GULFPORT, Miss.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
American Truck Group LLC is co-sponsoring an exciting new program, similar to “a-rent-to-own” program, with Jacobson Companies of Des Moines, IA (www.jacobsonco.com). Both parties hope to eventually create hundreds of new jobs for the Transportation Industry. American Truck Group already puts 400+ owner-operators on the road a year and American Truck Group’s goal is for the owner-operator, in a short time, to own the truck outright – that’s right, they won’t have anymore payments! Jacobson Companies will be assisting qualified drivers with the initial down payment required to enter into a Truck Rental to Buy program offered by the American Truck Group.
Jacobson Companies has a history of supply chain innovation that dates back more than 40 years. Jacobson was founded by Richard Jacobson in 1968 in Des Moines, Iowa. Jacobson has grown dramatically from its initial 96,000 square foot, eight story warehouse building in Des Moines, to today include more than 35 million square feet of warehouse space in 35 states across the United States with approximately 7,000 employees. During the 1970s, warehouse facilities started to expand from Des Moines to other cities in Iowa and around the Midwest. This was just the beginning of the expansion in years to come for warehousing. Today the Jacobson Companies is the third largest trucking warehouse property owner in the United States. Warehousing has become an essential component for American manufacturers, and Jacobson has become a primary provider of services related to this business segment.
Jacobson Transportation Company was formed to serve the product shipping needs of their warehouse customers. Although it started with only two people in the office and two company drivers, today Jacobson’s Transportation Services serves 48 states and Canada. In the mid 1990s, Jacobson initiated a packaging division which was integrated with their warehousing and transportation divisions, allowing for quicker turn-around times to customers. Today, Jacobson’s expertise in packaging and manufacturing covers a variety of industries, including: food commodities of all types, beverages, general commodities (paper and plastics), electronics, pharmaceuticals, tools, hardware, lawn and garden, and toys and trinkets.
The driver shortage in the transportation industry has been estimated to exceed 200,000 by mid 2013. Unlike so many other manufacturing, customer service or telemarketing jobs, a truck driver job cannot be outsourced. The relationship between American Truck Group LLC and the Jacobson Companies will expand opportunities for owner-operators to fill this void in the United States.
