Dive Brief:
- LTL giants XPO, Estes Express Lines and Saia are racing to reopen the Yellow Corp. terminals they acquired at a court-supervised auction last year following the largest bankruptcy in trucking history.
- XPO announced the reopening of three acquired properties in Tennesse, Colorado and Arizona. Estes debuted operations at a pair of terminals it acquired in Nevada and New Jersey. Saia reopened a leased property in Montana the company added to its network from Yellow.
- “With a deeper presence in strategic markets, we are introducing new premium services and expanding our existing offerings, such as our cross-border service with Mexico,” XPO CEO Mario Harik said in his company’s announcement.
Dive Insight:
The carriers see the capacity additions as critical density in their networks that will position them to improve service and profitability as freight demand rebounds.
But many of Yellow’s old properties required significant repair and maintenance work to meet their new owners’ standards before they can be put back into service.
XPO’s acquired sites in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, in the greater Nashville area; Grand Junction, Colorado; and Nogales, Arizona, are located near major population centers and interstate highways to reduce shipping times, according to the company.
The additions were part of over 128 purchases and 23 leases acquired from Yellow in a federal bankruptcy court-supervised auction last year, and the initial openings mark another milestone in an ongoing shift in the LTL industry.
Harik and the other companies’ executives noted the strategic value of the additions and remarked on the changes in news releases.
“Each service center is in a prime position to enhance our nationwide capacity, service excellence and operating efficiency,” Harik said.
Estes’ new terminals in Reno, Nevada, and Cinnaminson, New Jersey, opened alongside a separately acquired terminal in Florence, South Carolina.
Estes’ acquisitions from Yellow will add a combined 985 doors to its network, the carrier said.
“These recent acquisitions represent the single biggest influx of terminals and equipment in Estes’ history,” said Webb Estes, president and COO. “I applaud our team for their speed and agility, which allowed us to integrate these assets into our operations quickly and seamlessly.”
Saia’s terminal in Missoula, Montana, is its first in the state. Like Estes, the carrier also opened another terminal not purchased in the bankruptcy auction, in Garland, Texas.
“Beyond these two, we intend to open another 16 to 17 new terminals over the next several months, in addition to relocating several existing facilities to larger or strategically advantageous locations to reduce shipping time, improve pickup and delivery flexibility, and increase capacity in key areas,” EVP of Operations Patrick Sugar said.
