Refrigerated Transporter Debuts Web Site

After 35 years of reading Refrigerated Transporter on a monthly basis, get the magazine for refrigerated fleets and the food business at any time. The address is www.refrigeratedtrans.com.

This electronic version of Refrigerated Transporter offers frequently updated news items and provides another look at feature articles from recent print editions. In addition, it will keep the Gross Revenue Report posted to make comparison of carrier financial performance quick and easy. With this web site, the magazine has become a two-way street. It will offer an e-mail link to the editors to provide feedback on articles, an easy way to transmit letters to the editor, and a sure-fire way to get attention for potential story leads.

The new web site offers a marketplace for buying and selling used equipment. And it provides the simplest possible method for securing a free subscription to Refrigerated Transporter. Surf by today.

In keeping with the financial performance emphasis of this Gross Revenue Report Issue, Refrigerated Transporter looked at the web sites of three of the largest carriers in the industry.

www.crengland.com The web site for the largest refrigerated carrier listed in the Gross Revenue Report contains a comprehensive look at C R England's operations and its employment opportunities. In keeping with the company culture, C R England leads its web site with the words "Safety Performance Service," rather than the company name. A series of nine buttons along the left margin provide access to information about company services and driver opportunities.

The main body of the home page invites surfers to look at the Roundtable and C R England News. This section contains letters from the public about company drivers. In addition, it offers potential drivers an opportunity to view a video on the trucks the company has to offer. This section also contains the company history and biography of Chester Rodney England and pays special attention to winning the Truckload Carriers Association Grand Safety Prize three times.

The web site offers e-mail for C R England employees as well as links to other resources such as reports on traffic and road conditions, maps, current weather, and the ATA information center.

The buttons take surfers to a description of England Logistics, England Specialized Services, and the Southwest Regional Division serving eight states. The button for the International Division provides a list of contact and e-mail addresses for England operations in Mexico. Information for owner-operators includes explanation of the company lease agreement and details on the pay scale. Drivers who want to be owner-operators can get information by choosing the Owner-Lease button. The company posts job openings on its web site as well as a description of its three driver school locations.

www.rocor.com A great deal of the Rocor International web site is devoted to company history. Most of the balance of the space concerns driver recruiting and job opportunities. As described on the web site, the Roush family, owners of Rocor International, has a long history in trucking. This history encompasses ownership of both Roadway Express and ONC Transportation. The site explains how Rocor built its $347-million company from the acquisition of many much smaller refrigerated carriers. The one drawback to this section is the presentation. The type block containing the information is too wide to be read without scrolling to the right for the end of each line.

The Driver Opportunities button on the home page takes drivers to a detailed table of the company's pay scale showing wages for company drivers and revenue percentage and other compensation for independent contractors. This section provides a description of the lease for owner-operators and a list of company benefits for employees. Drivers and contractors can apply for a job on-line.

Customers can use the web site to trace loads.

The news section lists recent Rocor acquisitions. Both the purchases on the site are more than one year old.

www.primeinc.com Prime On-Line, the web site for Prime Inc, reduces its information sources to nine buttons on the home page. These include a Company History that shows surfers company background along with a list of key personnel. The personnel list shows a photo of company contacts along with a short bio and job description. This section also includes comprehensive financial data on Prime.

The Sales Territories button leads to maps and a list of contacts for the company's reefer and flatbed divisions. No data has been put up to fill the Logistics & Intermodal Service button. A button for LHP Logistics leads surfers to a description of services and opportunities for minority contractors. The Driving Opportunities button leads to a description of the company compensation plan as well as qualifications required for drivers and the training available. A button for Non-Driving Opportunities posts other jobs within Prime.

Technological Advances leads surfers to details of Prime's tractor and trailer tracking systems as well as describing the mapping and routing capability inherent in the company's computer systems. The What's Hot button leads to a lengthy accumulation of recent news releases as well as a question-and-answer section with President Robert Low on the lawsuit against Prime by OOIDA. The Load Tracing button provides a password-protected service for shippers to track shipments.

www.promatchonline.com Forklift Parts Available Online Rapidparts Inc, a Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc (MCFA) company, recently opened Promatch Online, an Internet information and e-commerce site for the material handling industry. Promatch Online offers a free online part number look up for most lift truck models. The new web site allows users to purchase replacement lift truck parts and accessories online, or create an order form to send to their local Promatch dealer. To find Promatch dealers, enter a ZIP code in the dealer search, and information on the nearest dealer will be displayed.

Users will find links to other industry-related sites as well as product information and pictures. A help desk also is provided to assist with questions. Users can search Promatch Online for the correct replacement part number by entering the manufacturers part number, or by using the application search if the part number is not known. This search locates the correct part from truck make and information entered. The site also offers hints about model and serial numbers.

www.fuellogic.com FuelLogic Now on Internet Prophesy Transportation Software has announced that its FuelLogic interactive fueling decision program can be accessed on the Internet at www.fuellogic.com. A free 30-day trial is being offered for a limited time by the company.

The web site is an online version of Prophesy's program FuelLogic, a system that minimizes fuel costs and reduces out-of-route miles.

The program works by first mapping out the desired trip route, then evaluating every potential fuel stop found on the prospective route using current diesel prices, which are updated daily. FuelLogic.com then selects the most economical stops on the route, while specifying the amount of fuel the driver should purchase at each particular stop. The program will reduce average fuel costs by around eight cents a gallon, and reduce out-of-route miles by about 25%.

www.amclog.com AmeriCold Tests Satellite Tracking System AmeriCold Logistics, the Atlanta GA-based provider of temperature-controlled storage and food distribution services, has begun beta-testing a new mobile satellite communications and vehicle tracking system. This system will allow carriers and logistics-based businesses to track and review progress of their shipments in real-time via the Internet.

AmeriCold's consolidated distribution center in Carthage MO is the first facility to install this technology. After testing is completed, the system is expected to be provided to AmeriCold's nationwide network of regional distribution centers.

The online system integrates satellite tracking with AmeriCold's existing information systems. It enables transportation carriers and customers to enter a secure, password protected page on the Internet and use the service to pinpoint a truck's location and directly access data such as ETAs.

www.atlantictrucks.net Atlantic Truck Center Launches Web Site Atlantic Truck Center of Fort Lauderdale FL has launched a new web site designed to facilitate local, regional, national, and global sales and service of commercial trucks and commercial truck parts. The web site features new and pre-owned inventories, a payment calculator, monthly specials, truck rentals, service, parts and a location map to help a consumer find the dealership. The site was designed and is hosted by Trader Online of Norfolk VA.

The web site features the new vehicle inventory of the dealership-about 300 units-comprised of the medium- and heavy-duty lines of Ford and Sterling. Its pre-owned truck inventory-around 50 units-represent many makes, models, and price points. The pre-owned inventory of Atlantic Truck Center is also featured on Big Truck Trader Online, (www.traderonline.com), a collection of used big trucks, with more than 22,000 for sale. The Trader site has approximately 60,000 visitors each month, performing around 80,000 big-truck searches. Pre-owned inventory of Atlantic Truck Center will be searched by these Trader Online visitors. The Trader site also will provide a direct link to www. atlantictrucks.net.