Red Star Express

Company History: Red Star started in 1932 in Auburn, N.Y., as Red Star Express. At first, Red Star’s routes only served the surrounding areas, including Auburn, Syracuse and New York City. Despite difficult times during the Great Depression, Red Star Express was able to grow quickly, because it carried shipments that were too small to go via railroad, which were only hauling full containers and had restricted schedules.

Bisgrove’s philosophy – “on time and in good shape” – was simple enough, but won many customers over. Between 1932 and 1961, Red Star expanded throughout the Northeast. The less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier opened terminals in Albany, Buffalo, Jamestown, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, New York as well as North Bergen, New Jersey. By the early 1960s, gross revenues had exceeded $10 million. Red Star Express also grew through a series of acquisitions, expanding its service area as it went. (During this time the Interstate Commerce Commission, or ICC, had regulatory oversight of the trucking industry. It approved new routes for trucking companies infrequently; it was usually faster and easier to buy another trucking company with a desired route or routes.)

In 1961, Red Star Express acquired John Vogel, Inc., extending its reach into Philadelphia, western New York and western Massachusetts. The acquisition of Brown’s Express in 1964 provided Red Star Express a route from Boston to Albany. The company began serving Canada in 1967; its acquisition of Wallace Transport and routes gave it access to the province of Ontario and it expanded Canadian service to Quebec in 1969 with the purchase of Laurel Transport.

In total, Red Star purchased seven other companies between 1961 and 1979, extending areas of coverage as it went. By 1980, the company had exceeded $100 million in gross revenue; only a few trucking companies reached that revenue level at that time. Red Star Express was also responsible for pioneering the use of “double bottoms” – tandem trailers that soon would become a common sight on interstates throughout the United States.

In 1987, TNT Limited of Sydney, Australia, purchased Red Star Express and it became a part of a worldwide group of transportation companies. It was the sixth trucking company acquired by TNT Limited’s North American group. In 1992, TNT Freightways became a publicly traded company, separate from TNT Limited. TNT Freightways included TNT Bestway, TNT Holland, TNT Dugan, TNT Reddaway, TNT United and of course, TNT Red Star Express. (SOURCE: www.Freightwaves.com) https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-haul-of-fame:-tnt-red-star-express

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