Ruan Transportation
In the 1930s, adversity set John Ruan on a road he hadn’t planned on, but he brought a philosophy and built a business that has been thriving ever since.
John Ruan was a trucking pioneer who wrote the earliest chapters of the Ruan story. While his first mile was born from circumstances beyond his control, his response to life-changing adversity laid the foundation for his company to thrive for more than 90 years.
When Ruan’s father passed away unexpectedly, the family ran out of money, forcing him to leave Iowa State University after his freshman year. Looking for a way to support his family, he made a bold decision: he sold the family’s car and used the proceeds to purchase a truck.
That truck was Ruan’s “Number One,” and his first paid haul was a load of gravel on July 4, 1932.
But his real first mile was something much larger: It was John Ruan’s willingness to move forward when the future was uncertain. Instead of focusing on what he had lost, he focused on what he could build.
The gravel loads turned into coal deliveries. One truck became three. Routes expanded across the Midwest.
Yet even as the business grew, John Ruan established principles that became the foundation of the company: respect for people, a commitment to safety, and the belief that integrity matters. Those values would prove just as important as the trucks themselves.
Over the next nine decades, Ruan Transportation navigated industry changes, economic downturns, world events, and technological transformation. The company pioneered formal safety programs, introduced innovations in fuel transportation, expanded into new services, and grew into a nationwide supply chain solutions provider.
But the most important part of the story may be what didn’t change: Ruan and the company never outgrew the mindset of the man who started it.
