Will next year be better?? 6-7!

Dictionary.com says the Word of the Year is “67.”

First off, it’s 6-7—two numbers, not one word—and the expression, which has no real meaning, only counts when accompanied by the hand gestures. And second, the adults in the room know full well only one word epitomizes 2025: “uncertainty.” Yet somehow, we can’t even agree on that.

One week in September summed up this era’s absurdity for me.

The stretch started with a visit to Coal City, Illinois, for G&D Trucking/Hoffman Transportation’s now-iconic employee appreciation event, where Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow echoed a powerful message from the carrier’s leaders about “holding the line” amid unprecedented social and economic circumstances. Tebow, an openly devout Christian, appeared only 10 days after the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, so security for the outdoor event was heightened. Two days later, my wife, a Hispanic bilingual special education teacher, cried through a meeting with her principal about a problematic paraprofessional, a white lady, who accused her of being racist. The principal about fell out of her chair when my wife told her she’s married to a white man. The principal fired the para a few hours later.

The next day, I heard everybody’s favorite president congratulate billionaire Diane Hendricks and STE on the grand opening of their highly automated tank trailer production facility in Beloit, Wisconsin—on the same day a former boss of mine alienated half his Facebook friends with a profane post about “MAGA morons” and Tylenol. But wait, it gets better. One day later, a teacher referred my goofy teenage son to the office for a threat assessment after an off-color comment about Kirk. Unwisely, he tried to make his friends laugh by saying he hoped Texas Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t “get Kirk-ed” while visiting a new Fort Worth school, and we live far outside Houston where the suburbs meet the country—and people don’t play. I narrowly diverted that disaster by meeting with his assistant principal.

This all occurred before the government shutdown reached record territory as Bulk Transporter went to press. And we haven’t even talked about tariffs or the historically long freight recession.

Off-putting, indeed.

So, how do we operate in such an unpredictable environment when even the experts rarely agree anymore? By being smart, staying safe, and preparing for what’s next—just like Ryan Streblow, National Tank Truck Carriers president and CEO, urged attendees to do during Tank Truck Week 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. After all, one truth people from all walks of life have acknowledged for centuries is “this too shall pass.”

I believe in this country, and this industry, and I also believe better times are coming, eventually. The Fed is finally lowering interest rates, NTTC is winning on duplicative security screening at the state and federal levels, CARB’s sway over EPA regulators is waning, Groendyke CEO and past NTTC Chairman Greg Hodgen is the American Trucking Associations’ 81st chair—and my daughter’s select softball team recently won Texas USSSA Fastpitch’s Southeast Texas 14U fall state championship.

Additionally, this 88-year-old trade magazine is in the best position it’s enjoyed in several years—thanks to your support—and I’m already looking forward to telling all new tales next year, including stories about Usher Transport’s 80th anniversary—and LCL Bulk Transport’s 100th anniversary.

So, thank you for reading, please go subscribe to the magazine, and I’ll see you right back here in twenty twenty—six-seven! BT