As a journalist, author and financial advisor, Charles Payne has developed a refined set of skills for taking the complicated and making it relatable to the average person. Unbiased research and skilled analysis delivered in a plainspoken manner has elevated him from a FOX News contributor to the host of his own program, FOX Business Network’s “Making Money with Charles Payne.”
When asked about the state of the trucking industry, this longtime financial expert customarily gets right to the point.
“The trucking industry is the circulatory system of our economy, essential to its survival,” he stated. “I think there are long-standing issues with labor and too much rule-making that have hurt the industry. As for the market, I’m a fan of the Dow Theory, in which transportation plays a pivotal role.”
In March, Payne will bring his straight-talking style to Orlando during the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) 2023 national convention as a featured speaker. The emphasis of his message to TCA members — not unlike his television program, he says — will lean toward practical, common-sense strategies, inspiring the audience to affect change in their organizations and families.
“I usually point to things happening in society that are part of a longer tug-of-war, going back more than 100 years over control and power. This drives policy and crafts messaging,” he explained. “Then I look at current circumstances and zero in on specific industries.
“I’m solutions-oriented — and mostly a rose-colored glasses kind of guy — but I’m worried,” he continued. “(I) think we have little time to continue to maximize our economic size and innovative dominance. Moreover, the DNA of self-reliance is being chipped away.”
Payne began his career on Wall Street in the 1980s, working as an analyst at E.F. Hutton. By 1991, he’d founded Wall Street Strategies, an independent stock market research firm for which he still serves as CEO and principal analyst.
Published in 2007, his first book, “Be Smart, Act Fast, Get Rich,” and the 2019 follow up, “Unstoppable Prosperity: Learn the Strategy I’ve Used for Years to Beat the Market,” deliver time-proven strategies for building personal wealth.
Payne’s broadcast career also began in 2007. He first served as a Fox Media contributor, providing financial analysis across FOX Business Network and FOX News Channel programming. He soon became a regular guest on FOX News’ “FOX & Friends and America’s Newsroom,” providing financial insights and breaking market news analysis. He’s also a popular guest host for Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”
His own show, “Making Money with Charles Payne” debuted in 2014. The show has served as a platform for other projects, such as a series of town halls hosted over the past year to help educate viewers about the investor revolution and rise of cryptocurrencies. Another project, “Making Money with Charles Payne: Black History and Achieving the Dream,” coincided with Black History Month and welcomed guests to share inspiring stories of personal and financial success.
Discussing his upcoming address to TCA members, Payne said he believes the trucking industry is at a critical crossroads, hit with challenges from nearly every angle by regulation, labor issues, and mandated adoption of expensive new technologies before their time.
“I worry the industry isn’t embracing new technology as much as it is being forced to comply with awful adoption mandates,” he shared. “I suspect major upheaval and a period of lost economic opportunity (will be) associated with complying with and being penalized by such timetables.”
Payne suggests that a better strategy is to allow the market to dictate the adoption of new technology at a point in development that makes business sense. He mentioned autonomous technology as an example of a tool that could potentially hold great promise — but only if leveraged in the right way and at the right time.
“As for autonomous vehicles, we know it’s going to happen but there still has to be a role for humans,” he said. “Done correctly, (the technology) could be a great early supplement, allowing drivers more rest periods while also providing the ability to maximize the clock.”
Payne is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having enlisted at 17 and serving as a security policeman at Minot Air Force Base in Minot, North Dakota. During his time in the service, he attended Minot State University in Minot and Central Texas College in Killeen.
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2023 edition of Truckload Authority, the official publication of the Truckload Carriers Association.
Dwain Hebda is a freelance journalist, author, editor and storyteller in Little Rock, Arkansas. In addition to The Trucker, his work appears in more than 35 publications across multiple states each year. Hebda’s writing has been awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists and a Finalist in Best Of Arkansas rankings by AY Magazine. He is president of Ya!Mule Wordsmiths, which provides editorial services to publications and companies.
