You might remember a recent article about Nutella and the trucking capacity crisis, which, in addition to making us all hungry for Nutella, discussed the idea of capacity in trucking. To sum it all up – there’s only a finite amount of trucks, roads, and people to drive them. And nowhere is that more true than with tanker trucks.
Tanker trucks are a special subset of the freight vehicles we all know and love. Made to carry large amounts of potentially corrosive or dangerous liquid, with great limitations come great responsibility (to paraphrase one of our superhero friends.)
Known factors like the overall dip in new drivers are competing with completely unpredictable ones – such as an unexpected boom in the American chemical industry, or still-busy recovery from hurricanes in the American Southeast.
Which means that for a time, tanker trucks are enjoying a run as the stars of the show. Everyone’s happy to see one when it shows up on time, just like a star on set! It got me thinking about some of my favorite trucking stars of the silver screen.
Did you know that Steven Spielberg’s first director credit was for a trucking movie? It’s true. 1971’s Duel is the thrilling and intense story of a driver stalked on an empty California highway by a mysterious and threatening tanker truck. The truck itself, a 1960 Peterbilt, easily became the film’s real star, and was purchased by a collector after filming. Today it lives in a North Carolina garage, still as rough and mysterious as it looked in the film, and makes appearances at local vintage car and truck shows.
Speaking of North Carolina trucking superstars, did you know that horror writer Stephen King’s directorial debut, the 1986 film Maximum Overdrive, was filmed right in Matchmaker Logistics headquarters of Wilmington, NC? It’s true – but we’ve never seen machines come to life around the city. They did in the film, however – hair dryers, lawnmowers, and yes, even tanker trucks – all going on a murderous rampage in this mid-eighties movie.
More recently, a famous tanker saw itself in an Academy Award-nominated film. 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road continued the Mad Max tradition of cool vehicles in the Australian Outback by giving its tough lady lead a tanker truck of her very own. The “War Rig,” as it’s known, is the fusion of two tanker trucks: a Czechoslovakian Tatra and a Chevy Fleetmaster. Additional parts were added – Volkswagen Beetle shells, countless weapons, and an extra fuel trailer.
So the next time you’re concerned about tanker truck capacity, you’ve got one of two great options – see if Hollywood will return your calls, or just call Matchmaker Logistics! We’ve saved the day of several customers with tanker trucks needs recently, and just like a Hollywood crew, we love working behind the scenes to make you look like a star.
Fuel for Thought,
~Bob
