I've had this truck since 2014,
and I've put about 600,000 miles on it.
And then I bought my first rig in September.
I'll never forget the day, September 3, 1983
was the day that I realized my dream
and bought my first truck.
Hi. Hi. Carl Smith.
Johan Norberg. Nice to meet you.
Good to meet you, too.
I started in business back in 1983,
and they had just deregulated the trucking industry
to where now small-time operators like me
can be in a small trucking business for themselves.
Before 1980, it would have been virtually impossible for Carl
to start his own trucking business.
That's because of the Motor Carrier Act of 1935,
which put the government in complete control
of the trucking industry.
The industry was regulated both in terms of where you could go
and how much you could charge.
Our rates were set through rate bureaus.
You operated on the roads that were approved.
There were bureaucratic limitations and inefficiencies,
such as forcing truckers to make long, empty backhauls.
But overall, the established trucking companies and unions
were happy with the arrangement.
They knew that there would be guaranteed profits and jobs
and it would be almost impossible
for a new startup to compete.
So it was a good deal for the companies,
and it was something that we were loathe to change.
The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 fully deregulated trucking.
The truck deregulation legislation
will get the heavy hand of the federal government
out of the area of the private sector.
It'll mean new opportunities and new jobs.
And it was devastating to the existing industry.
But I think it's something that had to happen.
After it was deregulated,
it allowed for a smaller, less established individual
like me to get into the industry
and earn a good living.
Morning, Matt. Morning, Misty.
What are you doing today, Matt?
Hey, we have a load picking up today at 3:00 p.m.,
delivering Tuesday at 8:00 a.m.
into Timmonsville, South Carolina.
That's the Honda ATV plant, right?
Yes, sir.
This is a compressed trailer, or a liquid tanker?
As the years went on, I bought another truck here,
another truck there till at one point
I was up to 11 trucks operating a small fleet out of Ohio.
Deregulation led to a substantial shift
in the industry.
Many more small outfits like Carl's
gained a competitive foothold.
Over 40 of the larger regulated trucking companies
went out of business,
but some adapted and still operate today.
Someone might ask, you know, why when you lose, you know,
40 or 50 companies that went out of business after deregulation,
why is that a good thing? That's a good thing
because the consumers are getting a better service
and product as a result of that.
And when a company goes down, that freight is still moving.
So some other company is going to pick that up.
Are those companies gonna need employees
to help handle that freight?
Well, of course they are.
So many of those people who indeed lost their jobs
as a result of a company failure,
they're working for another organization.
But the good thing is, is that industry
is still highly regulated as pertains to safety.
What's not regulated is who can and cannot be in this industry.
And I think that's a better deal for everybody.
We sent all four of our children to college,
and we've actually lived a pretty decent life.
I'm one of those people that I knew what I wanted to be
when I was 12 years old -- I wanted to be a truck driver.
Others told me that I had
a lot more potential to do other things,
but I said that's really what I want to do.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I got to do what I wanted to do.
Initially, deregulation in the trucking industry
was tumultuous,
but in the end, the American consumer benefited
from lower shipping costs and more efficient service,
and new truckers like Carl
could enter the industry and make their mark.
Thank you so much for sharing your story
and spending time with me.
Thank you, Johan. This has been great.
Take care.