D & H, an asset-based third-party logistics company based in Orem, Utah, says it is experiencing rapid growth due in large part to the company’s focus on providing backhaul solutions to private fleets and shippers. To further leverage what Chief Executive Officer Jason Johnson views as a largely neglected niche market, D & H announced Tuesday, Aug. 21, that it will spin off its private fleet backhaul division to form LaneLinks Inc., effective Oct. 1.
According to Johnson, LaneLinks is a departure from the traditional model for a backhaul broker or agent because the company deemphasizes spot market load matching. Instead, LaneLinks says it will concentrate on creating and managing long-term partnerships between private fleet owners and shippers that can utilize a fleet’s regular delivery routes and schedules.
“Our mission is to provide the private fleet manager with stability through ongoing backhaul relationships, which in the long run are simpler and less costly to manage,” Johnson says. “Our secret is training our staff to think like private fleet managers, so we are all trying to solve their problem with the same point of view. We work exclusively with private fleets.”
Using internally developed proprietary tools and a database of private fleet schedules and routes, Johnson’s team has focused its efforts on developing regular backhaul loads for specific routes that private fleet managers find most challenging. Shippers also benefit from LaneLink’s forward-thinking and experience in the backhaul arena, Johnson says.
“We are helping shippers utilize private fleets as part of their overall supply chain solution,” he says. “These shippers are seeing tremendous benefits in service, cost and capacity.”
