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Rand McNally Releases Updated Motor Carriers’ Road Atlas Line

By Rand McNally

Just as the first day of summer begins around the third week of June, so launches updated editions of the guide that has been helping truck drivers navigate North America for decades, Rand McNally’s Motor Carriers’ Road Atlas.
The 2020 edition of the atlas – available in paperback, and a version with laminated pages and a spiral binding – released for sale Tuesday. The atlases are available at travel centers, in bookstores and on e-commerce stores, and at Rand McNally’s online store.


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Although technological innovation in the commercial transportation sector continues at a meteoric pace, professional drivers still count on the printed annual edition to provide the big picture and a fail-safe backup for truck-accessible routing, state trucking regulations, and cross-country tolling information. That’s why the atlases, year-after-year, elicit five-star reviews for accuracy, dependability, and ease of use.
“The Motor Carriers’ Road Atlas is an essential item that drivers keep in their truck cabs,” said Stephen Fletcher, CEO of Rand McNally. “Although Rand McNally provides advanced fleet management and logistics technology, it’s also critical to our customers that we provide updated and upgraded atlases each year.”
This year, the atlases include:

  • Revised U.S. state and Canadian province maps;
  • Updated restricted routes, low-clearance, and weigh station locations;
  • An updated fuel tax chart as well as revised state and province information including weight and size limitations, registration guidelines, and phone numbers and websites for state police and operating authorities;
  • Hotlines for road construction and conditions;
  • Updated toll system contact information for each state;
  • And, an updated review of Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) regulations.

In addition, the atlases feature fresh new covers that celebrate the truck and the open road. Learn more about the atlases here!
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See also:
* The Atlantic: How A Modern-Day Mapmaker Does His Job.
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And:


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Via Wikipedia:
“In 1856, William Rand opened a printing shop in Chicago and two years later hired a newly arrived Irish immigrant, Andrew McNally, to work in his shop.
“The shop did big business with the forerunner of the Chicago Tribune, and in 1859 Rand and McNally were hired to run the Tribune’s entire printing operation.
“In 1868, the two men, along with Rand’s nephew George Amos Poole, established Rand McNally & Co. and bought the Tribune’s printing business.
“The company initially focused on printing tickets and timetables for Chicago’s booming railroad industry, and the following year supplemented that business by publishing complete railroad guides.
“In 1870, the company expanded into printing business directories and an illustrated newspaper, the People’s Weekly.
“According to company lore, during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, Rand McNally quickly had two of the company’s printing machines buried in a sandy beach of Lake Michigan, and the company was up and running again only a few days later.”
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“The first Rand McNally map, created using a new cost-saving wax engraving method, appeared in the December 1872 edition of its Railroad Guide.
“Rand McNally became an incorporated business in 1873; with Rand as its president, McNally as vice president, and George Poole as treasurer.
“The Business Atlas, containing maps and data pertinent to business planning, was first published in 1876. The atlas is still updated today, now titled the Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide.
“The Trade Book department was established in 1877, publishing such titles as The Locust Plague in the United States.
“Rand McNally began publishing educational maps in 1880 with its first line of maps, globes, and geography textbooks, soon followed by a world atlas.
“The company began publishing general literature in 1884 with its first title, The Secret of Success, and the Textbook department was established in 1894 with The Rand McNally Primary School Geography.
“Also in 1894, the company opened an office in New York City headed by Caleb S. Hammond, who later started his own map company, C. S. Hammond & Co.”
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“Rand McNally published its first road map, the New Automobile Road Map of New York City & Vicinity, in 1904.
“In 1910, the company acquired the line of Photo-Auto Guides from G.S. Chapin, which provided photographs of routes and intersections with directions.
“Andrew McNally II (son of Frederick McNally) personally took photos on his honeymoon for the Chicago-to-Milwaukee edition.
“The company continued to expand its book publishing business, with best-selling children’s books such as The Real Mother Goose in 1916 and Kon-Tiki in 1950.
“A Rand McNally map appended to the 1914 edition of The New Student’s Reference Work.
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“Rand McNally was the first major map publisher to embrace a system of numbered highways.
“One of its cartographers, John Brink, invented a system that was first published in 1917 on a map of Peoria, Illinois.
“In addition to creating maps with numbered roads, Rand McNally also erected many of the actual roadside highway signs. This system was subsequently adopted by state and federal highway authorities.
“The oil industry quickly developed an interest in road maps, enticing Americans to explore and consume more gasoline. In 1920, Rand McNally began publishing road maps for the Gulf Oil Company, to be freely distributed at its service stations.
“By 1930, Rand McNally had two major road map competitors, General Drafting and Gousha, the latter of which was founded by a former Rand McNally sales representative.
“The Rand McNally Auto Chum, later to become the ubiquitous Rand McNally Road Atlas, debuted in 1924. The first full-color edition was published in 1960 and in 1993, it became fully digitized.”
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Posted on June 19, 2019