Transportation & Logistics International - Winter 2017 - 71
TRUCKING & FREIGHTING bought up the ocean carriers' chassis assets, giving TRAC the largest chassis fleet in the United States. TRAC Intermodal's COO, Val Noel, says, "TRAC won its fair share of those steamship line chassis acquisitions between 2012 and 2015." "Today, TRAC operates in over 600 marine locations and 160 domestic locations and has 22 offices and eight service centers across the country. The company has over 310,000 chassis under management and approximately 275,000 chassis in its active fleet, which is split between marine chassis and domestic chassis," Lovetro says. The company buys its chassis from manufacturers such as New Jersey-based Hercules Enterprises, which produces the 20 and 40-foot-long versions of the TRAC Titan chassis. Hercules is located near TRAC's New Jersey facilities, which has made them a reliable and accommodating supplier. "TRAC has expanded our fleet, operating locations and employees' skill profiles to allow us to provide our customers with a high-quality service that they require," Lovetro says. Today, the intermodal transportation market has three main customer groups: railroads, steamship lines and motor carriers, according to TRAC. However, two other groups are emerging; the beneficial cargo owners (BCO) such as Walmart, The Home Depot, Target Stores, etc. and NVOCC's which are non-vessel owner operators. Part of the challenge of the motor carrier piece of the business is the limited longevity of some of these companies. Smaller motor carriers tend to have short life spans, so it can be difficult to keep track of them. TRAC developed TRAC Connect, a program that makes chassis available on a short or medium-term basis to carriers that specialize in intermodal drayage. By managing bookings and billing, TRAC Connect is designed to make it easier for motor carriers to do business with the company. Grainger provides products that help businesses maintain, repair and enhance their operations. Over three million institutions worldwide rely on Grainger to help keep people safe, avoid costly downtime and improve efficiencies. Customers from the transportation and distribution industries turn to Grainger for top brands and outstanding services like inventory management and technical support. They place orders online, with mobile devices, over the phone and at local branches. More than 4,800 key manufacturers supply Grainger with 1.5 million products stocked in Grainger's distribution centers and branches. For more information on Grainger, visit www.grainger.com. WINTER 2017 TLIMAGAZINE.COM 71
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