| Type | Public (NASDAQ: TRBR) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
| Key people | Ivy Barton Suter, CEO Ralph W. Heim, President & COO Mark A. Tanner, CFO & VP Administration |
| Products | Freight forwarder |
| Revenue | $116.2 million (2007)[1] |
| Website | http://www.trailerbridge.com/ |
Trailer Bridge Inc. (NASDAQ: TRBR) is a freight service company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida that was the first company to provide what its website describes as a "unique combination of over-the road and over-the-water transportation."[2]
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Trailer Bridge was founded in 1991 by Malcolm McLean, who invented containerization in the 1960's. He saw the need for a service that could, in the words of the company, provide "true single-carrier responsibility across the United States and on to Puerto Rico."[2] This was his last endeavor before his health failed and he died in 2001. The McLean family own slightly less than half interest in the company. John D. McCown took over as Chairman and CEO after McLean and ran the company until he stepped down in December, 2008. Ralph Heim was the acting CEO until Ivy Barton Suter was named on August 27, 2009.[3]
Suter's education includes a BS in Mathematics from the University of Delaware, an MBA from the Harvard Business School and graduation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. She brings over 20 years of business experience to the company, the last three as a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal.[4]
Trailers destined for Puerto Rico are picked up almost anywhere in the continental US and driven to Jacksonville, Florida, where they are loaded onto a barge for the five day trip to San Juan. In 2007, the company added the Dominican Republic as a shipping destination and is, according to The Jacksonville Business Journal, the only service "between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic using U.S.-flagged ships."[5] The company expects to service Cuba when the US permits it.
The barges owned by Trailer Bridge have no propulsion system; instead, they rely on ocean-going tugboats supplied by other companies to tow the vessels to and from their destinations.
The company leases 26.5 acres (107,000 m2) of land at the southwest tip of Blount Island from the Jacksonville Port Authority where they dock, load and unload their barges.[6]
The company went public in 1997. According to Wright Investors’ Service, at the end of 2007, the company operated a fleet of 114 tractors, 241 high-cube trailers, 3,882 - 53' high cube containers and 3,177 - 53' chassis to transport truckload freight. They also owned two 736' triple-deck, Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ocean-going barges and three 403' Triplestack Box Carriers.[7]
Many of Trailer Bridge's customers are blue chip companies. New cars and trucks are a major segment of their cargo, and vehicles are shipped for Ford, DaimlerChrysler and General Motors. Several major retail chains use Trailer Bridge to ship containers to their stores, including K-Mart, JC Penney, Home Depot, Walgreens and Toys 'R' Us. Costco was added as a customer in 2008. Other products are shipped to Puerto Rican distribution centers by major manufacturers Georgia-Pacific, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Whirlpool and SC Johnson.[1]