IANA Mulls National Drayage Firm

SAN FRANCISCO — With talk of creating a national trucking company to provide drayage service to intermodal carriers, the makeup of such an entity was a topic of much discussion among 50 people at the Intermodal Association of North America’s annual meeting.

David Wenger, president of Eastern American Transport & Warehousing, said at an Aug. 23 panel session that he was approached by an investor seeking to purchase his Philadelphia company as part of a roll-up toward a national firm, which some in the industry say would be funded by an initial public offering.

Wenger, who is considering the offer, said a national drayage firm would help resolve the truck driver shortage that he predicted would get worse. He said drivers are moving toward regional trucking operations so they can spend more time at home, and truckload carriers will resolve the shortage of long-haul drivers by placing loads on the railroads.

A national drayage company comprising local carriers would benefit from existing relationships between shippers and carriers, Wegner said.

Greg Stefflre, executive vice president of Rail Delivery Services, threw cold water on the idea, saying the family-owned businesses that are the bulk of the drayage industry would balk at giving up much control.

“Trucking companies like to make their own decisions,” said Stefflre, whose drayage company is based in Long Beach, Calif.

The entrepreneurial nature of trucking would add to the difficulties of a roll-up, agreed Richard Rogan, president of Hub Highway Services in Lombard, Ill.

“Entrepreneurial cooperation is an oxymoron,” he said.

Acquired carriers would want access to financial capital and the benefit of power in numbers when dealing with intermodal marketing companies and railroads. Customers would expect committed service levels, power and equipment capacity, as well as uniform, timely and accurate information, Rogan said.

But those considerations may be not be universal across the country. Achieving uniformity is difficult because of regional differences in intermodal drayage needs, he added.