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The Platinum Rule:

A Carrier’s Journey from One
to One Hundred Trucks

The U.S. Trucking Market

Opportunity and Obstacles

The U.S. trucking market is massive, with carriers moving over 11 billion tons of freight and generating $940 billion in revenue in 2022 alone. 

But from fierce competition among 750,000 carriers, constant market volatility, and high operating costs, the road to success is fraught with challenges for trucking companies.

The allure of profitability often clashes with these demanding conditions, leading to a revolving door of carriers entering and exiting the market. In turn, shippers must constantly search for reliable carrier partners committed to delivering both capacity and exceptional service.

One such carrier is Platinum Express out of Yuba City, California. Their story is a testament to the dedication needed to build trust and cultivate partnerships essential for growth in this competitive industry.

2022

U.S. Trucking Market

Market Size
$940B
number of carriers
750K
Number of brokers
20K
2015

Gerardo Aceves
& Amit Dhugga

Fortune Favors the Bold and Resilient

In 2015, Amit Dhugga and Gerardo Aceves, then 23-year-olds and recent college graduates, shared a vision of building a high-growth trucking company. Despite being newcomers in an industry dominated by experienced drivers, they recognized the potential of the trucking market due to its low entry barrier and high earning prospects.

So, armed with nothing more than their education, entrepreneurial spirit, and a modest network of industry professionals willing to help them learn the business, they purchased their first truck on a credit card and set out to find freight.

That truck broke down on its very first load, putting thousands of pounds of fresh produce at risk. But what appeared to be a bad omen turned into their first lesson in the value of establishing strong partnerships. 

“The first driver we hired had a lot of experience and was patient even when that first truck broke down,” said Dhugga. “Most drivers would have quit, but he believed in our mission and helped us navigate initial challenges.”

Dhugga and Aceves spent the next few years consulting with industry experts to fill their knowledge gaps while establishing themselves as a viable carrier, ultimately leading to a business philosophy centered on growth, service, safety, and driver well-being.  

“Early on, we learned to understand drivers’ preferences and honor them...For instance, we prioritize giving drivers the freight they prefer on the lanes they know, and they deliver excellent service in return.”

Amit Dhugga

Shifting Gears

Their strategic approach attracted ample new freight opportunities. To keep pace, they devised a plan to scale while operating with limited equipment and capital. 

Once again, partnerships played a crucial role. Leveraging their network, they engaged proven owner-operators willing to lease assets to Platinum Express, ensuring reliable capacity while they slowly but surely built their own fleet.

“This fueled our growth by driving revenue and strengthening our reputation,” said Dhugga. “With stable cash flow, we could raise capital, hire more drivers, and secure the necessary financing for additional equipment.”

At that point, Dhugga and Aceves shifted from thinking like an owner-operator-based business to an asset-based business. By 2020, they were firing on all cylinders. With around 60 trucks, 60 drivers, and 75 employees, they set a new growth goal of owning 100 trucks by the end of 2021.

Achieving that goal would require more freight than their team could find alone. Their prior experience with transactional third-party freight brokerages motivated them to replicate the successful partnerships they had with drivers and shippers, this time in the brokerage space.

2016
1
Trucks
1
Drivers
1
Employees

Great Minds Work Alike

They found just what they were looking for with Arrive Senior Carrier Sales Representative Bryan Bevelhimer in 2020. At the time, the pandemic had driven demand through the roof. Bevelhimer needed to secure consistent capacity in a tight market, and Platinum Express stepped up.

“They nailed the first few loads, so the trust was there immediately,” said Bevelhimer. “Though they were busy with outbound freight, I learned that most of their trucks were heading home empty, so I started sending them backhaul loads.”

The relationship grew stronger with every load.

“I sent them so much freight that they gave me real time visibility into their entire fleet, allowing me to book loads directly,” said Bevelhimer. “It’s rare for a carrier to give a broker that kind of visibility, but we trusted each other.”

Dhugga echoes that sentiment.

Many brokers just want capacity at the lowest rate, so they’ll just move from one carrier to the next,” said Dhugga. “But Bryan understood what we were trying to build and was committed to establishing a long term partnership.

Amit Dhugga
2021

Growing Pains

That commitment paid off when Arrive started working with a national internet and cable service provider in 2021. Knowing only a top-tier carrier could meet the shipper’s stringent service standards, Bevelhimer asked Platinum Express to take it on.

However, adapting to those tough service standards, especially amid tight market conditions, presented challenges at first — but their strong and transparent partnership enabled them to learn from missteps and course-correct quickly.

Mistakes are inevitable, but were able to have honest conversations about what went wrong and how to turn it around…We got back on track and have done over 600 loads for that shipper since January of 2022.”

Strength in Numbers & Beyond

The accountability, resilience, problem-solving, and dedication to delivering so our customers can exemplify what makes Platinum Express such a sought-after carrier — and the numbers tell an equally compelling story.

Since first partnering with Arrive, Platinum Express has transported over two thousand loads, generating several million dollars in revenue that were reinvested into the business. And their service metrics as of July 2023 — 98% OTP, 96% OTD, and 100% connectivity — are best-in-class.

In turn, Dhugga and Aceves have expanded their fleet from 40 to over 100 power units and 150 trailers, and already have their sights set on a new milestone — growing to 200 trucks over the next few years. Their plan for getting there? Keep following the same Platinum Rule they have every step of the way.

Platinum Express
Service Metrics

2023
45 %
OTP
50 %
OTD
60 %
Connectivity

“Success in this business is all about having trust and mutual respect with the people you choose to work with,” he said. “If you understand that your drivers, brokers, shippers, and all the other people who make your business tick have goals of their own, and you do your part to make those goals possible, everybody wins — and there’s nothing more valuable than that.

Amit Dhugga

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Scott Sandager,
Chief Administrative Officer 

Scott Sandager is the Chief Administrative Officer at Arrive Logistics. He joined Arrive in 2018, bringing over 14 years of logistics and brokerage experience, with expertise in project and change management, organizational design, talent development and customer satisfaction. Scott previously held many diverse roles of increasing responsibility with AFN, a Chicago-based freight brokerage.

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Freight fraud continues to impact our industry. We encourage shippers and carriers to reach out to Arrive immediately if there is ever a shipment in question that may be subject to fraud. Arrive will not ask you to pay upfront for any dedicated lane or committed capacity program. If the offer you are receiving sounds too good to be true or unrealistic, it may be fraud. Arrive Logistics recommends verifying all communications come from our registered email domain is @arrivelogistics.com. Our 24/7 phone number is 888-861-0650 and our leadership team can also be reached at feedback@arrivelogistics.com.

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Matt Pyatt, Chief Executive Officer

Matt Pyatt is the Chief Executive Officer of Arrive Logistics. He co-founded Arrive with President Eric Dunigan in 2014 after building his career at Command Transportation. As CEO, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s financial health, strategic vision and culture, as well as building a scalable leadership team to support Arrive’s growth.

Tim Denoyer,
VP and Senior Analyst at ACT Research

As VP and Senior Analyst at ACT Research, Tim analyzes commercial vehicle demand and alternative powertrain development (i.e. electrification), and authors the ACT Freight Forecast, U.S. Rate and Volume Outlook. He previously spent fifteen years in equity research focused primarily on the transportation, machinery, and automotive industries, and co-founded leading equity research firm Wolfe Research.

Eric Dunigan,
President & Co-Founder

Eric Dunigan is the President of Arrive Logistics. He began his career at Command Transportation before co-founding Arrive with Matt Pyatt in 2014. As president, he is responsible for driving revenue and growth, as well as leading the Strategic Partnerships team — a veteran group of supply chain experts who work with Arrive’s customers to reimagine their shipping strategy.

Arrive Logistics VP of Market Intelligence David Spencer Headshot

David Spencer,
VP of Market Intelligence

David Spencer is the Vice President of Market Intelligence at Arrive Logistics. David joined Arrive in 2017 after spending six years at AFN focused on business intelligence. His department provides critical market data and expert analysis to internal teams and publishes monthly market updates for shippers and carriers under the Arrive Insights banner.

Andrew Clarke, Board Chair,
Arrive Logistics and Global Critical Logistics

Andrew Clarke is Board Chairman for Global Critical and DCLI, Inc., and a board member for Arrive Logistics and Element Fleet Management Corp. His 20 years of global transportation and logistics experience include time as CFO of C.H. Robinson, CEO of Panther Expedited Services, Inc. and SVP and CFO roles at Forward Air Corporation.

Dean Croke,
Principal Analyst
at DAT Freight and Analytics

Dean Croke is a Market Analyst at DAT Solutions, where he focuses on freight market intelligence and data analytics. His 35 years of experience with data analytics, transportation, supply chain management, mining and insurance risk management include time as co-founder of FleetRisk Advisors and in a number of other high-level roles with FreightWaves, Spireon, Lancer Insurance, Omnitracs Analytics (formerly Qualcomm) and more.

Asanka Jayasuriya,
CTO and Partner at 8VC

Asanka Jayasuriya is the CTO at 8VC. He is an accomplished engineering and product leader with 20+ years of experience in the cloud. He has a strong background in enterprise SaaS, PLG products, infrastructure, and security. Notably, he served as CTO and SVP of Engineering at SailPoint, leading their successful transition to the cloud and successful exit event. He also held senior leadership roles at InVision, Atlassian, and Amazon, driving growth, operational excellence, and innovation. At 8VC, Asanka works with the entrepreneurs and leaders in our portfolio as a virtual CTO supporting their growth.

Chad Eichelberger,
President at Reliance Partners

Chad Eichelberger is the President of Reliance Partners. Since 2015, he’s leveraged his extensive experience in risk management, compliance, best practices and contracts to lead the company’s logistics and truck insurance strategy and operations. Chad was previously the President of Access America Transport, where he led the company from $8M to over $600M in revenue.

Barry Conlon,
CEO & Founder at Overhaul

Barry Conlon is the CEO and founder of Overhaul, the global leader in active supply chain risk management and intelligence. With a remarkable career spanning over 30 years in supply chain security, he is widely regarded as a trailblazer in modern-day supply chain security standards and best practices.

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