Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/555101
48 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2015 W ith favorable freight pricing and tight capac- ity, the trucking industry witnessed positive economic conditions across all segments in 2014. Carriers ranked in this year's CCJ Top 250 also experi- enced sizable growth in terms of revenue and equipment capacity. After a relatively flat year in our last ranking, companies in this year's ranking account for a total of 650,688 power units, up from 606,274 last year. OEMs saw a huge boost in Class 8 truck sales in 2014, netting their strongest year since the pre-buy phenom- enon in 2006 with more than 380,000 orders placed in the North American Class 8 market, according to indus- try analyst firm ACT Research. The segments with the largest percentage of power unit additions this year are flatbed/specialized/heavy haul and general freight at 16.7 percent and 10.4 per- cent, respectively. Power unit numbers shrank for both the household goods and intermodal segments. In terms of revenue, all segments experienced growth ac- cording to companies self-reporting revenues for both 2013 and 2014. The general freight segment led the way with 14 percent growth year over year, followed by the dedicated contract carriage and refrigerated segments at 10.9 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively. Even the fl atbed/specialized/ heavy haul segment, which saw revenues shrink last year, rebounded well, according to this year's report. Although the pace slowed, driver numbers also in- creased for this year's crop of CCJ Top 250 companies, totaling 723,933 (both company equipment drivers and independent contractor drivers), a 1.2 percent increase from last year following a 3.9 percent increase the prior year. Acquisitions among large carriers continue Carriers looking to diversify their businesses or create greater economies of scale continued a steady pace of acquisitions in 2014 and the first half of 2015. Forward Air Corp., which jumped from No. 77 to No. 58 in this year's ranking, purchased Central States 2014 was a banner year for trucking's top fl eets BY JEFF CRISSEY