In this season premiere, the trio dives into the freight cycle that defined the last four years — widely considered the most severe downturn since deregulation in 1980 — and what the current upswing means for carriers, brokers, and vendors navigating the road ahead. Karen shares the perspective of running a 200-truck family business through the storm, Thom breaks down what separates the winners from the losers, and Kevin reflects on what it looked like from the driver recruiting side as the market finally turned. The conversation covers the compounding regulatory changes reshaping the competitive landscape, why "cash is king" never goes out of style, and the one thing each host is watching most closely right now.

In Episode 2 of Season 6 of Sense Per Mile, Kevin Hall, Karen Smerchek, and Thom Albrecht break down one of the biggest questions facing trucking today: What happens next as capacity tightens, regulations reshape the market, and carriers finally begin to regain pricing power?