Corporate Headquarters
3525 Whitehall Park Drive, Suite 400, Charlotte, North Carolina 28273
Phone: (704) 594-3800
DCL53 – Direct ChassisLink Domestic Pool
DCL53
Direct ChassisLink Domestic Pool
DCL53 is the largest nationwide 53-foot chassis network offering coast-to-coast coverage for all of your domestic moves.
Intermodal transportation of 53-foot containers continues to grow rapidly driven by rising volumes and trailer-to-container conversion. It is more important now than ever for domestic shippers to efficiently move cargo. This means you will need access to a dependable fleet, a proven logistics management team, and operational support.
Our DCL53 nationwide 53-foot chassis pool offers you those things and more. With a network of 90+ start/stop locations connecting seven Class I railroads across the country, DCL53 enables you to meet the intermodal drayage needs of your business.
Equipment quality is of the utmost importance to you, so it’s important to us. So when it comes to DCL53, we’re
always investing, always improving
Over the past two years alone, we’ve invested over $1 billion in our equipment quality initiatives.
And we’re not done yet.
One of the most notable ways that we enhance the quality of our fleet is by putting new chassis units into circulation. So far this year, we have added more than 30,000 brand new 53-foot chassis to our Domestic fleet. All of that new equipment represents a capital investment of nearly $850 million – and we’ve made that investment to ensure that we’re providing you the very highest quality chassis equipment available.
One of the ways we continually enhance the quality of our domestic fleet is through our chassis refurbishment program. Each year we invest millions of dollars taking “seasoned” chassis off the street, meticulously inspecting their performance, and replacing nearly every component imaginable. New paint, new tires, new LED lights, new brake shoes and hardware, even new mudflaps – you name it, it’s new! The end result is a chassis that delivers better performance with much lower downtime for maintenance and repair. Our refurbished chassis are just one more way we’re ensuring that you have access to equipment that exceeds your expectations for quality.
Click here to learn more about our chassis refurbishment program.
The ongoing quality enhancements for our domestic chassis fleet include upgrading units to hardwired LED lights. While older incandescent lights have an average two-year lifespan, LED lights can last up to 11.5 years. Not only does the shift to LED lights significantly reduce waste across our entire fleet, it means less need for truckers to lose time in roadability for a light replacement. The improved brightness of LED lights also makes our equipment more visible when it’s on the road and, thus, safer for both the driver and the motoring public. In addition, hardwiring the LED lights greatly reduces the chance that vibration from the road or equipment handling such as stacking, racking, and rotation will lead to a light failure (not to mention the likelihood of light theft decreases dramatically). All of this means more up time for our chassis and increased dependability for our truckers.
One of our ongoing quality programs is aimed at upgrading all of our domestic equipment to radial tires. Since adding 53-foot chassis to our fleet in 2018, we have spent over $18 million upgrading tires and currently have 95% of the domestic fleet running on radials. Not only are radial tires longer lasting, resulting in two fewer tire changes per chassis each year, they also create better fuel efficiency, with research showing as much as a ten-percent reduction in fuel consumption as a result of switching to radials. This is just one way we’re working hard to improve our equipment and offer the highest quality chassis in the industry.
Starting in 2025, we are making a significant investment to upfit the entire 53′ domestic chassis fleet with GPS technology. Previously available as an upgrade option, GPS technology will now come standard across all DCL53 domestic chassis. This initiative will further enhance the quality, reliability, and operational efficiency of the fleet. This technology allows us to provide unprecedented operational visibility and data-driven benefits enabling customers to maximize asset utilization and streamline operations while enabling proactive maintenance and safety management.
Interested in becoming a DCL53 customer?
Our five-step onboarding process can be completed in 2-5 week’s time.
You will also need to be in compliance with our Insurance Requirements.
