Beverage distributors, regardless of size, recently have been thinking smaller. Especially with the nationwide CDL driver shortage, beverage fleets now are getting creative with the types of applications for which they deploy lighter, non-CDL-required vehicles — whose sizes range from the smallest cargo vans, pick-up trucks and SUVs to 6- and 8-bay bobtails.
Sports complexes tend to be demanding venues, so it’s quite common for Houston’s Silver Eagle Distributors to use cargo vans to service such sites. “Minute-Maid Park, Reliant Stadium, Toyota Center and so on require a significant amount of services that require both product and supplies to adequately meet their needs,” says Ed Pritchard, senior vice president of fleet managing and purchasing at Silver Eagle. “That’s not to say we don’t make deliveries with the big trucks, but the small half- to 1-ton cargo vans are the day-to-day norm.”