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Prime Inc.

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New Prime Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryFreight transport
Founded1970
Headquarters,
U.S.
Websitewww.primeinc.com
A Prime semi-truck in 2024
A Prime intermodal container in 2021

New Prime Inc., doing business as Prime Inc.,[1] is an American trucking company based in Springfield, Missouri. The company operates across the United States and Canada and provides a variety of freight transport services, including refrigerated, flatbed, tanker, and intermodal.

History

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Prime Inc. was founded in 1970 by Robert E. Low in Urbana, Missouri. The company moved its headquarters to Springfield, 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 from Qualcomm 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. The Equal 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, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision against the company in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, a case considering how the Federal Arbitration Act applies to transportation workers who are classified as independent 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 independent owner-operators)[9] who said they were improperly compensated by the company.[10]

Prime filed a lawsuit against Amazon in July 2019, stating that the company's use of the Amazon Prime logo on its semi-trailers was "confusingly similar" to Prime's own branding.[11][12] Prime sought injunctive 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 25 hopper trailers for the transport of corn, grain, and other bulk commodities.[15]

Operations

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Prime Inc. is a privately held company that operates across the United States and Canada.[16] It provides a variety of freight transport services, including refrigerated transport, flatbed transport, tanker transport, and intermodal transport.[17] The company employs about 1,700 drivers and 7,400 independent contractor drivers as of 2024.[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Company Snapshot: New Prime Inc". Safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  2. ^ "Prime, Inc. Leadership". Prime, Inc. Retrieved November 24, 2025. 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.
  3. ^ Bill Maurer (December 19, 1979). "Bonds authorized for truck firm move". Springfield Leader and Press. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Sara B. Hansen (December 23, 1990). "Diesel costs put brakes on trucks". Springfield News-Leader. p. G1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Patty Cantrell (December 26, 1992). "Going ahead of the curve". Springfield News-Leader. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Jonathan S. Reiskin (August 25, 2014). "Prime Inc.'s Training Discriminated Against Female Drivers, Judge Says". Transport Topics. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  7. ^ Jonathan S. Reiskin (June 6, 2016). "Prime Agrees to Pay $3.11 Million to Settle EEOC Case". Transport Topics. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  8. ^ "New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira". Constitutional Accountability Center. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  9. ^ Eric Miller (July 27, 2020). "New Prime Agrees to $28 Million Settlement in Contractor Dispute". Transport Topics. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  10. ^ Lisa Burden; S. L. Fuller (July 29, 2020). "Prime settles 2 driver misclassification suits for $28M". Trucking Dive. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  11. ^ Harrison Keegan (July 9, 2019). "Missouri trucking company sues Amazon over use of 'Prime'". USA Today. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  12. ^ Nat Levy (July 23, 2019). "Prime dispute: Trucking company sues Amazon over logo on tech giant's shipping fleet". GeekWire. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  13. ^ Blake Brittain (July 3, 2019). "In Court Filing, Prime Inc. Says Amazon's Use of 'Prime' Causes Confusion". Transport Topics. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  14. ^ Ralph Green (July 6, 2022). "Springfield trucking company settles lawsuit with Amazon over use of word 'Prime'". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  15. ^ Keiron Greenhalgh (January 10, 2024). "Prime Launches Hopper Division, Starting With 25 Trailers". Transport Topics. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  16. ^ "A Guide to Trucking Divisions: Which Path Will You Take?". Prime, Inc. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  17. ^ "FTL Freight Transport & Delivery Services". Prime, Inc. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  18. ^ Mike Cullinan (February 9, 2024). "In the Driver's Seat: Prime Inc. controller ascends to president". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
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