An M.S. Carriers tractor and trailer. (Photo: Craig Wendt Collection) Michael Starnes founded M.S. Carriers in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1978. Starnes started the company from his own home, with just two trucks and $10,000 in working capital. By 1986, the company had achieved considerable success, and gone public. In 1987, M.S. Carriers announced the construction of a new terminal in Jackson, Tennessee – the company’s fifth terminal. Its other terminals were in Nashville and Memphis, as well as Tupelo, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Starnes conceived an expansion strategy into short-haul markets throughout the 1990s. At the time, more than 75% of the nation’s truckload freight was carried on routes within a 500-mile radius of their origin, and Starnes focused on owning that market share. The strategy paid off, and in 1993, M.S. Carriers grew 20%. The growth allowed the company to add 400 tractors to its fleet, which then totaled over 1,900. Growth continued in 1994, with revenues of $292 million.