First Class

Fall 2014

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/417162

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 23

Rebuilding a Brand Those who have seen a Jim Palmer Trucking rig over the years tend to remember it. That's in part because a sighting so often led to an immediate question: Is that company named for Jim Palmer, the famous baseball player? It is not, but the Jim Palmer who founded the Missoula, Mont.-based carrier that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year has long dealt with misdirected inquiries about the state of his fastball. The striking rigs themselves have given Jim Palmer Trucking a high level of rec- ognition even without the coincidental nomenclature. Typically paired with a Peterbilt conventional over the years, the familiar Palmer refrigerated trailers helped give the company, in its heyday up to 450 power units, its identity. But as anyone in the industry knows, trucking became a challenging business in which to succeed a few years ago, and Palmer put his company up for sale. The new owners were unable to buck the trends of the recession, and Peterbilts no longer pulled the familiar Palmer trailer. The fleet shrunk by more than half. With Model 579s pushing 10 MPG, new ownership helps resurrect Jim Palmer Trucking 6 l FIRST CLASS PALMER

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of First Class - Fall 2014