Inside the Massive Truck Operation Powering Packers Game Day

How 750 Trucks Handle Packers Game-Day Freight

Moving an NFL team’s equipment is a schedule-driven operation where missed appointments are not an option. For the Green Bay Packers, Paper Transport Inc. has handled the team’s away-game gear for about a decade, giving the Wisconsin carrier a specialized role that depends on dependable drivers, equipment and contingency planning.

Ben Schill, Paper Transport’s chief corporate development officer, said the relationship grew out of a group of drivers who followed their previous employer to Paper Transport and brought the Packers account with them. The carrier’s first official move was connected to a 2016 preseason Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, the same night former Packers quarterback Brett Favre was inducted. The game was later canceled because of field conditions.

Since then, Paper Transport has continued moving the equipment needed to support the Packers on the road. The carrier typically loads on Wednesday or Thursday and delivers to the destination stadium ahead of the team’s arrival.

The freight is divided between what travels with the team and what moves by truck. Helmets, game-time shoulder pads and coaches’ clothing travel on the Packers’ aircraft with the players. Paper Transport hauls the sideline equipment and backup gear, including equipment that may be needed if something is lost, damaged or otherwise unavailable.

That sequencing gives the operation some built-in redundancy. Trucks arrive before the team and unload the sideline material at the stadium. The carrier then meets the team’s aircraft on the tarmac, coordinating the remaining equipment movement with the team’s arrival.

“The helmets, the game-time shoulder pads, the coaches’ outfits, all of that, that actually goes on the plane with the players,” Schill said. “If the team doesn’t make it, neither will their gear because they’re on the same plane.”

International games add another layer to the process. For overseas contests, Paper Transport moves the equipment to a U.S. airport gateway. From there, the freight transfers to air cargo bound for destinations such as London. The arrangement requires the trucking leg to connect cleanly with the international air movement, leaving little room for delays.

For professional drivers, the Packers account illustrates the difference between ordinary freight and a dedicated operation built around a fixed customer schedule. The work involves known routes and repeatable procedures, but the service standard remains demanding because the freight supports a specific event at a specific time. A late delivery cannot simply be rescheduled for the next business day.

Dedicated transportation is central to Paper Transport’s broader business. The company operates about 750 trucks, and more than 90% of its asset-based freight revenue comes from dedicated work. Its freight mix has expanded well beyond the paper products that helped establish the company’s business in Wisconsin.

Paper Transport was founded in 1990 and built its early network hauling for Fort Howard, later Fort James and Georgia-Pacific, and now Koch Industries. The company continues to operate heavily in the Green Bay-to-Chicago corridor. Schill said Paper Transport runs more trucks and trailers on that lane than any other carrier.

Today, consumer packaged goods, food and beverage make up much of the carrier’s business, while paper accounts for a smaller share than it did in the past. The company is looking for acquisitions in three areas: dedicated carriers that fit its operating model, businesses that add density in Wisconsin, and higher-value freight markets that can provide greater long-term stability.

Schill described dedicated freight conditions as more stable than they had been in recent years, although carriers continue to face inflationary pressure. Diesel costs, idle time and out-of-route miles can all affect profitability, particularly when those costs are not protected by contract terms. Those pressures are relevant to drivers and fleets alike because they influence equipment decisions, route planning and the resources available to support operations.

Paper Transport is also using the Packers relationship for a charitable effort. The carrier is donating 50 cents for every mile driven on Packers-related freight to Truckers Against Trafficking, an organization focused on educating the trucking industry about human trafficking. The company said the national visibility of the Packers partnership can help introduce the organization’s work to people outside trucking.

Separately, Paper Transport has begun evaluating the Tesla Semi Long Range in dedicated operations in the Chicago market. The predictable routes will allow the company to assess the electric truck’s performance, reliability and operating economics. Paper Transport has logged more than 87 million miles using compressed and renewable natural gas and views battery-electric equipment as another potential tool for dedicated customers.

The Packers operation remains a practical example of why dedicated trucking matters. The equipment is scheduled around a game, the route is tied to a fixed destination and backup gear must be in place before the team needs it. For the drivers and dispatchers handling the freight, success means the equipment is where it belongs before kickoff, without drawing attention to the transportation operation behind it.