Reopening of Ex-Yellow LTL Terminals Gathers Pace
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Reopening of former Yellow Corp. terminals quickened in recent days, with multiple less-than-truckload players introducing additional doors they bought at auction.
Yellow shuttered the terminals July 30, 2023, ahead of filing for bankruptcy protection Aug. 6.
At the time, Yellow was operating 169 terminals and leasing 142.
XPO, which emerged as the top bidder in the first auction of Yellow terminals in November, said April 10 it was opening three terminals it acquired: Goodlettsville, Tenn.; Grand Junction, Colo.; and Nogales, Ariz.
Goodlettsville is a 53,000-square-foot facility near Nashville, and has 100 doors. It is one of two XPO expects to open in the second quarter in the Nashville metropolitan area, the company said.
XPO said the three are the first sites to begin operations among the 28 it acquired from Yellow. XPO paid $870 million for 26 owned terminals and two leased properties in the first auction.
After the addition of the three terminals, XPO now has 297.
Harik
“Our first three acquired facilities have launched on schedule, following our landmark investment in our network,” CEO Mario Harik said.
“Each service center is in a prime position to enhance our nationwide capacity, service excellence and operating efficiency. 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,” he added.
The company said the Nogales terminal is located “just minutes from the southern U.S. border” and will provide additional support for its cross-border freight operations.
XPO said the new sites are located near major population centers and interstate highways to reduce shipping times.
Greenwich, Conn.-based XPO ranks No. 5 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 4 on the LTL list.
Saia is pleased to announce the opening of two additional terminals today in Missoula, MT and Garland, TX! Learn more about our newest locations at https://t.co/HKbLPDEStz. #saialtlfreight #saia100 #saiastrong pic.twitter.com/dOWyn2xAca — SaiaLTLFreight (@Saia_Inc) April 8, 2024
Estes Express Lines — the front-runner for acquiring every single one of the terminals for some weeks before the bankrupt LTL carrier’s administrators decided to auction the facilities individually to the highest bidder — also finished refurbishing the first of the 24 terminals it eventually secured.
Richmond, Va.-based Estes said April 15 that a grand opening was held April 11 for the Florence, S.C., terminal it bought. Terminals in Reno, Nev., and Cinnaminson, N.J., once owned by Yellow also reopened recently, it said.
Estes plans to open a further seven ex-Yellow terminals by the end of June, with the remainder of the one-time rival’s properties reopening shortly afterward. The 24 terminals will add 985 doors to Estes’ network.
The Florence terminal has 58 doors, the Reno facility 54 doors and the Cinnaminson terminal 92 doors plus a seven-bay-door maintenance shop.
Estes also bought over 130 tractors and 6,000 trailers from the administrators in auctions held by Ritchie Bros., the company revealed.
Johns Creek, Ga.-based Saia Inc. — also a major winner in the first Yellow terminal auction – said April 8 its Saia LTL Freight unit will open two terminals.
A terminal in Missoula will be Saia’s first in Montana and was acquired from Yellow.
The other facility is in Garland, Texas. The company’s second Garland terminal will be its fourth in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and 21st in Texas.
Sugar
“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,” Executive Vice President of Operations Patrick Sugar said.
A Saia representative did not respond to inquiries as to how many of the terminals would be ex-Yellow facilities.
Saia was the winning bidder for 17 facilities in the first auction, agreeing to pay a combined $235.7 million.
Those facilities were in: Fresno, Calif.; Seaford, Del.; Augusta, Ga.; Bowling Green and Paducah, Ky.; West Boston, Mass.; Grand Rapids and Grayling, Mich; Duluth and Owatonna, Minn.; Trenton, N.J.; Rochester, N.Y.; Akron and Youngstown, Ohio; Reading, Pa.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Laredo, Texas.
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Saia won the most properties on offer in the second round of the auction, agreeing to pay a combined $7.92 million for 11 properties across seven Western states.
Saia ranks No. 21 on the for-hire TT100 and No. 9 on the LTL list.
The company expects its 2024 capital expenditure to total $1 billion, executives told analysts Feb. 2, compared with $437.2 million in 2023.
Meanwhile, Roadrunner Freight also reopened a former Yellow terminal in Atlanta, the company said April 10. The facility has 75 doors and parking for more than 300 trailers.
Roadrunner Freight ranks No. 88 on the for-hire TT100 and No. 20 on the LTL list.
Carriers’ reopening of one-time Yellow terminals plays into an anticipated upswing in the LTL segment, according to at least one observer.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide noted in its March market update that large LTL carriers were expanding their footprint ahead of expected future growth.
LTL tonnage has been weak for some time now, it said, but Yellow’s demise helped right-size the amount of demand available among the remaining carriers.
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“It’s only a matter of time before LTL tonnage begins to increase again and several carriers are preparing for that inevitability,” it said.
C.H. Robinson ranks No. 2 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America.
Anticipation of the upturn also is enticing major LTL players to splash the cash on acquisitions beyond the former Yellow assets.
TFI International, ranked No. 4 on the for-hire TT100 list, unveiled the purchase of Hercules Forwarding Inc. in March to bolster its position in the market segment even as it digests December’s $1 billion Daseke Inc. acquisition.
Hercules focuses on intra-U.S. and U.S.-to-Canada cross-border transportation, operates 31 terminals, 210 trucks, close to 600 trailers and about 75 containers.
The acquisition also is part of TFI’s plans to turn around its U.S. LTL operations.
