Posts Tagged ‘trucking facts’

The History of the Semi Truck

Friday, August 12th, 2016
semi truck

The semi truck has evolved incredibly since its inception.

Alexander Winton invented the semi truck in Cleveland Ohio in 1898, and he sold the first manufactured semi truck in 1899. The concept of the semi truck actually came about as a way to handle the delivery of Winton’s manufactured vehicles, as cars that were driven to their customers would experience wear and tear and the delivery would be quite expensive. Winton created the automobile hauler as a way to address this, and in 1899 he started manufacturing the hauler for his own and other car manufacturer’s use. Over a hundred years, the concept that Winton pioneered evolved from a two wheel semi trailer to the eighteen wheeled, three axles semi-trucks that we have today. (more…)

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Trucking Trivia

Wednesday, August 14th, 2013

Think you know it all about trucking? Test your knowledge with a couple trucking facts. Some of them might surprise you!

trucking facts

 

What’s in a Name?

Semi trailers and semi trucks are actually two different things. The trailer can only be used when it’s connected to the truck because it has no front wheels, hence the name semi trailer. The term semi truck grew out of that, and it is often shortened to just a “semi.” A tractor trailer technically only references the trailer and semi truck designates only the truck, though they are sometimes mistakenly used to denote the truck and trailer together as a whole.

Numbers

There are about 5.6 million semi trailers registered in the U.S., about 3 times the number of registered semi trucks. Trailers are usually about 53 feet long. There are 3.2 million truck drivers in the U.S., who operate a total of 1.9 million semi trucks, a third of which are registered in California, Florida and Texas. According to Popular Mechanics, “About 90 percent of trucking companies and owner-operators have fewer than six trucks.” The maximum weight permitted for a truck with a full trailer is 80,000 pounds. The engine itself can weigh around 3,000 pounds. About 190,000 new semi trucks are sold every year, one third of which are manufactured by Freightliner, the most popular semi truck manufacturer.

Mile After Mile

Semi trucks collectively log 140 billion miles every year in the U.S., and individually average about 45,000 miles, though long distance trucks can reach up to 100,000 miles a year. While only 15 percent of commercial trucks are semi trucks, semi trucks travel 42 of the miles logged by commercial trucks every year. Gas is one of the biggest expenses for trucks, as they get an average of only 6.5 miles to the gallon. This can drop to less than 3 miles to the gallon if a truck is going up a steep hill, or it can increase to more than 23 miles per gallon going down a hill. New fuel economy standards that begin next year require semi trucks with sleeper cabs to get 7.2 miles per gallon or more.

 

Evan Transportation was founded in 1992 by Jerry Wolfarth, who at the time had over 25 years of experience in the trucking and transportation industry. The initial operation consisted of a few trucks and drivers who were dedicated and professional. The goal of the company was to provide excellent, dependable service.

If you need materials and products moved in the Mid-Atlantic region, contact Evan Transportation. We hire professional drivers with excellent driving records, and maintain a fleet of trailers and vehicles that are reliable and ready to roll.

Contact us today for all of your freight shipment needs or call us at 443-673-3365

Before you hit the road, check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube!

Source

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/pictures/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-semi-trucks#slide-3

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A Few Interesting Trucking Facts

Monday, June 24th, 2013

Sure, you count on trucking companies like Evan Transportation to reliably get your freight to its destination on time, but how much do you really know about the trucking industry? If you’re interesting in trucking or just have a passing curiosity, there are a lot of interesting facts and tidbits to consider in regards to trucking. It has a long and varied history that you may have not known about.

For example, it may interest you to know that the first tractor trailer was invented in 1914 by Charles Freuhauf, who was a German-American blacksmith. Freuhauf built the truck in Detroit at a merchant’s request to transport his boat to the Ford Motor Company. He called his product a “semi-trailer.”  Freuhauf was then asked to build a similar tractor trailer to haul lumber, leading him to establish the Freuhauf Trailer Company in 1918. Requests for the tractor trailer vehicle were enough that Feuhauf had a somewhat successful company based around tractor-trailer manufacturing.

And another interesting fact: all tractor-trailers have a “fifth wheel” that provides a link between the semi-trailer and the truck, tractor unit, leading trailer or dolly unit. The term “fifth wheel” comes from a similar concept used for four-wheel horse drawn carriages and wagons. The wheel itself was placed on the rear frame section of the truck, which back then only had four wheels, this wheel that was placed on the frame was the “fifth wheel” hence the name.

There are all kinds of points in history that made trucking what it is today. The Motor Carrier act, established in 1935 made it so the Interstate Commerce Commission could “grant operating permits, approve trucking routes,” and “set uniform tariff rates for hauling freight,” but due to the lack of competition this created among trucking companies, the ICC was abolished in 1995. This created a more free market experience for truckers and the trucking industry as a whole.

And here’s a bit of our history: Evan Transportation was founded in 1992 by Jerry Wolfarth, who at the time had over 25 years of experience in the trucking and transportation industry. The initial operation consisted of a few trucks and drivers who were dedicated and professional. The goal of the company was to provide excellent, dependable service.

If you need materials and products moved in the Mid Atlantic region, contact Evan Transportation. We hire professional drivers with excellent driving records, and maintain a fleet of trailers and vehicles that are reliable and ready to roll.

Contact us today for all of your freight shipment needs or call us at 443-673-3365

Before you hit the road, check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube!

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