Kenan Advantage Group recently acquired Carbon Express after founder Steve Rush decided to retire.
“As I am fast approaching year 79, I felt it was time. It has been a great run over 58 years,” Rush reportedly said. “Trucking has been a wonderful career – both as a 19-year driver and 39 as the founder and owner of Carbon Express. I love both portions, and sometimes I think I actually loved driving as much as building the fleet. That tells me what most people don’t understand about the driver. Most truck drivers love to drive.”
Based in Wharton, N.J., Carbon Express possessed 63 trucks primarily used to transport bulk liquid products throughout the U.S. and Canada. Under Rush’s leadership, the organization reportedly moved away from mileage-based compensation to hourly wages. The driver-friendly founder placed a high value on selling to an operation that would continue similar work. Kenan Advantage Group ranks among the largest tank truck transporter and logistics operations in the U.S. The recent deal to buy Carbon Express is reportedly the third this year alone.
Amazon Closing Pair of Maryland Warehouses
Truckers interested in hauling freight for Amazon may be best served to look outside Maryland That’s because the e-commerce giant plans to shutter fulfillments in Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties by Oct. 25. The move to close another two warehouses comes as Amazon reconfigures its ground game as consumer spending declines due to inflation and rising interest rates.
Amazon’s warehousing bandwidth surged during the pandemic when people pivoted to remote work and harbored concerns about in-person shopping. The organization’s aggressive warehouse acquisitions outpaced retail rivals such as Walmart and Target, doubling its brick-and-mortar footprint. But with a glut of underused storage and distribution capacity, a steady purge has been underway in recent months.
“Amazon is a leading indicator when it comes to e-commerce, and this is a clear signal they overshot their target. Not only do they have too much capacity, but they are also trying to market some of this space to third-party retailers and handle them through their fulfillment network,” Paul Bingham, director of transportation consulting at S&P Global Market Intelligence, reportedly said. “Demand is falling away, and consumer expenditures are beginning to slow. That continuing, unrelenting demand growth that we saw from the summer of 2020 through early this year has stopped, and it’s not quite in reverse, but the volumes are going to fall further.”
More than 350 warehouse workers and van delivery drivers are expected to be sidelined. Truckers hauling goods and materials to the two locations are expected to secure work elsewhere. The U.S. continues to struggle with a truck driver shortage of more than 80,000 and growing.
Atlas Logistics Purchases Progressive Transportation
Atlas Logistics reportedly acquired the 50-truck assets of Wisconsin-based Progressive Transportation in a move that increases its pad-warp bandwidth.
“The timely decision was founded upon the principle of diversification, laying a foundation for organizational advancement as guided by the aggressive goals outlined in Atlas World Group’s Strategic Roadmap, Vision 2025,” Atlas Logistics COO Phil Wahl reportedly said. “It is with great pride and excitement that we welcome Progressive Transportation to the Atlas family.”
Sources: ccjdigital.com, wbaltv.com, freightwaves.com, ttnews.com
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