Swift expansion: How auctions helped fleet reach rockstar status
In this article, you'll learn:
- How entertainment logitics fleet owner Michael Scherkenbach leveraged auctions to grow his fleet
- What Scherkenback looks for while purchasing trucks from auction
- How Scherkenbach repaired and improved the vehicles he bought
In 2001, a few savvy bids at truck auctions changed everything for Michael Scherkenbach.
He parlayed the tractors and trailers he procured into a thriving entertainment logistics fleet called Shomotion LLC. The fleet has worked with NASCAR and has hauled concert staging and gear for some of the most well-known musical acts, from Elton John and Beyoncé to AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and Metallica.
Scherkenbach said the fleet’s “claim to fame,” though, is transporting stages, sets, and more for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in North America. The 2023 tour, which also spanned Europe and Latin America, is the highest grossing ever, boosting local economies wherever it went. (Swift also rewarded the drivers from Shomotion and the other trucking company that worked on the tour with a $100,000 bonus each.)
It boosted Shomotion’s profile enough to gain the attention of Dreamliner, which acquired the company last October. Scherkenbach has stayed on as president of the western division.
Two decades ago, he was just an aspiring entrepreneur with a degree from Colorado State and a dream to break into the trucking side of show business, enamored after hearing stories from a trucker.
He couldn’t afford new trucks even in the pre-emissions era, but the human bloodhound could sniff a good deal from hundreds of miles away, all the way from Denver to South Sioux City, Nebraska, in fact. That’s where he flew to attend Taylor and Martin auctions to get the equipment he needed to build his fleet. It was usually a one-way ticket, as he would then drive whatever he procured back. Being there in person certainly had its advantages.
“I was actually able to talk to the owner there that had bought them brand new and maintained them,” Scherkenbach said.
Prospective bidders would shuffle in front of the next unit up for auction and raise their paddles, all hoping to be the last one standing. And the ones Scherkenbach got achieved instant stardom.
The 1997 Kenworth T2000 he won through a Taylor and Martin auction hauled John Mayer’s gear around during the singer-songwriter’s peak. Back then, Scherkenbach, who still has his CDL, drove the trucks for Swift’s future ex-boyfriend, too.
The total fleet he oversees comprises 82 Class 8 tractors and 312 trailers, and they can afford to purchase brand-new trucks and trailers, but Scherkenbach said he still “dabbles in auctions” and “always keep an eye on all the Taylor and Martin auctions to see stuff that might be older, but was gently used,” the executive said.
You have to know where to look, though.
“Obviously, region makes a big difference—if you’re buying in the south, you’re going to get stuff with less rust,” he said.
Recently, the fleet owner found a real diamond in the rough—a 2008 Great Dane trailer—in Tunica, Mississippi, through an online auction hosted by Taylor and Martin. He paid $6,000, though he admitted he’d go as high as $9,000. He noted the tires were in good shape and the aluminum rims alone had an estimated value of $1,200.
Because of his experience with Taylor and Martin, he felt he could trust the trailer was decent even though he wasn’t there in person or had it inspected by a third party.
“I know my brands and I know what brands they look for,” he said. “Taylor and Martin’s very good about actually providing additional pictures if there are damaged areas.”
He added the auctioneer also provides documentation, such as paperwork on major repairs, from the previous owner.
He had a driver in the area pick up the white dry van and haul it to the Chicago area to refurbish it. Because of his high-profile clientele, the trailer had to look good.
“It’s one of the rare parts of trucking where presentation matters,” Scherkenbach. “Presentation is just as important as a service we’re offering.”
His go-to body shop added a stainless steel nose, rear doors, and landing legs, as well as a frame paint touch-up, and then it was off to fleet graphics company for a new black wrap.
One of his technicians overhauled the Hendrickson air ride suspension, replete with new bushings, bearings, and airbags.
For a truck, though, he may have still flown out, because pictures don’t tell the whole story.
“To really understand the condition of a truck, you want to sit in it, and see how it’s been maintained, and if it’s stinky or smells like a wet dog,” he said.
About the Author
John Hitch
Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance
John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.
Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.
The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.