Private carriers are companies that haul the cargo that they produce, use, sell or buy. Today more and more businesses consider keeping their logistic functions to themselves by owning a fleet of trucks so that they can operate them whenever they need to. Food processing companies, retail chains and grocery stores are examples of private carries.
The government does not have many regulating reports on private carriers. This makes any information about their operations to be very limited.
This sector of the trucking industry is a key part of the large shares of trucking in the U.S. Here are some important facts about private carriages:
In 1993, they carried 55% of the total freight hauled by the industry. They handled 3.56 billion tons out of a total of 6.5 billion tons.
Private carriers average a length of haul of 51 miles. In 1993, they handled 240 billion tons of miles.
The freight that they handled was more valuable than the freight that for hire carriers hauled. Private carriers handled freight with a value of $1.8 trillion, whereas the value handled by for hire carriers freight was $1.0 trillion lower.
In 1994, $178 billion (54% of truck revenue in the United States) corresponded to private carriers. This revenue was divided into intercity and local freight.