to accustom, you know, traveling through busy cities, the paperwork. After that, if they passed the local they get used to that.
When we put.
Them on uh you know, regional runs with with with a driver trainer, which is overnight.
They'll go to like let's say we're out.
Of Illinois, they'll run to Michigan, Detroit and the back to get more experience under that out that would be another to three months to do that. And after that we put them on long distance with the tr trainer and after they have a good grasp of that for fwoture months, So that that whole process takes about a
whole year. Right, I'm driving with a trainer, and then when they're good enough, we either let them drive you know, uh locally not locally, well, they could do local, they could do overnight regional, or or we start sending long distance but short long distances so they could get that
under their belt. It takes a long time because you know, truck driving is it's not like jumping your car, You're you're you're traveling through multiple states, you're traveling through elevation, you're running through white out storms, black guys in the summertime, extreme heat. It's it's a very very complicated process. It's not it's not like you know, running into the grocery
store and back. It's you had There's a lot to learn, and even after three years of experience, I mean, I feel tru numbers are still always learning because you know, you things are having there on the road all the time. It's a lifestyle and you have it too, some of a lifestyle and you can't do it in two three months.
We're speaking with Mike Kocharski. He is co owner and vice president of jk C Trucking. So I guess we move into the legislative phase here because there's been a number of bills that have been put out there. One that I've seen, I've read several different bills, but one that kind of peaud my interest was kind of cleverly named No CDLs for Illegals Act. This is done by a representative, Jeff Van Drew from New Jersey.
Of all places.
Of course, he's a Republican in this What type of things do you want to would you want to see in a bill?
Is there a bill out there that you like?
Is there something that you're in support of, because obviously something needs to be done to rain this system in No.
Yeah, so right now we are what's happening with the Department Transportation and Sean Duffy, he's I mean the ability to speak of this hrd A sixty three OCLS for Legals Act. That is what they're redoing is recmenting what ARI was there.
They're saying, look, if you come to this country and.
You don't have a Social Security number, you cannot get a CDL. You need to be you need to have a residence and you have to domicile at least a Green card to get a CDL.
This was always the law until recently, and I don't know what happened.
And what they're doing is they want to do this federally, which is great. And then on top of that, other states are taking other steps. You know, Arkansas last year before all this even surfaced, February of twenty twenty four said look, anybody comes in a state of Arkansas is going to be tested for English proficiency. They made them read some sentences. They would have to write some stuff and describe what they did when they would come to the point of venture of Arkansas.
Texas is taking the same stand. Last night, I was reading the Tennessee saying that if a driver comes.
In that has non domicile license will be put out of service, arrested, and it might face up to jail time in Tennessee. Because we have this internal battle, a lot of states will all states should be going, look, we need safe drivers.
A lot of states are saying we support.
That these drivers should be put out of service, and some states are fighting it. So we have this battle, and I support anything that supports because houses we need safe drivers.
These laws are coming out because we need safe drivers on the roads you know, run.
By legitimate businesses and legitimate drivers. You know, this keeps the American public safe. And when it keeps the American public safe, we all win.
Because right now it's a wild while West exactly.
And I think one of the things about this bill that is kind of interesting is not only does it penalize the driver, but then it penalizes the non compliant states that are allowing these licenses to be issued, targeting them with transportation, with holding transportation funds and also targeting the trucking companies themselves, because again, the people that are putting these dangerous vehicles out there need to be held responsible and until somebody goes to jail, until somebody is
shut down. You know, reputable companies like JKC Trucking with Mike Kocharski as the co owner are going to be I guess beneficiaries of a bad reputation because of the bad people out there driving.
Yeah, what a lot of these dates are doing.
They're forgetting that the federal motor Carrier, Sean Duffy is They're the gatekeeper. He makes the law for all of American we should all follow it. In a lot of these states are saying no, well we're gonna we're gonna look the other way. But they're the gatekeeper regards how was this. The law should be the same from New York to California, wherever you go. You can't just pick and shoes what because it consistency and this was set
up for the safety of the American people. And these states are deciding to fight these things and look the way they're twisting issues.
My favorite thing is that you got.
To wonder how much concern they have for the American citizens and the driving public out there. Mike, we're up against the clock here and it's been a pleasure talking to you. We got to do this more often. I talk to you again about this disease of bills proceed Any final thoughts.
Here real quick.
Yeah, Look, my primary concern is always going to be who's behind the wheel.
Law abiding truckers pay for training, insurance, and compliance.
One of the cuts corners that are undercuts the people doing the right thing. You know, if we have safe drivers on the road, run by legitimate businesses, this keeps the American public safe and we all win.
Fantastic Again, my thanks to Mike Ktarski, co owner and vice president of JKC Trucking. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck in Network seven hundred WLW.
It happens all the time. Your neighbor's pet zebra it's lose. It starts biting people and knocking over a mailboxes and pooping on lawns and mounting your cement goose. Right, So then you got to go in the house and you got to get your zebra product again. And then you stun it and it starts to come to So you got to get the duct tape out and then you got to wrap it in at tarp and then you bring it back to your neighbor. But now you've missed part of my show, the Scott Sloan Ship.
Don't worry.
You can still listen to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app and get it and missed and then save the stun gun, duct tape and tart for the neighbor.
Kevin Gordon thanks to Mike Katarski spending time with us. He's co owner and president vice president of JKC Trucking. If you missed that interview or any of our previous shows, hit up that iHeartRadio app brought to you by our friends at Rush Truck Centers. Now, as far as predictions from ATM, let's not forget how much ATN Kevin Gordon on ATN was right about tariff's not leading to runaway inflation,
which everybody was predicting was going to happen. A lot of the economists tariffs causing massive layoffs and or recession didn't happen GDP. They predicted being at one point eight percent to maybe two percent GDP was be too. I predicted j GDP was going to be between four and a half to five percent versus their one point eight two percent. GDP in the third quarter was four point three percent, a lot closer than their estimate, and I still think the fourth quarter is going to come in
even better. Now that flying the ointment here is the fact that the government shutdown. According to estimates. Now when those numbers come in, remember that the shutdown could possibly have caused according to the government estimates CBO and all as of government Congressional Budget Office, could have caused a one point five to a two point two reduction in the GDP. So thank you Chuck Schumer, the Schumer shut down and the Democrats who voted to keep the government
shut down and to punish the military. Because the Democrats didn't get their way with some of their goodies and their subsidies to people that.
Really don't well illegal aliens.
They wanted to fund all these plans to subsidize illegal immigration in this country. And so thanks to them, GDP will be suffering by one point five to two point two percent. And all those people, the military, the air traffic controllers, and many of the government workers that went without a paycheck for forty three days, Thank you, Chuck Schumer. So again atn was on the head of this, and as far as inflation is concerned, I predicted that we would be at two percent by the end of the year.
I don't think we're going to get there when the numbers come in when we see what happened in the
fourth quarter. However, when you take into consideration the different contracts that have been signed between ups, railroad workers, auto workers, all the ports on well the ports on the East coast and the West coast, all those negotiations as far as salary, all those contracts, as far as wages are concerned, have affected inflation, and so that we may be off a little bit there, but I will take a four point five to five percent GDP over not hitting the
inflation target every day of the week. Now, referring back to the story that we had before, we talked to Mike Kacharski talking about what the predictions were going into twenty twenty six and what things might look at. Again, they're talking about, well, you know, well, the people will the citizens, will customers, consumers, will they pull back? We haven't seen any evidence of that in fact, when we're seeing retail sale numbers, it's above expectations, better than expected,
and so on. And here we have another situation and we're talking about a major purchase.
Here.
Ford reports best annual US vehicle sales since twenty nineteen out of Detroit. Ford Motor on Tuesday said US vehicle sales last year increased six percent to achieve the company's best annual sales since twenty nineteen, in other words, pre pandemic. The Detroit automaker reported sales to two point two million vehicles in twenty twenty five, including a two point seven percent uptick to more than five hundred and forty five
thousand units in the fourth quarter. In twenty nineteen, the automaker sold two point four to two million, so they were within about two hundred thousand vehicles of what they sold back in twenty nineteen, so again, best sales years since pre plandemic. Ford finished the year third largest automaker in the US, behind Toyota, which had which was up eight percent in sales, and domestic sales leader General Motor, which was up five point five percent in twenty twenty five.
Ford US vehicle sales for the and Imagine what vehicle sales would have been if we had decent interest rates. When you look at the price of seven eight percent
for interest rates on vehicle purchases. If the Federal Reserve, if lion Jerry Powell had gotten off his butt and reduced those interest rates, then as far as the overnight rate to the banks, the credit cards would have fallen in place, truck loans, car loans, mortgages would have fallen into place as well, and we would have seen more sales, more vehicles sold in that fourth quarter. But again, Federal Reserve holding US BACKUS vehicles for the year were largely
in line with I get this, okay. They were up six you know, we saw Ford was up six percent, GM was up eight percent, and General Motors was up five point five percent. US Ford US vehicle sales in the year were largely in line with analysts expectations, such as those from Cox Automotive, which expects industry wide sales to have risen by about two percent. Okay, where is six percent close to two percent, where is five point five percent close to two percent, where is eight percent
close to two percent? Industry analysts predicted a two percent increase, where Ford had a six percent, Toyota eight percent, and GM had an increase of five point five percent. Unbelievable, but they're still sticking to it. Andrew Frick, president of Ford's non fleet vehicle business. He said that the automaker seems to be on track to offset lost production of tens of thousands of lucrative pickup trucks this year, including adding another shift to a plant in Michigan. Now that's
a result of fourth quarter. Ford fourth quarter performance came in continues to battle production troubles because they did have some plant fires, two separate fires at a New York plant and a key aluminum supplier Novellas F series sales, including a popular F one point fifty. We're up eight point three percent in twenty twenty five, but off three point three percent during the fourth quarter. Like many automakers for they're getting away from the electric vehicles that only
accounts for about fourteen percent of their sales. Eighty six percent of Ford's sales are in the internal combustion engines. One of the areas that's kind of creeping up and looks to see some promise is hybrid vehicles, which could actually be very good. So you know, again, we're seeing this mixed bag. We've got the so called experts saying that there are things headwinds going into twenty twenty six.
But the evidence that we have already in hand from what happened at the latter part of twenty twenty five and showing no signs of slowing down show and points to a good twenty twenty six as opposed to some of these other predictions. Now, seeing what's going on even after the capture of Nicholas Maduro over the weekend, with Venezuela and the oil down there, all of a sudden, now China isn't interested in buying Venezuelan oil, Isn't that interesting.
They're the ones that have been propping up the regime down there, the illegitimate regime. They've been buying the oil from them and taking it and I guess storing it because I guess they've got deep pockets there. They're shunning that now. What it appears is though, that people talking about whether or not there'll be a ramp up and whether or not how quickly the oil industry can get back on par don't discount the ability of American companies to go in and when they really put their mind
to it, how quickly certain things can get done. I'm sure the Venezuelan Pea people are anxious to get out of eighty six percent of the people there are living in poverty.
And if the newly installed.
Vice president now president of Venezuela, they say that she has been very cooperative and very interested in working with these oil companies, maybe the oil companies get in there a lot quicker and ramp up the production. At one point they were producing up to three million barrels per day down there, and they are now down in the hundreds of thousands of barrels per day. So again, how quickly that can come on board, And I think that is going to surprise a lot of people over the
coming years. So it's going to be interesting to see how that all pans out. Well, folks, that does it for us? We're up against clock here. Stay tuned for Retie Radio atop the hour. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's truck in Network seven hundred WLW