Crete Carrier Corporation
Crete Carrier Corporation is an American trucking company based in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates three divisions—Crete Carrier, Shaffer Trucking, and Hunt Transportation—and offers freight transport across the contiguous United States.
Founded in 1966 in Crete, Nebraska by Ken Norton, the company started as a contract carrier shipping goods for customers such as Alpo dog food. In 1971, Duane Acklie and his wife Phyllis bought Crete Carrier with an $8,000 loan. The headquarters moved to Lincoln in 1973.
Crete Carrier acquired Shaffer Trucking in 1974, a refrigerated carrier based in New Kingstown, Pennsylvania. In 1979, it bought Sunflower Carriers, another refrigerated carrier based in York, Nebraska. In 1999, Crete Carrier acquired Hunt Transportation in Omaha, a heavy machinery transporter; Hunt is not related to J. B. Hunt.
By 2005, Crete Carrier employed more than 3,000 drivers and operated a fleet of over 3,400 tractors and 8,200 trailers. The company remains privately held and its divisions focus on different services: Crete Carrier (dry van), Shaffer Trucking (refrigerated), and Hunt Transportation (flatbed).
As of 2025, the fleet has grown to more than 5,000 tractors and 13,000 trailers.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:23 (CET).