Matchmaker, matchmaker U.S. Freightways Corp. has acquired Glen Moore Transport Inc., a Carlisle, Pa.- based truckload carrier operating 255 tractors and 600 trailers. U.S. Freightways operates five regional less-than-truckload general commodities carriers that provide overnight and second-day delivery throughout the United States and into Canada. Glen Moore will operate as a separate subsidiary. ... Vitran Corp. has bought Quast Transfer, a Winsted, Minn.-based regional LTL carrier. ... Intrenet Inc., a flatbed truckload operation, has acquired Ram Trans, a move that will double the company's brokerage and logistics operation. ... Transit Group has bought Diversified Trucking Corp. of Opelika, Ala., for $1,275,000. Diversified operates 120 power units, including 17 owner-operated tractors and 320 trailers. ... Old Dominion Freight Line has added Goggin Truck Line, a Shelbyville, Tenn., regional less-than-truckload carrier to its portfolio. Goggin operates 44 service centers in 11 states, mostly in the Southeast.
Shenandoah Motor Express and Elite Systems, both based in Versailles, Ohio, will combine their business and operate as Shenandoah Motor Express. Both are refrigerated carriers. ... Schneider National, in a move that expands its trucking business in the Southeast, will acquire most of the assets of Builders Transport. Builders has been operating under bankruptcy protection since May 21.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services has sold its subsidiary, Lake City Express, to Susan Atherton, the president of the firm, and a group of investors. Lake City, based in Grove, Okla., is a regional dry-van truckload carrier specializing in high-value and expedited shipments. It operates with a fleet of owner-operators.
Good news Charles "Woodrow" Wilson, an owner-operator from Owensboro, Ky., has been named the 300th Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Assn. Wilson was recognized for stopping to help rookie truck driver Justin Turner at a snowy truck stop in Effingham, Ill., last November. The two had met after making a delivery earlier that day. Wilson took the younger driver under his wing, gave him advice about the road, and offered to let Turner follow him to Michigan, where both were headed. As it grew dark, Turner turned on his lights and everything went out. He pulled into a truck stop with Wilson following. Wilson found the cause of the lighting failure - insufficient wiring - and fixed it. "He spent about five hours in the snow and freezing temperatures," recalls Turner. "I knew he was losing money, but he stayed with me. He did all the work. I just held the flashlight. Without him, I would have been stranded."
Responding to a different kind of emergency, Landstar System teamed with the Salvation Army and a local CBS-TV affiliate to deliver relief supplies to firefighters battling the blazes that ravaged northern Florida earlier this summer. Since the end of May, more than 2,000 fires burned more than 480,000 acres in 67 different Florida counties. The breadth of the disaster caused an urgent need to replenish supplies such as drinking water, clean towels, and personal hygiene products.
Thermo King Corp. has donated a transport refrigeration unit to People Serving People, which operates a 400-bed facility in Minnesota for individuals and families in crisis situations. Last year, the charity provided 215,000 meals while assisting residents in making the transition to self-sufficiency. Much of the food, which comes from restaurants, vendors, and convention events, is perishable, hence the need for a refrigeration unit. "We already had a truck," recalls Mary Crowley, executive director of People Serving People. "But without refrigerated protection, the truck was limited in the distance it could travel between food pickup and our shelter."
Back to school The Professional Truck Driver Institute of America has certified the first schools to meet the organization's revised curriculum standards. They are: American Institute of Technology, Phoenix; M.S. Carriers, Memphis; and two National Tractor Trailer School programs in Liverpool and Buffalo, N.Y. Another 33 schools are awaiting certification.
Freight@Internet Air-conditioning maintenance has even gone digital for one trucking company. MS Carriers, a truckload operation based in Memphis, is using computer technology to protect its air conditioning systems and define where problems begin. By doing so, the fleet has slashed air conditioning maintenance in half, according to Dan Flanagan, maintenance director.
Flanagan uses the APAds DATAbus system from Index Sensors & Controls. While the original APAds works independently of the engine computer, the APAds DATAbus system communicates A/C fault codes directly over the vehicle's databus to the cab's dash display, while at the same time capturing historical data used for troubleshooting. The system constantly searches for conditions such as low or high pressure, low or high voltage, or wiring problems. When one of these problems is discovered, the system temporarily disengages the compressor clutch, preventing rapid cycling. The failure information is then communicated to the truck's dash display.
Breaking new ground To cope with the growth in its operation, G.I. Trucking Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corp. located in La Mirada, Calif., has expanded terminals in Dallas; Riverside, Calif.; and Denver. The new facilities increase capacity in Dallas by 300% and in Riverside by 100%. The new Denver facility allows for increases in breakbulk capacity with G.I.'s ExpressLINK carriers. ExpressLINK allows G.I. to offer transcontinental service with its partners Estes Express Lines and Lakeville Motor Express, and service to Canada with its partner TST Overland Express.
