In 1920, the U.S. railroad network was still near its peak. There were over 250,000 miles of track being used by over 1,000 railroads. Over 1.5 million men and women were employed in the industry.
By 2020, the number of railroads in the U.S. was down to about 700. However, the vast majority of the 700 are short line railroads; there are only seven Class I railroads operating (and that will drop to six when the Kansas City Southern Railway is acquired). The miles of railroad track in use has...
By the mid-1930s, L.R. Strickland had been involved in the trucking industry for several years. He had worked for Sproles Transportation & Storage, based in Dallas, Texas, as well as West Texas Express. His experience in the trucking industry gave him the insight and knowledge that generated Strickland Transportation its early successes.
Early history
Strickland Transportation Co., Inc.’s journey began when Strickland purchased an interest in Jackson Freight Lines, which operated on routes from...
https://s29755.pcdn.co/acquired-prior-to-trucking-deregulation
The early years
Consolidated Freightways, also known as CF, was founded in 1929 by Leland James in Portland, Oregon. James combined four short-haul companies located in Portland into one trucking firm. Once these companies were combined, James focused on expanding their reach. At the time, trucking in the West was a fledgling industry. The lack of industrial expansion to the West at this point made any sort of progress difficult to achieve. Because of this, James focused primarily on...
The story of Navajo Freight Lines began in 1934 when Red Arrow Trucking was founded. Four years later, Red Arrow was rebranded as the Kansas City Los Angeles Flyer Transport Company. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) granted the company routes from Kansas to Los Angeles, and by 1938, the company serviced New Mexico as well.
Early years
However, in 1940, the ICC revoked all routes given prior to the New Mexico lanes. This was a huge blow to the company, and its story might have ended...
https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-navajo-freight-lines-prospered-for-40-years
Early beginnings
Railroads were first developed in Great Britain. The first railroads were horse-drawn wagons running on wooden and then iron tracks, or rails…
Wooden railroads were also built in the American colonies and were built exclusively to transport freight. Termed “wagonways,” the earliest were begun in the 1720s. In addition to the British and colonists using wagonways in North America, the French used a wagonway to haul construction materials to their fortress at Louisburg, Nova...
At one point in time, Motor Freight Express was one of the oldest motor freight companies operating in the state of Pennsylvania. The company’s roots dated back as far as 1867, with the founding of the Baltimore Transfer Company in Maryland. At the time, the company was strictly a horse and wagon operation.
Pre-World War II
The owners of Baltimore Transfer Company founded Motor Freight Express in 1929, as a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier. They then purchased the Maryland and Pennsylvania...
https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame:-motor-freight-express
Lee Way Motor Freight was founded by Robert “Whitt” Lee in 1934. He had gone into business for himself in 1914 with a horse and buggy but created the trucking company in 1934 when he moved its location to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. By 1938, Lee Way Motor Freight covered lanes from Oklahoma City to the Texas panhandle and into New Mexico.
The U.S. Congress granted the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the authority to regulate the trucking industry in 1935 with the passage of the Motor Carrier...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame-lee-way-motor-freight
Campbell’s “66” Express, Inc. was founded by Franklin George Campbell in Springfield, Missouri, in 1926. The company was initially named Campbell Fuel and Transfer, but transitioned to trucking in 1933 when a banker asked Campbell if he would take over Rapid “66” Express, an ailing trucking company in the area. Rapid “66” Express operated from Springfield to St. Louis, Missouri along Route 66. Campbell agreed, and Campbell’s “66” Express was formed.
Campbell’s “66” Express was known throughout...
Glenndenning Motorways was founded in 1924 by W. Gordon and Louise Glendenning, a husband and wife team. The company was started initially to haul commodities from the communities around Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Roseville, Minnesota. These routes were soon expanded to include other metropolitan hubs such as Chicago. In fact, Glenndenning Motorways became one of the first motor carriers to expand its routes east, rather than west, from Minnesota. By the early 1930s, the company had expanded...
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...