Never Stand Still

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Years ago There was a effort by the western governors association to get away from the state by state patchwork of LCV (longer combination vehicles) regulations. They wanted to get the Federal government to agree to standardize LCV regulations for this region. The reason I looked into this is because one day it dawned on me that I had never seen certain types of LCV's that are common in neighboring Nevada and UT (like the blue Peterbilt) operating in Oregon so I did some research.

 

Since Willis Shaw Express and International COE's have recently been discussed here I thought I would share this picture I found on Hank's Truck Pictures. Something noteworthy about this truck is that aluminum wheels were not that common on company trucks back then.

 

I don’t mean to derail this thread. Have you ever wondered what the oldest trucking company still ticking is?

I’m curious... not sure how to see. It would be cool if FMCSA/DOT would publish neat stats like that.

 

It has brought up before and I believe the consensus was that it is Mawson&Mawson out of Pennsylvania.

Can’t remember 100% though.

 

There is a couple ways to ask/ answers this question:

Do you want to know the oldest brand still operating?

or

The oldest brand still operating that's also currently owned by the founding family?

Companies are frequently bought and sold in this industry, the new owner will often continue to use the acquired companies name. This practice is frequent with holding companies.

 

I like reading about the early years of some of these carriers. I was sitting in the front office waiting to see HR the other day and found a book on the history of my own company. There were lots of pictures of the founders wife behind the wheel in the late 30's and 40's running loads. Turns out she was a major driving force behind the company's growth, and when he thought about selling put her foot down and refused. She said she put too much work into it to want to see it go to someone else.

 

Mawson&Mawson was sold by the founding family long ago.

 

The fleets of that era really struggled with the poor resale value of those COE's. Thats when the exporting of used trucks really took off.