Bradley Coddington was happy with Pittsburgh Power’s delivery speed when he received a free-flowing muffler for his 2000 Kenworth T800 only four days after he ordered it. When he realized the clamps were missing, the company rushed them to him in two days, says the Bristol, Wis.-based owner-operator.
Leased to J.R. Long, Coddington relies on online sources for truck parts he can install himself. “A lot of times, you can get better stuff online for the same price or cheaper,” he says.
He and other owner-operators increasingly go online while they’re on the road to compare prices, find local dealers or parts services, and place parts orders.
The variety of parts services available to owner-operators is growing rapidly as dealers, parts distributors and original equipment makers open or expand online catalogs for truckers.
“Five to 10 years ago, the accessibility to parts was such that only carriers could do it,” says analyst Thomas Bray of industry publisher J.J. Keller & Associates. “Now an owner-operator has access to information about parts and the ability to get the parts by ordering at 2 a.m.”
