Outpost, formerly Semi-Stow, is trying to redefine parking services for truckers with a new model its co-founder Trent Cameron says will add a level of consistency not found through its competitors.
About 90% of the nation’s more than 300,000 truck parking spaces are provided by the private sector. With the truck parking crisis continuing to cause problems for the trucking industry and the motoring public, entrepreneurs like Cameron recognize the important role private parking facilities have in solving the problems, and investors are starting to see the value.
“It was astonishing to me to see that there was a ton of government-funded research, pretty much across every state, that talked about the big truck parking crisis,” Cameron told Land Line. “Then you have drivers raising their hand and saying, ‘This is the biggest issue that we face.’ I looked for anybody that was trying to play a role in solving this problem, both private and public companies, and there was no one that was making a meaningful impact on this problem.”
Outpost recently received $12.5 million in Series A funding to expand its network of truck parking facilities. That injection of money is combined with a $500 million industrial outdoor storage investment portfolio launched by GreenPoint, an investment firm.
Truck parking is attracting big money.
That investment will go toward building a larger network of truck parking facilities owned by Outpost. Currently, the company owns and manages 18 facilities that offer more than 8,000 parking spaces. Facilities are heavily concentrated in Texas, the Southwest and the Midwest. Cameron plans to double that footprint this year.
Expansion will be focused primarily on the largest logistics markets and major metropolitan areas. However, Cameron said Outpost will be looking at a variety of spaces, considering the truck parking crisis is not restricted to those areas.
In addition to the 18 truck parking facilities owned and managed by Outpost, the company also offers parking at 20 other facilities that are managed by third parties through a partnership. In other words, Outpost acts more like a brokerage for parking, a business model that is more typical of other truck parking services.
However, what separates Outpost from other truck parking services is the ownership of the 18 facilities and counting.
The company controls all three aspects of a parking service: real estate, operations and the technology driving the business. By having complete control, Outpost is able to offer truckers the same user experience across facilities.
Additionally, Outpost currently is testing a membership program with some of its largest customers. The general idea is to charge carriers a flat rate that will give them access to facilities across the nation, rather than paying a piecemeal rate each time they need a parking spot – the latter being the current standard model. Details, including pricing and which yards will be included, are being fleshed out. Cameron hopes to formally introduce the plan later this year.
“We think that scaling and network is going to help drivers have a lot more conviction that they can go into a market anytime and always have a place to park,” Cameron said.
In addition to online reservations, Outpost’s technology platforms allow trucking companies to manage driver access to each facility, monitor equipment through real-time and on-demand video feeds, get detailed reports on usage, and improve the efficiency of their parking and storage spend. LL
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