Gone shopping Hart Transportation, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based regional truckload carrier, will increase its revenues by an estimated $1 million with the addition of M&O Transportation in St. Augustine, Fla., and another as-yet-undisclosed carrier in Jacksonville.
In its fifth acquisition since May 1995, Smithway Motor Xpress Corp. has added Royal Transport, Comstock Park, Mich., to its fold. Burnham also continues an acquisition binge. In its sixth move in the last two years, the Atlanta-based carrier has bought Computer Transport, a distributor and installer of office electronics. Celadon Group of Indianapolis has acquired the trucking operation of GE Industrial Control Systems, a fleet of 170 tractors. Celadon has also entered into a marketing arrangement with WestEx. Inc., a Yellow Corp. subsidiary, offering private fleets a broad array of truckload and less-than-truckload services. Speaking of private fleets, La-Z-Boy Inc. has formed La-Z-Boy Logistics, a new corporate division designed to coordinate the company's logistics from the procurement of raw materials through the distribution of finished goods. Penske Logistics, a division of Penske Truck Leasing Co., has formed National Health Care Practice to apply supply-chain management to the health-care industry.
Instead of going shopping, National Carriers has opted to expand internally, growing a new container division. The new fleet will be staffed with owner-operators hauling perishables from the Gulf of Mexico and general commodities on return loads.
Driver friendly Speaking of owner-operators, Chattanooga, Tenn.-based U.S. Xpress Enterprises has upped pay for owner-operators to 80¢ per mile, both loaded and unloaded, an increase of 1-4¢ depending on the lease agreement. Currently, the company contracts with 58 independents at its U.S. Xpress subsidiary and 42 at its JTI division.
Not only is pay going up, but more trucking companies are using the Internet to post job opportunities. TRL, CFI, and Lester Coggins Trucking are the latest to offer job applications online, as well as the opportunity for applicants to get information on pay, benefits, equipment, home time, and more.
