Outpost, the operator of a network of truckstop-like facilities that offer parking and maintenance but also services like cross dock capacity, has acquired four new locations.
In an interview with FreightWaves, CEO Trent Cameron, who also is a co-founder, said the network of Outpost facilities now stands at 25 and that he expects the company to add another eight to 10 by the end of the year. (Cameron also said Outpost has “two really substantial things coming down the pike” in 30 to 45 days that would “blow these out of the water.”)
The size and scope of the four facilities that the company acquired shows that while the overriding model for Outpost facilities is somewhat consistent, there still are significant differences on the ground.
The largest of the new sites is in Dallas, at a former FedEx facility. It is 27 acres. The new Outpost in Las Vegas is 11 acres. That is also the size of a new operation in Savannah, Georgia. At what is now the company’s second facility in California’s Inland Empire, there are just four and a half acres.
They are expected to be open later this year.
Two pots of money
Outpost raised $12.5 million last year in series A funding, a number that is dwarfed by the $500 million pool of capital that Outpost is deploying to acquire and develop its various facilities around the country. Greenpoint Partners was the lead investor in the $12.5 million funding as well as the $500 million fund for acquisitions.
“Outpost is the brand, the operator, the technology builder,” Cameron said in explaining the distinction between the two. “We also are the real estate investor and developer. The buckets of capital have been separate.”
“We feel the next 12 months ahead are really going to be a time where we start growing exponentially, because we’re seeing better data in the real estate market,” Cameron added. He also said the company has made “a big investment in our team.”
Growth is ramping up after some difficult years, Cameron said. “We experienced a real recessionary period, not only in freight but also in real estate, with rising interest rates and people buying property at peak prices,” he said. Outpost has found it “hard to transact” with both its customers and with property owners but believes that is now easing.
Parking is biggest revenue source
Parking is the largest percentage of revenue at Outpost facilities, Cameron said. Parking arrangements at an Outpost outlet can be for one night or “ten years,” he added.
It’s difficult to look at the Outpost business model and not see a truckstop/travel center. But they aren’t the same.
None of the parking is free at Outpost; companies like Love’s Travel Stop offers its parking for free, in order to get “boots on the ground” that are likely to use other services at the travel stop like food and showers.
But at the same time, a travel stop doesn’t have the sort of trucking capacity found at Outpost. For example, the new Dallas area Outpost has 800 demarcated parking spaces. Love’s just announced a new travel stop in Ohio with 80 spaces; a new outlet in Missouri announced in April has 76 parking spaces.
Maintenance at the Outpost sites is not provided by Outpost employees, as they would most likely be at a travel center. “We have maintenance partnerships, where we have mechanics that are on site at over half of our sites right now ready to help drivers and carriers when they’re having issues with their trucks, or even just do routine inspection or routine maintenance,” Cameron said.
But that’s the overlap. Cross dock facilities at the Outpost operations are not available at traditional travel centers, but it is a key offering by the company. Facilities for drop and hook operations also can be found at Outpost.
No freight being stored
Freight is not stored at Outpost facilities, Cameron said. There are facilities on the site of several locations that are described as warehouses, but are not being used for traditional storage activities. But needed equipment or materials can be stored there.
“We sort of work with our customers to understand what their needs may be in any given market at any given time, and that sort of work backwards from there,” Cameron said.
There are no food facilities at Outpost sites. But Cameron did say “we are very open to partnering with anyone that wants and can serve our customers at their assets.”
He described Outpost as a “multi tenant terminal operator, so we’re looking to invest in sites that have a bunch of utility and can serve a lot of different customers.”
Cameron acknowledged the freight market remains weak. “But we’re talking to our customers, and there is a lot more optimism about what is coming over the next six to nine months so hopefully we have finally come out of that trough.”
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