American Bulk Commodities – Leading The Way For Over 50 Years
R&J Trucking was founded in 1960 by Ron Carrocce with one truck. Ron did well right out of the gate as construction of part of the Interstate Highway System was taking place in Ohio. A few years later construction of the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio kept the R&J Trucking fleet busy. The early growth of R&J Trucking was fueled by hauling construction materials.
Industrial markets (supplying steel mills with raw materials) looked to be a less cyclitic market than construction materials and R&J began to service the industrial market, which remains a significant part of their business today.
By the time deregulation arrived in 1982, the R&J fleet had grown to 33 trucks, that were contracted to other carriers with ICC or Ohio PUC Authority. In 1984, R&J Trucking secured operating authority for their core operational areas inside Ohio. By the late 1980s, R&J was back hauling scrap metals and steel by-products and also became one of the first U.S. carriers to secure Ontario, Canada operating authority. Local operations were expanded to plants in Southern Ohio and Northern West Virginia, which created the need for a second terminal in Marietta, Ohio in 1989. Subsequent growth came quickly with the company’s opening of terminals in Toledo, Ohio in 1992, Lorain, Ohio in 1994, Dayton, Ohio in 1995, Shelby, Ohio in 1998, Canton, Ohio in 2002, Gaston, South Carolina in 2014, and Barnesville, Ohio in 2017.
R&J Trucking purchased the assets of John Brown Trucking (35 trucks) of Portersville, Pennsylvania in 1995, expanding service to Western PA. In 1999, the company purchased the assets of Southern Haulers, LLC, based in Calera, Alabama. The 125 truck fleet was already serving R&J customers based in the south, so it was a very good fit for the company. Since the acquisition, Southern Haulers has opened terminals in Decatur, Alabama in 2002, Brewton, Alabama in 2006 and Mobile, Alabama in 2016.
In 2002, the company diversified to include service to the plastics industry. The acquisition of DSI Bulk Transportation in Mantua, Ohio in January 2021 further enhances these plastics services.
Today, American Bulk Commodities and its subsidiaries, R&J Trucking, John Brown Trucking, Southern Haulers, and DSI Bulk Transportation continues to lead the way with bulk services to their customers. Mark Carrocce serves as President and Gary Carrocce as Vice President. Many other family members work at the company as well. Their fleet of over 600 company owned trucks, 1,000 trailers and 150 independent carriers provide semi-dump, triaxle, roll off and plastic trailer services.
The company is very proud of their safety record and in hiring top quality drivers. 2020 Million Mile Awards were presented to:
Youngstown - R & J Trucking, Inc. –2 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Kenneth Cappitti; Robert Young
Marietta - R & J Trucking, Inc. 1 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Mitchell Williams, Curtis Harris; Loid Boney; David Runnion; Robert Deem
R & J Trucking, Inc. - 3 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Christopher Crousser
Perrysburg - R & J Trucking, Inc. - 2 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Stephen Petchtle
Shelby - R & J Trucking, Inc - 1 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Ivan Comer
Lorain - R & J Trucking, Inc. - 1 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Scott D Smith
Moraine - R & J Trucking, Inc. -1 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Todd Burton
John Brown Trucking, Inc. - 2 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Eugene Courson
Calera - Southern Haulers, LLC. - 1 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Barry Patterson
Hartselle - Southern Haulers, LLC. - 1 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Michael Todd Evans
Brewton - Southern Haulers, LLC. - 1 Million Miles Earned In 2020: Gilbert McGill; Tommy Wallace; Jack Long
Opportunities for Professional Truck Drivers are available within 50 miles of any American Bulk Commodities’ terminals. They will train you to do dump work. For information, call 800-262-9365.