As the sun begins to set on our East Coast Summer and the kids go back to school, we should all grab a few more iced coffees, or ice creams, and enjoy the rest of the warm weather the Northeast has to offer. Though this year has come with many challenges and difficult decisions, it also brought new opportunities and success. Here are a few cool stories from this year so far.
The Longest trip
Me watching the freight move from Pennsylvania to Anchorage, AK- Circa 2022.
It isn’t every day that your customer tasks you with moving equipment to Anchorage, AK. Road expansion, temporary traffic improvement, and site safety are some of the solutions our customer offers to the United States and Canada. When we got the call to schedule such a shipment, our team was excited for the challenge. After all, it isn’t every day you get to focus on a project that takes hours of research, weeks of planning, and careful coordination to get right. The units were going to be available to ship only a few weeks before the delivery date so the margin for error was slim. At about 4300 miles, it would take roughly 80-90 hours driving time or roughly 2 weeks to drive a truck from the shipper in Pennsylvania to the final destination in Alaska. Only a few carriers in the United States or Canada are equipped or even capable of performing such a haul. Drivers need to equip their trucks with extra tools, tires, equipment, and possibly fuel to be comfortable traveling some of these remote areas. Fuel stops can be hundreds of miles apart and parts and truck services are very limited. Due to the complexity and cost, the team decided it was most efficient to send the equipment to the West Coast, transloaded into a container, hitch a ride on a barge, and sail the rest of the way North. The next leg was a short final delivery via local flatbed to the customer in Anchorage. It’s no next day air, but sure beats a breakdown in the middle of the Yukon Territory. . .The units were delivered ahead of schedule by a few days and everyone was happy. We are looking forward to the next big challenge.
Trips to Space!
This year PTI also moved a few shipments for our customers that will be used in space travel! So along with Alaska and Hawaii, mark space off of the list of PTI delivery locations!
Night deliveries to Penn Plaza
Our customer requested multiple deliveries to Penn Plaza for this cantilevered addition. It will add 88,000 square feet to the building. This is an artist rendering of an outdoor terrace the space could be used for. Article
Honorable mentions:
Over dimensional 300 Ton hydraulic press from Mississippi to Nevada.
Extraction of a disassembled vault from NYC at 2AM . We called it the jewelry heist. (No jewelry was leftover)
We delivered a shipment of construction material to the furthest corner of Nova Scotia. Sydney, NS.
Our straight truck delivered to the Fort Kent, ME. To paint a picture, Portland, ME is just over half way to Fort Kent. Next stop Saint-François de Madawaska, NB. . .
Can You Believe Its Labor Day already!?
Where has the year gone? Labor Day, the first Monday of every September since 1894. The unofficial end of the summer season, unofficial end of hot dog season, white clothes season, the start of the NFL regular season, as well as a few other unofficial titles. The holiday really got momentum on September 5, 1882, when thousands of union leaders and disgruntled workers marched through New York City to protest long hours and unsafe working conditions. A little over a decade later, Labor day became a federal holiday. 140 years after the March through NY, the L:abor Day parade and various others still take place and workers from around the world celebrate the holiday.
In the United States, about half of the country has some form of travel plans. Some holiday travelers are taking advantage of flexible working environments and have extended trips planned for the weekend. Columbus, OH, Raleigh, NC, Tampa, FL, North Kingstown, RI, and Jacksonville, FL are some of this years trending destination cities.
Whatever your plans for the holiday, enjoy the long weekend with family and friends, be safe, and we’ll see you at the next Truckstop Coffee Shop.
Until next time. . .
Tutus and forklifts. We’ll have to work on her PPE. My oldest getting familiar with the controls.
