ACT
presents its 8th annual
TRANSPORT
50
ranking of
North America’s largest
heavy and specialized
transportation companies.
Super sized
S
pecialized transportation
companies successfully
rolled through 2013 without
much fanfare, although some of the
cargoes this sector hauls and rigs are
quite spectacular. Based on our 2013
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
, most companies
added employees, trailers and vehicles.
The biggest trend we noticed was that
quite a few companies that did not have
modular/hydraulic platform trailers or
self-propelled modular transporters in
their fleets now do.
Sustained growth
It appears that there has been a
sustained, modest growth experienced
by the larger companies and the smaller
ones are holding their own, also adding
employees and adding to their fleets
Companies that transport oversized,
overweight cargo achieve monumental
tasks, rigging and hauling objects
and equipment that would have been
considered unmovable even 10 years
ago. The effort to haul these items
requires extreme planning, sophisticated
engineering and expensive trucks, trailers
and specialized hauling equipment.
Plus there are all sorts of other hurdles,
including the route planning, acquiring
permits, dealing with weather issues and
other challenging obstacles. But they get
it done, and they get it done safely and
without incident
We first introduced our
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
in 2005, and the
list has grown incrementally each year.
This year, just one company is new to
the list While most of the major players
in the North American specialized
transportation sector are on the list, we
also realize there are some companies
not represented. Most of these companies
choose not to be on our list.
The
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
is ranked by
fleet capacity and then by total maximum
transport capacity by weight of all
relevant equipment in a company’s fleet
(in U.S. tons). The ranking is based on
information supplied by the companies
on a standard inquiry form completed by
those companies and returned to
ACT.
While we have worked to produce
the most accurate ranking possible, we
cannot guarantee the accuracy of the
information supplied. The integrity
and honesty of those who fill out our
surveys is what we rely on to assure our
lists are accurate and complete. While
there is room to expand and improve
the
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
, we try hard
to get as many replies as possible by
encouraging hundreds of potentially
relevant companies to fill out and return
the application form. This year we
reached out to more than 750 companies
by regular mail, email and the internet.
Additionally, firms included on our list
last year did not re-submit information
this year. In these cases we included their
2012 information. In some cases, when
data wasn’t available or updated, we
mark these listings as
ACT
estimates. As
with all our Top List databases, we made
every effort to ensure the accuracy and
completeness of this information but the
editors and staff take no responsibility
for errors, omissions or incomplete
information.
■
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
37
DECEMBER 2013
ACT
BY THE NUMBERS
American Cranes & Transport
Magazine’s
2013
TRANSPORT
50
includes 80
companies that do business on a regional,
national and international basis. Most of
the firms are purely transportation services
firms, although many, especially the top 30,
offer lifting and rigging services. This year’s
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
listing offers some
interesting conclusions and observations
about the business of specialized transport.
■
The
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
encompasses a fleet of
41,588
pieces
of equipment or vehicles, up from
39,617
in 2012.
■
The total capacity in U.S. tons of the
entire
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
is
2,834,129
U.S. tons, up significantly
from
898,739
in 2012.
■
The
ACT
TRANSPORT
50
employs
23,285
industry professionals, up
from
15,696
in 2012.
■
TRANSPORT
50
companies own and
operate approximately
17,946
tractor/
truck units, up from
16,781
in 2012.
■
The
TRANSPORT
50
represents
a total of
388
headquarters and/or
terminal locations throughout North
America.
■
Thirty-three of the firms on the
TRANSPORT
50
report that their
scope of work in the specialized
transportation sector as international.
Thirty-three companies in the
TRANSPORT
50
consider their scope
of work to be national, and 15 categorize
themselves as regional.
■
One company is new to the
TRANSPORT
50
in 2013.
>38
PHOTO COURTESY
OF NCSG
