Coquitlam, B.C.-based Clark Freightways has a lot in common with the grocery industry, which it has catered to ever since founder Jim Clark hauled peachesfrom the Okanagan in the late 1950s. Like the grocery sector, the trucking business is one of extremely small profit margins, due partly to the
rising cost of fuel and heavy reliance on manpower. Plus, the competition is more ferocious than ever. And yet, Clark Freightways has grown to the pointwhere itsfleet of 175 trailers and 75 power units has accessto over 600 communities in B.C. Moreover, a half-century of handling dry, fresh and frozen products has enabled the family-owned company to literallywrite the book on perishable commodities transportation. (It’s titled `Best Practices for Handling Perishable Freight’ and is crucial to daily operations.) Much of Clark Freightways’ growth is because President Marcus Clark constantly
reinvests in his company — a trait he inherited from his father, Jim. But so too do the owners of othertrucking firms, and the results aren’t as spectacu
