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Trucker Expanding Fleet in $24M Buy

Brea-based G.I. Trucking Co. said it is spending $24 million to upgrade its fleet of trucks.

Last month, the company said it was buying 338 truck cabs, more than 800 Hyundai 28-foot trailers, 338 Hyundai dollies and 29 forklifts as part of an expansion.

“The economy the last year-and-a-half has been strong,tonnage levels and demand are up,” G.I. President Bill Reid said.

The move is set to bring G.I.’s fleet to nearly 900 trucks and 4,000 trailers.

G.I., which hauls products for home improvement stores and other retailers, had revenue of $215 million last year, according to Reid.

“This year we’re forecasting 12% growth,” he said.

The company counts some 2,500 workers nationwide, including 80 at its Brea base.

G.I. also does some corporate work at a facility in La Mirada, where it has a 120-door terminal and some 300 people. The company moved its headquarters to Brea four years ago because it was running out of space in La Mirada, Reid said.

The company has 62 trucking centers, or terminals, and hauls goods through 13 Western states. The company also works with ExpressLink, a trucking alliance to move products to the rest of the U.S. and Canada.

The alliance includes Richmond, Va.-based Estes Express Lines Inc., St. Paul, Minn.-based Lakeville Motor Express Inc. and Mississauga, Ontario-based TST Overland Express.

Trucking has seen consolidation, including trucking company purchases by FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the market,” Reid said.

G.I.’s biggest customers include Home Depot Inc., Lowe’s Cos. and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Reid said.

Along with FedEx and UPS, G.I. competes with Buena Park-based Con-Way Western Express, part of CNF Inc.’s Con-Way Transportation Services Inc.

Retailers now want products shipped as fast as possible, which has helped G.I. and other shorter-haul truckers, Reid said.

“In past years a long-haul company in New Jersey would ship stuff to every store in the country,” Reid said. “Today, manufacturers have set up public warehouses close to their customers so their customers can get products shipped the next day.”

Two soldiers just returning from World War II,Frank Dunn and Charles Hutchings,founded G.I. in 1946 in Los Angeles. They operated two trucks hauling furniture across the city.

In 1995 Arkansas Best Corp. bought the company from the founders. Six years later, G.I.’s senior management and Estes Express Lines bought the company from Arkansas Best.

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