The Past and Future of Trucking in Minneapolis, MN

Trucking has been a hot topic in Minneapolis these last few months after the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock closed for the last time in early June. With the lack of barges following the Mississippi, the number of companies turning to trucking is expected to pick up in the next year which may bode well for Minnesota-native companies such as Bay & Bay transportation.

What few may realize is that trucking has been around for a very long time (since the late 1800’s in fact), and this coming uptick in trucking activity certainly isn’t the first time the industry has made the Minneapolis news. In fact, in the early days of trucking, Minneapolis was home to a volatile strike that is seen as a historical turning point for workers’ rights in Minnesota.

Compared to then, the trucking industry has expanded and developed into a modern marvel of long distance transportation. When you’re driving along I35 and you’re next to a large semi with another up ahead, it might be easy to write them off as overbearing road-hogs, but doing so would be a disservice to what they’re really accomplishing. The stores you shop at, the groceries you buy, and even the carnivals you attend all share a common characteristic; they had to get their stock somewhere. And some flatbed transportation units can carry around 24 tons of material which can be an incredible asset to farms and amusement parks alike.

Plus, thanks to early innovations such as refrigerated transportation, fresh food can be transported across the state, which is quite the feat in the Midwest where sometimes you can feel eons away from civilization. It’s also worth noting that the inventor of refrigerated transportation, Fred Jones, was living in Minnesota when he developed the technology in the 1930’s…a lucky thing considering the average Minnesota summer. Jones made a deal with Minneapolis native Joseph A. Numero and the two of them worked on securing the patent by 1940.

The history of Minneapolis nicely intertwines with that of trucking, and it’s impressive to consider that the industry has been up and running for over a century. The next time you pass a semi on the interstate, it may be worth making a note of what they’re carrying, or issue a passing guess of where it’s going. It’ll make those long trips in bad traffic just a little more historic.

If you’re in Minneapolis and are interested in joining a long-running tradition, or looking for transportation freight services, contact Bay & Bay transportation at 888.801.3026 or visit our website.