 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Freight transport |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Website | www |
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New Prime Inc., doing business asPrime Inc.,[1] is an Americantrucking company based inSpringfield, Missouri. The company operates across the United States and Canada and provides a variety of freight transport services, includingrefrigerated,flatbed,tanker, andintermodal.
Prime Inc. was founded in 1970 by Robert E. Low inUrbana, Missouri. The company moved its headquarters toSpringfield, Missouri, in 1980.[2][3]
By 1990, Prime employed 1,250 drivers and maintained a fleet of 680 trucks.[4] The company outfitted its fleet with satellite communications and tracking equipment fromQualcomm in 1992 at a cost of $4.3 million.[5]
In 2004, Prime implemented a policy of only pairing new drivers with trainers of the same gender in response to complaints of sexual harassment by female trainees. TheEqual Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against the company in 2011, alleging that the policy was discriminatory, as a lack of female trainers made it more difficult for women to complete training. The company reached a settlement agreement with the EEOC in 2016, agreeing to pay more than $3.11 million in compensatory damages.[6][7]
In January 2019, theUnited States Supreme Court issued a decision against the company inNew Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, a case considering how theFederal Arbitration Act applies to transportation workers who are classified asindependent contractors.[8] In 2020, Prime reached a settlement agreement in that case and a related lawsuit,Haworth et al v. New Prime Inc., agreeing to pay out $28 million to a group of drivers (largely independentowner-operators)[9] who said they were improperly compensated by the company.[10]
Prime filed a lawsuit againstAmazon in July 2019, stating that the company's use of theAmazon Prime logo on itssemi-trailers was "confusingly similar" to Prime's own branding.[11][12] Prime soughtinjunctive relief against Amazon for the alleged damage to its business.[13] The lawsuit was dismissed in 2022 after the two companies reached a confidential settlement agreement.[14]
The company launched a hopper division in 2024, with an initial order of 25hopper trailers for the transport of corn, grain, and other bulk commodities.[15]
Prime Inc. is aprivately held company that operates across the United States and Canada.[16] It provides a variety of freight transport services, includingrefrigerated transport,flatbed transport,tanker transport, andintermodal transport.[17] The company employs about 1,700 drivers and 7,400 independent contractor drivers as of 2024[update].[18]
Robert E. Low founded Prime, Inc. in 1970 in Urbana, Missouri, as a 19 year-old engineering student at the University of Missouri. The company's headquarters remained in Urbana until 1980 when they were moved to their current site in Springfield, Missouri.
