Online Haul of Fame

FreightWaves Classics profiles IMC Companies, the nation’s largest marine drayage company.

FreightWaves Classics/Haul of Fame profiles Groendyke Transport, one of the nation’s largest tank truck companies in the United States.

FreightWaves Classics profiles Acme Truck Line, Inc.

FreightWaves Classics profiles Crete Carrier Corporation.

FreightWaves Classics profiles PITT OHIO, which began with three trucks and is now an industry powerhouse.

Pacific Intermountain Express was one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers prior to trucking deregulation. FreightWaves Classics profiles the company’s history and demise.

Oak Harbor Freight Lines has served its customers for over 105 years. Read a profile of the company in this FreightWaves Classics article.

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is a must-see for trucking and transportation fans. Read this FreightWaves Classics profile of the museum to whet your appetite for an in-person visit!

A. Duie Pyle is a leading American trucking company. Read a profile of its history in this FreightWaves Classics article.

New Penn is an LTL carrier focused on the Northeastern U.S. It is now part of YRC Worldwide. Read about its history in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

Stevens Transport began operations just after deregulation in 1980 and has been doing well ever since. Learn why in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame profile.

New England Motor Freight declared bankruptcy in February 2019. Read what happened leading up to that event.

Epes Transport celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2021. Read an overview of its history in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame profile.

TIP was the leader in trailer leasing for decades. Find out what happened to the company in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

The U.S. trucking industry grew in the years following World War I. Nonetheless, the industry was still in its early days, and railroads were the primary method of transportation for […]

Quality Distribution, Inc. has gone through many changes over the past 100+ years. Read its story here.

Red Owl was a grocery store chain with a very strong brand and loyal former employees and customers. Read why in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

FreightWaves Haul of Fame profiles Hill Brothers Transportation.

The Eagle Group is a diverse group of five privately held companies that has grown from a livery company founded in 1903 in Wenatchee, Washington.  Wenatchee is located on Washington […]

Georgia Highway Express was an intermodal pioneer. Learn more about the company in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

ADM is a very large, global company. It owns thousands of vehicles of different kinds, including an in-house fleet of trucks.

Watkins Motor Lines grew from a single truck to a major carrier. Much of the carrier was sold to FedEx; other parts survived for a time as well. Read more in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

Strickland Transportation was an LTL carrier that did well for 40+ years. Read its story in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

Consolidated Freightways was a leader in the trucking industry for decades, and also started Freightliner trucks. Read its interesting story in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

CX Roberson was a mid-sized dry van carrier. It did well for a couple of decades, then was bought by Celadon…

Central Freight Lines celebrated 95 years in business in 2020. Read about all the changes at this company over its lifespan.

Roberts Express pioneered expedited ground freight. Read about this company’s very interesting history.

Longistics started with one truck in 1984. Nearly 40 years later, the innovative company is a leader in many ways. Read the inspiring story.

Navajo Freight Lines grew through acquisitions for 40+ years, until it was acquired. Read its interesting story in this chapter of the FreightWaves Haul of Fame.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a special edition of the FreightWaves Haul of Fame!

Land Span was a trucking company that was an independent company, a subsidiary of another company and then part of Celadon Group, which went bankrupt in 2019…

At one time, Overnite Express was the largest LTL carrier in the U.S. Read its story in this FreighWaves Haul of Fame article.

Associated Transport was the product of a merger of 7 companies. It was the largest trucking company in the U.S. for 30+ years… until it wasn’t.

Watkins & Shepard did well for 30+ years. Its acquisition by Schneider National did not end as it was envisioned.

Jevic Transportation started fast and did well for a time. Read about its history in this installment of FreightWaves Haul of Fame.

Red Star Express started in the Depression, expanded and was acquired twice. Read its interesting history in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

Transcontinental Refrigerated Lines did very well for more than 30 years – until it didn’t. Read this carrier’s story in FreightWaves Haul of Fame.

M.S. Carriers had a relatively brief but very successful history. Learn more about the company in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

Motor Freight Express survived many tests and grew for over 50 years. It could not outrun deregulation however.

The Red Ball Express resupplied the American armies pursuing the German armies across France. Read more about the exploits of the Red Ball Express.

Lee Way Motor Freight grew for 50 years, acquiring companies along its growth path – until it was acquired. Read the profile of this company’s history.

The FreightWaves Haul of Fame explores Los Angeles Seattle Motor Express, which moved freight along the West Coast for several decades.

Vitran Express started strong and faltered. Under TFI International it has found new life. Read about this FreightWaves Haul of Fame company.

USF Dugan was an LTL carrier and part of USF until shortly after its purchase by Yellow Roadway. Read this FreightWaves Haul of Fame feature.

Preston Trucking Co. (The 151 Line) was a successful (primarily) LTL trucking company for more than 60 years. Read about its history in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

Lynden Transfer started trucking to Alaska. Read this company’s fascinating story.

BNSF has a long and proud history. This article explores the history of the Burlington Lines (the “B” in BNSF).

WTI Transport has been acquired twice but continues to prosper hauling flatbed freight.

Cole’s Express was a key LTL carrier in Maine and then New England for decades. Read its interesting history here.

Trucking companies A-Z continues. Read the stories of a few more of America’s trucking companies.

The latest FreightWaves Haul of Fame article profiles Jim Palmer Trucking, which was based in Montana.

E.W. King built Mason and Dixon Truck Lines into one of the largest privately held carriers in the U.S.

But he did much more! Read about this man’s legacies.

This is Chapter 10 of the occasional series on Trucking Companies A-Z.

Frozen Food Express serves a key niche in the trucking industry. Read its interesting history in this article.

Read about the trucking company that was “Humpin’ to Please.”

Mushroom Transportation Co., Inc. started in the early 1920s and lasted a few years into the deregulated era. Read an overview of the company’s history in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame chapter.

FreightWaves Haul of Fame explores the Glenndenning Motorways, Inc. Learn more about this company’s nearly 70-year history.

This is Chapter 9 of the FreightWaves Classics series on North American trucking companies.

This is Chapter 8 of the FreightWaves Classics series on North American trucking companies.

This is Part 7 of the FreightWaves Classics series on American trucking companies.

This is Part 6 of the FreightWaves Classics series on American trucking companies.

FreightWaves Classics presents another installment of Trucking A-Z with the stories of a few more of America’s trucking companies.

St. Johnsbury Trucking had a major presence in the Northeast for decades. It’s an American success story, although it does not have a happy ending.

Its been just over a year since Celadon Group’s bankruptcy. Read about the company’s history in this FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

Lyons Transportation Lines was a successful LTL carrier – until the world’s largest paint company acquired it…

Chicago Express, Inc. grew during trucking’s regulated period without acquisitions. Read how the company was able to do so.

Boyd Brothers Transportation was a major carrier for decades. Read the story of how this trucking company grew and prospered.

Terminal Trucking Co. was a successful trucking company for decades – until it was acquired. Read its story here.

Motor Cargo Industries is another pioneering LTL trucking company that no longer exists. However, its roots live on at UPS Ground Freight.

Indianhead Truck Line was a diversified company that served the Midwest from the 1930s-1990s. Read its story and learn more about the trucking history of the United States.

Read about the founding, the rise and fall of Ringsby Trucking Lines. At one time, this was a Top 20 trucking company!

This FreightWaves Haul of Fame article features American Carriers, Inc., a victim of a spin-off, deregulation and a poor acquisition.

Forrest Durrett built two truck lines during his busy life. Read about them in this FreightWaves Classics presentation of a FreightWaves Haul of Fame article.

The FreightWaves Haul of Fame has the stories of many former and current transportation companies. Read about Dick Simon Trucking!

FreightWaves Classics profiles Victory Express.

FreightWaves Classics will present articles about key events, companies,, organizations, etc. from the history of transportation, logistics, supply chain and freight.

This is part of our ongoing weekly feature called the “Online Haul of Fame.”  FreightWaves will feature companies that have had a lasting impact on the trucking industry, past or […]

Burlington Motor Carriers, started as a division of Burlington Northern, the railroad.

Known on northeastern highways for its iconic orange and white trucks, Preston 151 was founded in 1932 in the Chesapeake Bay area of the United States. The company was started […]

Earlier this month, the CEO of XPO (NYSE:XPO), Brad Jacobs, announced that he intended divest operating units of XPO in an effort to maximize shareholder value. One thing was clear, however. Jacobs intended to hold onto the less-than-truckload (LTL) operations of XPO that were formerly known as Con-way. As part of our Online Haul of Fame Series, here is a look back at the history of Con-way.

Jevic Transportation was founded in 1981 in Delano, New Jersey by Karen and Harry Muhlschlegel. The Jevic name was a combination of the names of the three Muhlschlegel children. Founding a trucking company just one year after deregulation was ambitious, but the gamble proved profitable. Jevic enjoyed prosperity throughout the 1980s and the early 1990s.

McLean Trucking is one of the pioneers of the less-than-truckload (LTL) trucking industry. The company’s founder eventually became one of the pioneers of the global logistics and trade industry.

If you had to name one of the most influential companies in trucking history, Consolidated Freightways (CF) would be near the top. While the trucking company, CF is no longer with us, the legacy of CF lives on through the companies it spun off, including Freightliner, CNF (which became part of XPO) and Purolator International.

The 2020 version of the Roaring Twenties will be drastically different for society and freight than the decade that kicked off in 1920. We take a look back at what life and freight were like in those days.

Builder’s Transport was once the second largest truckload carrier in the U.S. In 1998 it filed bankruptcy and was then acquired by Schneider National.

This tour seeks to preserve the history of several of these companies that paved the way for today’s trucking industry. The legacy of these companies has provided the foundation for the industry as we know it.

It was on this date in 1907 that two teenagers named Jim Casey and Claude Ryan, armed with a $100 loan, created the American Messenger Company.  That business, started in a basement in Seattle, has grown into a nearly $50 billion package delivery giant.