Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Aug. 16, 2024:
Custom Commodities Transport rebranding
Custom Commodities Transport has a new brand, logo and messaging to more accurately reflect the company’s capabilities. The new name, Custom, promotes the expanded capabilities of the company and the customer focus of the solutions provided, the company said.
Custom is the combination of the original bulk transportation provider Custom Commodities Transport, warehouse operator Plastic Conversion Services, transload terminal operator LIFT and other endeavors. Identifiers will be used for every business unit – Custom Transport, Custom Warehousing, Custom Multimodal, Custom Leasing and Custom Brokerage – with Custom Inc. used for general branding.
“We are very proud of our heritage in the trucking industry and remain committed to providing our customers with the very best service to meet their specific needs,” said David L. Stevenson, Owner of Custom. “The company has grown dramatically, however, and now provides a full range of logistics and other solutions, we need a name that reflects all of our capabilities and the white glove service we deliver,”
Custom was launched as Custom Commodities Transport in the 1980s by Stevenson and has acquired Elliott Truck Line, J. Moore Transporters, Tommy Ellis Trucking, Blue Flash Express and most recently both Plastic Conversion Services and Plastic Transit.
The new Custom branding was developed by a cross-functional team with input from the company’s c-suite. It is being announced in coordination with the groundbreaking for the company’s latest transload facility and depot in Longview, Texas.
“Custom remains a family-run business based in East Texas dedicated to providing our customers with a superior experience and supporting our stakeholders and the communities where we operate. Having this new clear brand identity and a unified message helps us achieve these goals.”
TA accepting Citizen Driver Award nominations
TravelCenters of America is now accepting nominations for its 2025 Citizen Driver Award.
This is the 15th year of the program that TA created to recognize professional drivers who demonstrate traits that bring a high level of respect to the truck driving profession, including good citizenship, safety, health and wellness, community involvement and leadership.
As part of the honor, Citizen Driver Award winners may select a TA, Petro Stopping Center or TA Express location to be dedicated in their name, allowing their story to be continuously displayed for all travelers that pass through. In addition, the winner will receive $5,000 in prize money and TA will make a $2,500 donation to each winner’s organization of choice.
Nominations are being accepted through Oct. 7. A panel of trucking professionals will review all the nominees to select the finalists.
More than 150 nominations for the award were received last year, from fleet owners and executives, professional drivers, trucking organization members and trucking industry suppliers.
To date, 44 Citizen Drivers have been awarded with the prestigious honor.
Four to be inducted to trucking hall of fame
The American Truck Historical Society will honor four trailblazing trucking pioneers with their induction into the American Trucking and Industry Leader (ATIL) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The 2024 ATIL inductees are:
- Robert Young, founder, ABF
- John Ruan, founder, Ruan Transportation
- Marvin Rush, founder, Rush Enterprises
- Fred Jones, co-founder, Thermo King
“Each of these pioneers has made a big impact on the industry. Robert Young is the founder of ABF. Fred Jones perfected the art of refrigeration for trucks and railroad trailers. John Ruan was the leader of transportation logistics. And Marvin Rush formed a nationwide chain of dealerships, Rush Enterprises.” said Tom Mullen (Linesville, PA), American Trucking and Industry Leader Hall of Fame Chair.
The induction ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 at ATHS headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Hall of Fame is made possible with funding from our Visionary Partners, Cummins, Daimler Truck North America, and Mack; and Participating Partners, Walmart Transportation, Women in Trucking, and OOIDA.
