(Courtesy of the Jacksonville Daily Record) – Looking to expand its flatbed truck and intermodal shipping operations, AGX Freight said its revenues could grow about 60% in 2021, with new executives helping lead the charge.
This fall, AGX hired Chris Reeves to be its Chief Commercial Officer and John Phipps as Vice President for Intermodal Operations. Combined, the two men have more than 50 years in the logistics industry.
“Our company is built to grow exponentially as we add those folks,” President Mike Williams told the Business Journal. “The market is so large, if you put a solid team together and go into the market looking for an opportunity, it’s not hard to find those opportunities when you have a talented team. It’s a testament to the quality team we have assembled more than anything else.”
The company brought in about $60 million in revenue, Williams said, largely due to its reefer business. Hauling frozen foods was lucrative, but Williams wants to grow. Flatbed trucks and intermodal shipping are two areas he indicated have significant opportunities in the coming calendar year.
“We didn’t have to close offices, let people go or slow down the business,” he said. “We saw some decline in the summer with revenue, but we picked it back up in the fall. While the year didn’t go as planned month-to-month, it did go as we predicted at the beginning of the year.”
For next year, the company is projecting $100 million in revenue.
AGX has branch offices in Tampa, Chicago, Savannah, Ga. And Orangeburg, S.C. Williams said one of Reeves’ responsibilities will be growing the branch network while Phipps focuses on leveraging his intermodal experience.
Across the industry, truck capacity is under pressure from an increased demand in e-commerce to the transportation of personal protective equipment and more.
Williams said it was a challenge to meet those demands, but one AGX managed. He doesn’t envision the first two months of 2021will have a surge in freight demand. It may, however, serve as a base camp of sorts for a quick ascent later in the year.
“If everything is working in terms of getting the virus under control, the vaccination process and more, I think the second half of next year will be a very strong second half. The first half will be average to a little bit above average,” Williams said. “The second half will be ‘Get up and go’ for a lot of growth opportunity. The second half of next year will flow into 2022.”
Williams spoke with the Business Journal shortly after the first Covid-19 vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. At that time, he noted the latest developments about the vaccine were not only a boon for AGX and the trucking industry, but the overall economy.
Since then, another vaccine has been approved and Floridians have begun receiving the vaccine.
“If we made it through 2020, we can forge our way through 2021 with respect to the virus,” Williams said. “What I’m looking at, and waiting to see, is in the first six months of next year what the new administration starts moving on and their priorities about economic activity.”