Overnite Expands Regional Service

RICHMOND, Va. — Overnite Transportation Co. is expanding its regional truck service to all points in 35 states and adding as many as 1,200 next-day lanes from Texas to New England in an effort to reposition itself as a regional carrier in the East and Midwest.

Overnite wants to be known as a "nationwide regional carrier with premium long-haul capabilities," said Gordon Mackenzie, senior vice president of operations.

Overnite will provide full coverage in 18 states from Maine to Florida starting this month, followed by Texas and then most Midwestern states by September. Overnite will continue to exchange loads with Viking Freight, based in San Jose, Calif., to provide regional service in the West.

Overnite will maintain sleeper team service for long-haul freight moving to and from major cities on the West Coast.

In recent years, Overnite has tried to offer a nationwide, low-cost, non-union alternative for shippers of long-haul less-than-truckload freight. The strategy backfired, though, when a strike against unionized carriers in 1994 flooded the company’s terminal network with long-haul freight, curtailing service for all customers and turning one of the nation’s most profitable trucking operations into one of the least profitable.

Last summer, Union Pacific Corp., Overnite’s parent company, tried to dispose of Overnite, but falling stock prices forced the postponement of a planned stock offering.

Since the trucking company is now making money and UP’s rail business is not, Overnite spokesman Ira Rosenfeld said there is no rush to sell the company.

A spokesman for UP said the company has received calls from a number of private firms that may be interested in buying Overnite.

UP sold Skyway Freight System, a freight forwarder and logistics subsidiary based in Watsonville, Calif., to a private investment company in November (TT, 11-9-98, p. 3).