Company Scale Keeps Products Moving

The simple fact remains, there is always a demand for food. And while the food-related industry remains steady, it’s undergoing challenges and opportunities of its own.

We all experienced nearly empty roads as people stayed home during the shutdowns. Naturally, that reduced demand for fuel, and in turn, the need for fuel drivers. But KAG pivoted. We shifted drivers from our fuel-related businesses to serve customers in our food-related businesses. This is a great example of how KAG’s range of capabilities and scale provided benefits not only for our valued customers but also for our nation.

Over time drivers began to realize stability in the food transportation industry and we’ve seen an uptick in new drivers joining our team. Furthermore, we were able to bring on the addition of drivers from key acquisitions, including T Haul Trucking (November 2020) and Ag Trucking (May 2021). Those acquisitions were part of our ongoing growth initiative but were particularly well-timed to help us support customer needs.

To maximize driver road time, we also saw the need to make changes to some of our operating practices, including:

• More pre-loading
• More continuous moves or relays
• Reliance on KAG Logistics to help us with power-only and relay options
• Additional drop-and-hook trailers, allowing customers to unload at their convenience
• Increased weekend work

All these things minimized driver wait times, enabling them to maximize capacity and delivery speed. Overall, we stayed flexible and maximized our network to adapt to shifting customer requirements. We embraced new opportunities and found the resources to execute on them.

“This is a great example of how KAG’s range of capabilities and scale provided benefits not only for our valued customers but also for our nation.”