Missouri-based logistics company Prime Inc. has launched a hopper business. The reason for this business move – to expand its bulk-carrier operations, as reported by The Loadstar.
Director of the company’s tank division Brett Vonwiller took to Prime’s YouTube channel to talk about the new division. “We are excited about this new endeavor. [The idea] came around last Spring,” he says. At the time, Vonwiller was attending a conference and most of the customers at the conference asked Vonwiller if the company had hopper trailers.
Logistics initiative starts with 25 trucks
This interest came from existing and new customers. “We came back and huddled up and decided this was something we wanted to look into and get involved with,” says Vonwiller. The company has purchased 25 trailers. The hopper trailers will carry soybeans, grain, and corn. There are various other commodities that can be hauled in these hopper trailers such as rocks and salt.
Prime started off the new division with seven loads. Prime’s Fleet Manager stated in the video that the company was starting with a focus on the Indianapolis area.
Industry leader in trucking
Prime Inc. was founded in 1970 and has evolved into one of the US’ largest freight trucking operations. The company offers refrigerated, flatbed, tanker, and intermodal freight.
Today, Prime operates state-of-the-art equipment. These include freightliners. The company has locations in areas such as Missouri, Colorado, Utah, Florida, Texas, and California.
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Trucking industry trends for 2024 – what does industry say?
CloudTrucks says the trucking industry is experiencing an evolution, given the advancements in logistics – technology integration with the use of fleet management software.
The American Journal of Transportation points to artificial intelligence (AI). “Technology is creating safer, faster, and smarter transportation practices and empowering businesses to evolve quickly,” the report reads.
The Business Research Company released its ‘Long-Distance General Freight Trucking Global Market Report – 2024’. It lists some growth areas for long-distance trucking market:
- Rising manufacturing outputs.
- Rise in e-commerce and warehouse facilities.
Financial firm Deloitte points out two strategies will determine trucking success in 2024:
- Focus on the right markets – and investments in those markets.
- New business models to open up revenue streams to OEMs.
Locate2u News reported earlier this month, according to Uber Freight’s recent white paper, approximately four million heavy-duty trucks travel more than 177 billion miles per year, creating over 260 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The white paper also emphasized the growth in the electrification of trucks.
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About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
