Daseke Stock

Daseke, Inc. (Daseke) engages in full service open-deck trucking that specializes primarily in flatbed truckload and heavy haul transportation of specialized items throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company also provides logistical planning and warehousing services to customers.

The company is a premier North American transportation solutions specialist dedicated to servicing challenging industrial end-markets through experienced people, a fleet of more than 4,500 tractors and 10,500 flatbed and specialized trailers.

The company provides comprehensive transportation and logistics solutions offerings to approximately 4,400 customers, many of which are the world's most respected industrial shippers across the continental United States, Canada and Mexico.

Segments

The company operates through two segments, Flatbed Solutions and Specialized Solutions.

The Flatbed Solutions segment focuses on delivering transportation and logistics solutions that principally require the use of flatbed and retractable-sided transportation equipment.

The Specialized Solutions segment focuses on delivering transportation and logistics solutions that require the use of specialized trailering transportation equipment.

As of December 31, 2022, the Flatbed Solutions segment operated 2,467 tractors and 3,948 trailers, and the Specialized Solutions segment operated 2,515 tractors and 6,775 trailers. In 2022, Daseke’s company and owner-operator drivers drove 381.1 million miles.

Customers

The company’s customers, many of whom are Fortune 500 companies, rely on the company to transport mission-critical loads, making it an integral part of their supply chains. As of December 31, 2022, the company had approximately 4,400 customers. The company’s ability to dependably transport high-value, complex and time-sensitive loads, as well as provide the value-added logistics services required to plan, transport and deliver loads has resulted in longstanding and established customer relationships.

The company’s customers represent a broad and attractive range of end markets. Examples of the freight the company regularly transports include aircraft parts, manufacturing equipment, structural steel, pressure vessels, wind turbine blades, heavy machinery (construction, mining and agriculture), commercial glass, high security cargo, industrial and hazardous waste, arms ammunition and explosives (AA&E), lumber and building and construction materials. Because the company’s customers are generally in the industrial and manufacturing sector, as is typical for open-deck services providers, the company is not subject to the same consumer-driven demand as dry-van trucking companies, whose freight typically includes consumer goods and whose volume can peak during the holiday season.

In 2022, the company’s Flatbed Solutions segment provided transportation and logistics solutions to approximately 2,100 customers, and the company’s Specialized Solutions segment provided unique, value-added transportation and logistics solutions to approximately 2,800 customers.

Revenue Equipment

As of December 31, 2022, the company operated 2,971 company-owned tractors and also had under contract 2,011 tractors owned and operated by independent contractors. The company also operated 10,723 trailers.

Seasonality

The company’s productivity decreases during the winter season because inclement weather impedes operations and end-user activity, and some shippers reduce their shipments during winter. At the same time, operating expenses increase and fuel efficiency declines because of engine idling and harsh weather, creating higher accident frequency, increased claims and higher equipment repair expenditures.

Regulation

In the United States, the company and its drivers must comply with the safety and fitness regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the agencies within the states that regulate transportation, including those regulations relating to drug- and alcohol-testing and hours-of-service. Other agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) also regulate the company’s equipment, operations, drivers and the environment. For example, in Canada, the company must conduct its operations in various provinces pursuant to operating authority granted by the Ministries of Transportation and Communications in those provinces.

The company is also subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which generally prohibits the United States companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining favorable treatment.

The DOT, through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), imposes safety and fitness regulations on the company and its drivers. In addition, the company’s subsidiaries that act as property brokers have property broker licenses issued by the FMCSA.

The company’s wholly-owned risk retention group is a captive insurance company formed and licensed under the laws of the state of South Carolina, which qualifies as a risk retention group pursuant to the federal and the federal Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986, 15 U.S.C. 3901 et seq. (the Risk Retention Act). Primary responsibility for the regulation of the company’s risk retention group is exercised by the South Carolina Department of Insurance (the SCDOI) under The Insurance Law of South Carolina.

History

Daseke, Inc. was founded in 2008.