The trucking industry has come a long way from its beginnings with teamsters driving wagons loaded with freight from state to state, city to city. The first “trucks” to ply the highways were not seen in great numbers until the late 1940’s when most goods and products were moved across the country by train. The development of the Interstate highway system in the United States however changed all that. The ability of shippers to move vast amounts of goods across long distances and high speed required the development of a new kind of truck.
The first long distance trucks were simply flatbeds, tankers and slat-sided vehicles for livestock. It did not take long however before the closed van, and then the vented van began to appear. The final innovation in trailers however was the introduction of the temperature controlled reefer. These reefer trailers could deliver goods to market that required heating or cooling, even freezing, during the transport with no problem.
The original reefer service vehicles had been designed after the original dry trailers, which often used wooden floors to aid in air circulation. These wooden floor reefers are still being used for goods such as produce, or anything that needs the lots of circulation. The industry also uses metal floor reefers for merchandise that either does not need circulation or because the cold metal helps keep energy costs low. Metal floored reefers also do not retain moisture, like wooden floored reefers.
Today’s modern reefer trailers are able to monitor the condition, temperature and humidity, inside the trailer and even adjust the temperature to suit outside temperatures. This includes both the cooled and the heated trailers. Advancements in technology even allow temperatures of each truck from the home dispatcher.
There are sure to be more innovations in the trucking industry in the near future. Trucking is still the most cost efficient way to move goods from one side of the country to the other and local businesses need to be able to access a local trucking logistics company.
Other Equipment in our fleet:
High Cube Vans, Logistics Vans, tandem Vans, Vented Vans, 102 Wide Reefers. High Cube Reefers, metal floor reefers, and wooden floor reefers.