Bar S Logistics is an 11-year-old carrier, but its roots go back 90 years or more. To borrow a Hollywood term, the company is a “spin-off” from Joe T. Smith Inc., an oil field carrier founded in 1936.
Bar S Logistics was launched when the carrier picked up some new business that was different enough to cause the insurance company to balk at the coverage. Rather than giving up the business and the loyal employees that served it, they started a new company.
One might even say Joe Smith, current owner of both carriers, is a spin-off, too. Company founder Joe T. Smith was his grandfather, whose guidelines of “Work hard, be honest, and do a good job” appears at the top of the Bar S website.
“I applied that principle to the best of my abilities,” said the younger Joe Smith.
Taking advantage of TCA resources
Despite growing up in the trucking business, Smith knew he needed some help in getting the new firm off on the right foot. David Shelton, president and CEO at Western Dairy, for whom Smith had worked, recommended the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) to Smith as a source of information and education.
“In 2023, I went to my first TCA conference in Orlando,” Smith said. “I think we had five trucks at the time.”
At that conference, Mark Seymour, current TCA chairman and CEO of Kriska Transportation Group, gave a keynote speech on mergers and acquisitions.
“I thought, ‘We’re not gonna merge or acquire anybody’ — but I sat there and listened,” he said. Smith listened, and he tucked the knowledge away. It paid off a year later when a customer offered to sell a small, private fleet to Bar S.
“I applied every bit of what I learned from Mark Seymour and his mergers and acquisitions class,” Smith remarked. “I would have done it very differently had I not been at TCA.”
Smith also credits TCA’s Small Carrier University and TPP (TCA Profitability Program) for providing the tools his company needs to succeed.
“I got to talk to carriers that were closer to my size,” he said. “Some of the problems I’m dealing with, they’ve already solved. I was able to ask them, ‘How’d you get past this? How’d you solve that?’”
It wasn’t long before Smith became a contributor to these programs himself, sharing the knowledge he’d accumulated with others.
In addition to knowledge and strategies, Smith says he’s made valuable contacts through TCA.
“Every problem I’ve gone to TCA with, somebody has been able to help me,” he said. “I remember calling (former TCA President) Jim Ward when I first joined, asking some basic questions. He put me in contact with who he thought was the right person to help.”
In addition to taking advantage of TCA’s online resources, Smith says he’s found the in-person events incredibly valuable.
Smith is a fan of the breakout sessions at TCA’s in-person events.
“Maintenance is a big one for me, and (these sessions are) the perfect place to get the raw information from people who are actually doing it,” he said. “You can go online and research it — but the problem is, if they’re selling a product, they’re going to tell you how great that product is.”
He prefers to get input and recommendations from people who are actually using the products.
“They can tell you whether it works or it doesn’t,” he said.
Teamwork is key
Smith credits his entire team with helping keep Bar S Logistics running smoothly. Jessica Reddell, office manager, and Mark Tuley, operations/dispatch, work for both Bar S Logistics and Joe T. Smith Inc.
Bar S currently operates seven power units that haul cargo in step-deck or bulk liquid tanker trailers.
As most carriers can attest, current issues, like high fuel prices and tighter restrictions on driver hiring, present challenges, but Smith takes them in stride.
“On fuel prices, we’re holding steady,” he said. “We try to be really consistent in our pricing instead of chasing rates up and down constantly.”
Smith says he’s found the resources provided by TCA aren’t just for large carriers; they’re also perfect for helping smaller companies solve problems and achieve success.
“We’re very conservative on how we spend our money,” Smith said, noting that he’s pleased with the value he’s gained from TCA. “Every year after a conference I’ve felt like the information I gained was worth the investment.”
Of course, even the best advice and resources are useless if a carrier doesn’t hold itself to high standards.
“It seems to me that the biggest key to success is to be honest and do what you say you’re going to do — and we’ve had to eat it a few times,” he said, sharing the story of an initial pickup gone wrong at one customer.
“It should have been easy, but we spent three days trying to get loaded — and I probably spent more money on the driver and tank washes than we billed for the load,” he continued. “But it was the first load for that customer.”
Bar S still hauls for that customer.
Whether hauling industrial chemicals, cranes and products for the wind energy industry, or whatever comes tomorrow, Smith and Bar S Logistics are ready to handle it.
“Do what you say you’re going to do, and don’t make excuses,” he advised. “Solve problems instead of bringing problems to the customer.”
This story first appeared in the May/June 2026 print edition of Truckload Authority, the official publication of the Truckload Carriers Association.
Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.
