Queensland freight specialist, Local Freight, have invested heavily in its growing business with several new trucks and trailers.
A pair of Kenworth K220 prime movers were added for peak season along with a new Volvo FH600, two rigids, two semi-trailers and a drop deck B-double.
In addition to this the business has purchased new Toyota forklifts, a Speedywash trailer washer for the trailer fleet and two FWR Dollies to support its growing presence of multi-combination units.
Local Freight have 16 linehaul prime movers in the fleet and another four prime movers dedicated to metropolitan runs.
The Kenworth K220s house a 550hp Cummins powerplant paired with an Eaton automated transmission.
These trucks, purchased from Brown and Hurley, are expected to cover 5000 kilometres weekly, running up the interior of the state to destinations such as Emerald.
They are spec’d in a sleeper cab for this purpose.
Based in Wacol, the company initially began as a small freight carrier focused on southeast Queensland, primarily operating on the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and around Brisbane.
“We’ve upgraded older equipment that was due to be phased out but the new assets have primarily been acquired as part of our growth,” said Managing Director Harry Manais.
Expansion has been the primary driver of the recent investments in trucks and trailers.
Local Freight has also begun the process of building a network of depots in central Queensland and North Queensland.
A new site opening in Rockhampton will go online in the new year.
They have 80 trucks and trailers in total including a new 10-pallet Fuso Fighter and a 14-pallet UD Quon having started out with a solitary vehicle in 2010.
“That was originally a commitment to transporting smaller freight,” said Manais.
“But in 2017 we came up with the business name ‘Local Freight’ and from there on we have grown.”
The business is jointly owned by Manais and his brother Gary.
In 2021 they acquired a lesser-known carrier by the name of Connect Trading Transport.
“The owner was leaving the industry. We took up his client base. That’s when we expanded into regional Queensland,” Manais told Prime Mover.
“He was an old school guy who was still reliant on pen and paper for administrative tasks and record keeping. We had already adopted digital systems.
“The additional customers gave us a starting point to move into other areas while we onboarded freight from our own clientele and kept on expanding.”
Those other areas include building materials — mainly moving timber, cement and building materials for James Hardie up north.
Local Freight now moves an estimated 100 tonnes of timber every week.
They also provide DG transport services.
“Anything that can be fitted onto a curtainsider trailer we can carry,” said Manais.
“We move everything from a pallet to a full truck load though we are more focused on LTL than FTL.”
While the Kenworths have been designated roadtrain work “up through the guts” of Queensland – the business doesn’t operate interstate – the new Volvo will be deployed predominantly on the east coast direct to Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville from Brisbane.
Local Freight operates a PUD fleet on local distribution runs. The linehaul units will travel to the depots and the rigids will from there complete the final mile.
“We don’t work with any of the bigger carriers as a third-party contractor,” said Manais.
“So, we’re not providing services for anyone other than our own freight customers.”
Manais feels for other carriers in the current climate as insolvencies continue and longstanding businesses are faced with buyouts or going bust.
“It’s a really hard time the last few years especially with the labour shortages,” he says.
“You can grab more work and expand but then you are at the mercy of the driver and it’s increasingly hard to find good ones.
“It’s no secret it has been a challenging time for road transport especially with operational costs and everything going up.
“We’re looking forward to what our future holds as we look to invest in the business.”
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