LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA - A face—or voice, in this case—familiar to us here in the fresh produce industry recently hit the airwaves as Kenny Lund, Executive Vice President of Allen Lund Company (ALC) and ALC Logistics made an appearance on radio show “Live From Exit 24.” The transportation maven sat down with host Mike Matousek and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh to discuss the important relationship between brokers and carriers.

“We’ve really tried to fight on behalf of the carriers especially,” Lund said on the show, detailing current transportation issues facing the state of California where ALC is located. “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 discussing ongoing challenges across California, Lund also spent part of his segment, according to an article from Land Line, touching on COVID-19 and its impacts on the supply chain. He especially focused on how the pandemic exacerbated the use of contracted rates—a common practice for brokers today.

“Twenty-five 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,” explained Lund. “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.”

Throughout the rest of the in-depth interview, Lund went on to share his thoughts on broker transparency and how ALC adheres to the requirements in order to provide requested information. He also spent his time on the radio show responding to Pugh’s questions about having drivers sign nondisclosure agreements and how certain types of dispatchers are negatively impacting the reputation of brokers in the industry.

Lund closed his segment on the show by encouraging drivers to use brokers as a resource as they can often negotiate issues faster and help streamline the supply chain process.

“Truckers and brokers don’t often have the best rapport with one another,” Pugh commented. “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.”

To listen to the interview in full, click here.

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Allen Lund Company