TRUCKING INDUSTRY: Classification of Carriers.
The trucking industry is made up of those persons and firms engaged in the business of owning and operating motor trucks for hire to transport products over roads. Such companies are known as carriers.
The three principal categories of carriers are: private carriers, who use trucks to transport only their own products from farm to market, or raw materials from source to processing or manufacturing plants, or finished products to their markets, or for interplant movements; contract carriers, who enter into contractual agreements, usually long-term in nature, with business establishments to transport materials and products for those firms; and common carriers, who serve the general public on any and all commodities. A contract carrier may contract with several firms: however, shipments from different firms cannot be mixed together Common carriers are granted operating certificates by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) as either irregular-route carriers or regular-route carriers.
Irregular-route carriers serve the public on ‘call and demand’. They usually operate from a central, office or terminal, shipping either specified commodities (such as textile products) or general, commodities from specified points or areas to other specified areas.
Regular-route common carriers are granted authority by the ICC to operate over specified highway routes on a regular basis, using terminals located strategically to consolidate and distribute freight in a surrounding area. Commodities handled by regular-route carriers may be specified, or the carrier may have authority to handle general commodities, usually with some exceptions for which special and specific authority must be granted by the ICC. Such special goods include small-package express, armored express (for transporting items of unusual value), household goods, automobiles, and explosives, liquids carried in tank trucks, dry bulk goods, logs, and cement.
Agricultural produce (unprocessed farm products) is not subject to ICC regulation and may be handled by what are known as unregulated motor carriers. The ability of a truck to pick up produce from several farms and bring it quickly to market makes trucking well suited for this purpose.
Types of Trucks
Today’s truck is the result of recent engineering and technological advances, with economy, environmental impact, safety, and driver comfort as much a part of truck design as the load factor. A number of special types of trucks are built to perform specific functions.
The pickup truck has a carrying capacity of 0.5 to 5 U.S. tons. Smaller types usually have a conventional design, whereas larger sizes have the cab above the engine. The loading area is designed for the particular job to be performed. It may have a flatbed, open bed, stake body, or closed van. Since the 1980s, the small pickup has become a popular style. The panel truck is a completely enclosed van having a capacity of about 0.5 U.S. tons. The straight truck may have a conventional or cab over engine design. The body length is designed for the job function. Where double- and triple-trailers are used, the straight truck may be used as the tractor. The tractor may also have a conventional or cab-over-engine design. It has a so-called fifth wheel and may have rear dual wheels mounted on a single axle, or tandem axles, depending on the usage. The semitrailer is a vehicle designed to be pulled by a tractor. It has either single or tandem axles on the rear. A steel plate with a welded or molded pin that is located on the bottom front slips and locks into the fifth wheel of the tractor. A ‘semi’ may be an open flatbed, stake body, or fully enclosed van box. The full trailer is similar to the semitrailer except that it has front wheels as well as rear wheels and has a tongue for hooking it to a tractor or another trailer. A tandem unit consists of two trailers pulled behind a single tractor. Tandem trucks are generally not allowed on secondary or congested roads.
Trucks that are even more specialized for performing special and unusual jobs include fire engines, refrigerated vans, mobile cranes, earth-moving machinery, dump trucks, concrete mixers, garbage and trash trucks, and tank trucks for both dry and liquid-bulk hauling.
