North Carolina may not be the first state that springs to mind as a trucking leader. So, it may be a surprise that at its height in the 1960s, the state likely ranked second only to California, as measured by gross revenues of general commodity carriers. And formuch of the 20 th century’s second half, it’s probable that only Chicago exceeded Charlotte in the number of motor freight shipments entering and leaving the city in a day’s time. In addition, if we look at the number of regulated carriers based in the state or at overall trucking employment, North Carolina may have ranked first.

This all makes sense if we keep three words in mind: textiles, tobacco, and furniture. And it doesn’t hurt to consider that the Tar Heel state has long been a leader as well in the production of lumber and other forest products along with many field and orchard crops. Even today, North Carolina remains the only state that is a large producer of both cotton and tobacco, while ranking first in the production of sweet potatoes, second in output of turkeys and hogs, and third in the cultivation of strawberries, shrubbery, and nursery products.

While Tar Heel economic diversification has been a welcome development in recent decades it’s no secret that the domestic output of furniture, textiles, and tobacco products is not what it once was. It’s also true that trucking deregulation struck a further blow to the motor carrier industry’s established order and cut short the lives of many of yesterday’s Tar Heel trucking giants.

Regulation by the Interstate Commerce Commission protected both rates and routes and allowed many established carriers to maintain a fixed cost structure for wages that could not be sustained in a climate of unfettered competition. In a 20-odd year period between the mid-70s and mid-90s, at least a dozen of North Carolina’s largest carriers, along with many smaller ones faded into history. The result was that trucking revenues became more evenly split between North Carolina and other Southeastern states while then-smaller Tar Heel carriers such as Old Dominion and Epes grew exponentially and took up some of the slack left by the demise of the former giants.

While this sea change may have caused North Carolina’s trucking rank to slip a few notches, compensating graces have unfolded. It doubtless will come as a further surprise to many that North Carolina is now the nation’s number one heavy-duty truck, bus, and diesel engine builder. Freightliner assembles most of its trucks and builds many of their components in plants at Cleveland, Mount Holly, and Gastonia. Thomas of High Point is the largest U.S. builder of school buses and Cummins builds tens of thousands of engines annually at its Rocky Mount plant, which has recently announced a $580 million upgrade and expansion.

Today’s truck and equipment builders reprise a tradition began in the state in 1910 by Corbitt and later carried forward by Brown, two companies that in their time built the only heavy trucks in the South. Both folded in the mid-1950s, but 25 years later, Freightliner moved in; then, Volvo Trucks North America and Mack both chose to locate their corporate headquarters in Greensboro. These enterprises, and other related ones, likely contribute more to the state’s bottom line than yesterday’s motor carriers did in their heyday.

McLean, Hennis, Carolina Freight Carriers, Associated Transport Central, Johnson, Pilot, Thurston, Fredrickson, Standard, and Youngblood are among the well- remembered names that made North Carolina a trucking powerhouse. Today, Old Dominion, Epes, Cargo Transporters, Cardinal, Best Logistics, Eagle Transport, Red Classic, and XPO carry on the tradition. In an elite category are Tar Heel haulers whose history extends back 75 years or more or are direct descendants of companies with roots that reach that far into the past. These survivors of deregulation include City Transfer and Storage, Guy M. Turner, Inc., Yarbrough Transfer, J.L. Rothrock, Murrow’s Transfer, Barnes Transportation, Kenan Advantage, Reliable Tank Lines, Hilco Transport, and Tidewater Transit.

So, there you have it: LTL carriers, truckload operators, heavy haulers, household movers, tank carriers, flatbed haulers, and all the rest. If you have it, a truck brought it. And if a truck brought it, chances are, that truck had some connection to North Carolina.

Dick Calloway

Piedmont Carolina Chapter ATHS Member