News

Interstate is going green, again

December 6, 2014

Interstate Distributor Co. made history in August as the first national freight carrier in the Pacific Northwest to go “green,” purchasing 20 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tractors for regional trips along the Interstate 5 corridor out of the company’s yards in Tacoma, Wash. and Fontana, Calif.

“It’s exciting, but this is more of an exploratory test – a beginning,” said CFO James Reed. “We want to try these out and make sure we understand how to work them into our fleet. Right now, we’re viewing it as more of a learning experience than a long-term strategy. If the market continues to move in this direction, we’ll be ahead of the game.”

The trucks – 10 LNG-fueled Kenworth T680 day cabs based in Fontana and 10 52-inch regional sleepers in Tacoma – are more expensive than traditional diesel tractors – between $40,000 and $80,000 more, depending on the vehicle – but the company expects the LNG tractors to pay for themselves in two years.

“(CEO Marc Rogers) feels very passionately that Interstate should be a leader on the green front, a nod to our roots in the Pacific Northwest and the culture of Interstate,” says Reed.

Reed said Interstate jumped at the opportunity to engage in an ongoing, national conversation on building a natural gas fueling infrastructure. The Port of Tacoma approved a lease in August for plans by Puget Sound Energy to build a $275 million LNG facility at the Port to supply Totem Ocean Trailer Express, another Saltchuk company, with LNG to fuel its two Orca-class cargo ships.

“The PSE site should help inasmuch as its presence will provide a local supply point,” Reed said. “The largest portion of our LNG cost is getting to the fuel. With our nearest supply point upward of five hours away, this will lower that cost significantly.”

Meanwhile, Blu LNG, based in Salt Lake City, operates a national network of LNG fueling stations, including one in Sumner, Wash. And while more stations are under construction, the company’s aggressive growth strategy has been slowed while it waits for more fleets to make the conversion to LNG.

Reed said another option is to use Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a California-based company that built and supplied 27 natural gas fueling stations during the first six months of 2014, nine of which were placed along highways. Clean Energy has offered Interstate a temporary mobile fueling station, or “harpoon,” that it will maintain and keep full on Interstate’s yard.

“There are some real challenges there,” Reed said. “Especially in the Northwest, the availability of fueling stations is not widespread. California has much more substantial fueling options.”

Meanwhile, Reed said customer demand has been mixed.

“There are some customers that you’d think would be highly motivated by it, but they’re not,” Reed said, “and then there are some for whom you become a preferred vendor if you have a natural gas fleet.”

Reed said, personally, he is proud of the direction Interstate is headed. A native of Port Orchard, Wash., Reed has an MBA in corporate finance from Brigham Young University.

“When I left there, I went straight to Intel and then to other large, multi-national organizations. While I loved the experience, having this local connection is very important to me. Transportation is such an essential part of our economy – it’s not exportable. I think our goal is to do something meaningful and stay true to our company’s unique culture.”

Spectrum joins Interstate

October 7, 2014

Shift will leverage expertise and strengthen network

Tacoma, WA – TOTE, Inc. and Interstate Distributor Co. (Interstate) announced today that Spectrum Logistics, currently a TOTE company, is aligning with Interstate. TOTE and Interstate, both lines of business within the Saltchuk family of companies, will make this change to better leverage the business expertise of both companies.

This shift will allow Spectrum to benefit from Interstate’s vast network of drivers and transportation infrastructure. In addition, Spectrum will bring added capacity to Interstate as it  seeks to expand its truck brokerage services and business throughout the Southeastern United States.

“We are excited to have Spectrum’s expertise and services throughout the Southeast that will expand our network” noted Marc Rogers, President of Interstate. “Together we will be able to leverage our knowledge and improve results for our customers.”

Interstate receives the Polar Bear ‘Paw of Approval’ Award

April 29, 2014

TACOMA- Interstate Distributor Co. received the Polar Bear ‘Paw of Approval’ Award from the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Sustainable Tacoma Commission and the Arctic Action Team. We received the award for our efforts to reduce measurable reductions in the amount of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and/or fluorinated gases (refrigerants and by-products of semiconductor manufacturing) used in operations over the last three to five years.

Why the Polar bears? Climate change is causing a rapid decrease in Arctic Ice. Polar bears and other Arctic animals depend on ice for survival and could become endangered if we do not make an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Why Interstate? We have been a Smart Way member since its launch in 2004. Smart Way is a public-private initiative between the Environmental Protection Agency and small and large transportation companies. The goal of Smart Way is to improve fuel efficiency and the environmental performance of the goods movement supply chains by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. Visit their website at www.epa.gov/smartway.

In the past three years, we have made investments to upgrade our fleet with the newest low emission, clean air engines. Additional advancements made in aero dynamics have aided in an increase in fuel economy of 5%. We have also developed engine parameter settings to optimize fuel economy and reduce engine idle time. Our recent investment in natural gas tractors creates less dependence on crude oil. With lower emissions resulting in reduced greenhouse gases, natural gas is a possible alternative fuel source for the future. We are increasing companywide recycling by recycling everything we can from paper to engine oil.

Martin Singh, VP of Maintenance & Facilities, and Tonya Todd, Communications Manager, received the award on behalf of Interstate. The City of Tacoma’s Manager of Sustainability, Kristin Lynett introduced Interstate and spoke about our past and continued efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Kristin spoke very candidly about the process of choosing the award winner. Kristin mentioned that she and the panel were in disbelief that the stand out application was from a trucking company.

Interstate is committed to being an environmentally friendly transportation company. We will always strive to be the most efficient and green fleet in the industry and continually reduce our company’s carbon footprint.

Interstate Distributor Co. To Celebrate 80 Year Anniversary

July 20, 2013

Tacoma, WA – July 18, 2013 – Interstate Distributor Co. is pleased to announce the remarkable milestone of providing transportation services across this great country for 80 years. Interstate began operations in 1933 when Bob McLean owned one truck and hauled cedar shakes from Washington to California. Interstate is having a weeklong celebration at each of its major terminals in Lebanon, TN, Fontana, CA and at its headquarters in Tacoma, WA.
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Interstate Distributor opens regional OC in Kansas City, Mo.

August 13, 2012

Interstate Distributor Co. announced a new regional operating center in Kansas City, Mo., part of the company’s continued growth in the Midwest and Eastern markets. The company also has added 350 new 2013 Freightliner Cascadia tractors this summer as part of its growth plan.
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