History Lesson - Pittsburgh Freight Market

Pittsburgh is deep rooted in the trucking and logistics industry. Stemming back to the days of Andrew Carnegie when Carnegie Steel was still in its infancy. Andrew Carnegie worked in the logistics industry in the 1860’s working at Penn Railroad as a telegrapher (essentially a dispatcher). This experience was the perfect foray into the steel industry as he started Keystone Bridge Company and took on a project to build a mile long bridge over the Mississippi with a tight deadline (which in itself is solving a logistics problem). To have a bridge withstand the current of the Mississippi, he needed to build it with steel. Steel was very expensive and took a long time to make. To meet the deadline and get the bridge built, he needed a better way to get steel fast. He figured out how to do that and met the deadline and the Eads Bridge was opened in 1874. By figuring out a way to solve a logistics problem, Carnegie Steel, the predecessor to US Steel, was born. Word of the new process & successful build spread. As a result, the demand for steel skyrocketed and US Steel boomed and help build America. Pittsburgh wouldn’t be known as the steel city (and wouldn’t have the Steelers) if it wasn’t for logistics.

The other aspect that makes Pittsburgh a logistics and transportation hub is its geographical location. Having 3 rivers and being located between Chicago and New York, being close to the port of Baltimore and close to the great lakes and the Canadian border, it makes sense that Pittsburgh is a freight focused city.

As a result of Pittsburgh’s trucking history, Pittsburgh’s famous Primanti Brothers sandwhich - which has an entire meal of meat, fries, coleslaw, cheese all stuffed between 2 fresh pieces of thick Italian bread - was invented to help quickly feed truckers who were on the go. The first location was in a former logistics hub of Pittsburgh called the Strip District.

With Pittsburgh’s deep history in the transportation and logistics industry, it only makes sense that today Pittsburgh is home to hundreds of companies in the industry. From start ups to some of the biggest trucking companies in the country, Pittsburgh has a lot going on in the transportation & logistics scene. Industry leading LTL carriers, flatbed carriers, freight brokerages, van carriers, freight brokerage firms, managed freight organizations, transportation technology companies, shippers, (and even futuristic logistics companies that send stuff to space!) call Pittsburgh home.

Check out our directory of companies to learn more about “who’s who” in Pittsburgh.

The goal of Freightburgh is to build on this history and highlight and connect the industry leading companies and individuals that this city is proud of.