The T680, assembled at the Chillicothe plant, stopped in on November 16 so employees could look over “The People’s Tree” before it wrapped up its trip to Washington, D.C. The truck was driven by Michael Porter, a Swift Transportation driver based out of the Phoenix terminal. He has been hauling the tree from town to town as part of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Tour.

This year’s tree is a red fir nicknamed “Silver Belle.” It came out of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and has made community stops across the country. The tour theme for 2025 highlights the Spirit of the Silver State.

Kenworth employees take extra pride in seeing their work roll in with a haul like this. Plant manager Doug VanZuiden said, “Our employees take great pride in assembling The World’s Best Trucks and welcoming back the T680, built right here in Chillicothe, has become a special way for our employees and their families to kick off the holiday season.”

Knight Swift was chosen as this year’s tour carrier and selected Porter to handle the run. Kenworth provided a specially wrapped T680 featuring Nevada forest artwork along with a seventy-six-inch sleeper and the full PACCAR Powertrain, including the PACCAR MX 13 engine, PACCAR TX 12 automated transmission, and PACCAR DX 40 tandem rear axles.

The tour also featured real-time GPS tracking using Kenworth’s TruckTech Plus connected technology. Anyone following the journey could check the tree’s location through the Kenworth Tree Tracker map.

This is the twelfth straight year a Kenworth will deliver the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. Silver Belle is scheduled to arrive on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on November 21. The annual lighting ceremony will take place in early December.

More details about the tour can be found on the official 2025 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree website.

Source: Kenworth, The Trucker

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In July 2021, Knight-Swift made waves by acquiring AAA Cooper, immediately establishing itself as a major player in the LTL sector. Later that year, the company further expanded its national LTL network by purchasing regional carriers Midwest Motor Express and Midnite Express.

“We are excited to take the next step toward building a nationwide LTL business,” said Knight-Swift CEO Adam Miller, “and especially to grow our network to include the key Southwest markets of California, Arizona, and Nevada.”

The acquisition will expand Knight-Swift’s LTL terminal and door counts by roughly 10%, extending its network to cover approximately 70% of the U.S. population.

“The strategic value of acquiring a strong Southwest competitor like DHE is meaningful, given the impact on our coverage area significantly expands the [number of] customers we can serve. Additionally, building or acquiring LTL facilities in many of these locations is difficult,” added Miller.

Dependable’s LTL division was part of the broader Dependable Supply Chain Services, which ranks No. 141. Post-acquisition, Dependable will continue to operate its truckload, warehousing, distribution, harbor drayage, and third-party logistics services under the Dependable Supply Chain Services brand.

DHE will maintain its brand identity within the AAA Cooper corporate group, with Joe Finney, the former Chief Operating Officer of DHE, stepping into the role of President.

Ronald Massman, CEO of DHE, expressed pride in the legacy his family has built and gratitude to his team. “While we never intended to sell the division, we have watched with admiration as Knight-Swift set about building a leading national LTL business. When [Knight Swift] approached us about a transaction, we immediately saw the strategic merit of the Dependable LTL division joining the platform.”

Source: Commercial Carrier Journal

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