Flatbed freight

Check Call: Flatbed is alive!

Group of people huddled around desks

Hot Takes

Image: Jim Allen/FreightWaves

“Hey, can you handle these flatbed shipments for us?” A sentence usually followed by “Jaws” music in the background. In almost every organization, there is usually the “one guy” who handles all the flatbed moves.

Flatbed is weird, involves a bunch of requirements and has a very small network of drivers. In a previous life, I was “that guy” who handled the flatbed moves. We love a lowboy, with overweight, overdimensional permits, and everything in between....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/check-call-flatbed-is-alive

Startup EXO Freight tackles lack of open-deck marketplaces, closes on seed round

On Tuesday, Freight marketplace EXO Freight announced it has recently closed on an undisclosed amount of seed round funding led by 1984 Ventures with participation from I2BF Global Ventures and Lancaster Investments. EXO Freight wants to continue executing its goal to defragment the transportation market, particularly for shippers moving goods on open-deck trailers.

With experience working at brokerage capacity management platform Parade, co-founders and twin brothers Kurtis and Kris Tryber...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/startup-exo-freight-tackles-lack-of-open-deck-marketplaces-closes-on-seed-round

Flatbed steady amid lumber shortages, construction tightness

House construction nationwide is being constrained by the tight supply and mile-high price of lumber, but this squeeze has not been felt by the flatbed truckers who haul these loads.

Reliance Partners CFO Thom Albrecht said the lumber shortage can be viewed from both a glass half empty and full perspective, depending on who you ask in the supply chain. 

Those hurting the most right now are the end consumers — builders and homeowners — of which many have found it difficult to finish projects on...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flatbed-steady-amid-lumber-shortages-construction-tightness

Daseke’s mixed-bag Q1 disappoints, stock sags

Flatbed demand continuing to improve

The nation’s largest flatbed truckload provider, Daseke (NASDAQ: DSKE), reported first-quarter 2021 adjusted earnings per share of 4 cents Friday. The result was a penny better year-over-year and ahead of analysts’ expectations for a net loss of 5 cents per share.

The headline number, including results from Aveda, an oil rig transportation unit which the company has divested, was a net loss of 13 cents per share or $7.3 million. 

Shares dip on report

Likely priced for perfection, shares of DSKE...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/dasekes-mixed-bag-q1-disappoints-stock-sags

ZMac technology designed to handle oversized freight with ease

Flatbed freight historically is hard to manage as it combines a number of supply chain imbalances including uncertain origins and destinations, inconsistent city and state regulations, driver-touch requests and accessorial requirements. Training and developing employees to handle these shipments takes time, adding to the overall complexity of matching these loads to the right carrier.

While many large brokerages shy away from these risky shipments, ZMac Transportation Inc. specializes in them,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/zmac-technology-designed-to-handle-oversized-freight-with-ease

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: WTI Transport offers key flatbed services… and unique employee services as well

Several WTI Transport tractors sit ready for use.

WTI Transport was founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1989 as Wellborn Transport Company by Stephen Rumsey and Miller Wellborn. The company began with a fleet of 12 trucks driven by owner-operators, as well as a card table and a ledger to keep track of financial transactions. Now, under the name WTI Transport, the company is one of the largest and most successful flatbed haulers in the Southeast.

Acquired by Boyd Brothers Transportation

In December 1997, Boyd Brothers Transportation acquired...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-wti-transport-offers-key-flatbed-services-and-unique-employee-services-as-well

Management at Daseke discusses recent changes, acquisition plans

Interview with Daseke leadership

FreightWaves had a chance to catch up with management at flatbed truckload company Daseke (NASDAQ: DSKE) following recently announced changes to the board and the resignation of its CEO Chris Easter.

Easter, who was helping navigate the company’s multi-phased turnaround, resigned effective Dec. 31 to attend to family-related obligations.

Change at the top but the path remains the same
Photo: Chairman Brian Bonner; Credit: Daseke

Daseke Chairman Brian Bonner said that even though Easter will be...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-daseke-management-discusses-recent-changes-acquisition-plans

FreightWaves Classics: Trucking companies’ names range from A to Z (Chapter 10)

A Boparai Transport truck hauls freight for one of its customers. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Deregulation of the U.S. trucking industry began in the late 1970s. Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 and it was signed into law by President Carter on July 1, 1980. This ended 45 years of onerous regulation by the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

One of the most dramatic changes that occurred due to deregulation was the virtual explosion in the number of trucking firms. From 1980 to 1990, the number of licensed carriers doubled – from fewer than 20,000 to more than...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-classics-trucking-companies-names-range-from-a-to-z-chapter-10

FreightWaves Haul of Fame: Boyd Brothers Transportation Inc. was a powerhouse carrier for decades

A Boyd Brothers Transportation tractor-trailer. (Photo: Gary Morton Collection)

Boyd Brothers Transportation Inc. was founded by Dempsey Boyd and his two brothers, Cecil and Hilly, in Clayton, Alabama in 1956. The company remained largely family owned for several decades – even after going public.

The initial Boyd Brothers Transportation fleet consisted of only three tractors and flatbed trailers specializing in hauling steel products and building materials. However, by 1989 Boyd Brothers had established a network of regional operations that extended across two-thirds of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-boyd-brothers-transportation-inc-was-a-powerhouse-carrier-for-decades

Daseke turnaround evident in Q3 numbers

Flatbed trailers loaded on Daseke rig

Management from the nation’s largest flatbed carrier, Daseke Inc. (NASDAQ: DSKE), attempted to temper the excitement around the company’s third-quarter earnings outperformance during a conference call on Friday.

The Addison, Texas-based company reported earnings per share (EPS) of 22 cents, which significantly outpaced analysts’ expectations calling for a modest loss in the period. Excluding costs related to the transformation of the business, the carrier reported record adjusted EPS of 31 cents.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/daseke-turnaround-evident-in-q3-numbers

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