2012 Top 100 For-Hire
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A Word From the Publisher evenue and profits for the nation’s largest With many carriers are cautious about expanding trucking companies grew strongly in the past their truck fleets, Transport America, a dry van truck- R year, reflecting an increase in demand for load carrier based in Eagan, Minn., took a different freight hauling and higher rates. approach, acquiring Southern Cal Transport in Janu- And while many executives are understandably ary 2011 and boosting annual revenue by 78%. happy about their company’s financial results, the new “Size matters,” said Keith Klein, chief operating of- business is also testing the industry’s ability to contain ficer for Transport America. “The acquisition gave us costs and provide additional capacity. new service offerings, 200 driver teams and a dedi- The key to success on both counts, it turns out, may cated intermodal drayage operation in the Southeast.” depend on how well companies can attract and retain Like most other carriers, Transport America is ex- truck drivers. panding once again after cutting back on As Transport Topics’ Senior Features staff and salaries during the recession. Writer Daniel P. Bearth reports, the re- The outlook is tempered, however, by cession provided an opportunity for the fear of over-expansion. many carriers to trim expenses and focus Nearly half of carrier executives sur- on new strategies for providing service. veyed for the Top 100 this year said David Oren, president of Dart Tran- they expect to see a shortage of freight sit Inc., said his company emerged hauling capacity in the next 12 months. from the economic downturn of 2008 But, as Dan Clark, president and gen- and 2009 “as a much stronger and eral manager of GE Capital Trans- competitive carrier.” portation Finance, said, “We’re not That’s a sentiment shared by many of seeing fleets adding equipment.” the trucking executives on the 2012 The combination of higher prices for Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire new equipment and a dwindling supply Carriers list. of used tractors means that many fleets “Over the past two and one-half can’t buy as many trucks as they would years, we’ve reduced our operating like, Clark said. ratio [expenses as a share of revenue] Howard Abramson Another factor, though, is a lack of by 3.4% while increasing service lev- drivers. els,” said Steve Chapman, chairman of While the recession provided a brief Ruan Transportation Management Systems, a dedi- reprieve for fleets looking to hire drivers, the market cated and tank truck carrier based in Des Moines, appears to be tightening now. Iowa. “We’re finding better ways to do things.” The driver shortage is nothing new, of course, but John White, president of U.S. Xpress Inc., Chat- the approach that many companies are taking to solve tanooga, Tenn., said his company is trying to expand the problem is. freight service without adding to the size of its own fleet. Instead of simply ramping up hiring, many compa- One way to do that is put more than one driver in nies are taking steps to retain drivers by improving pay each truck. By “slip seating,” U.S. Xpress is able to and benefits, instituting programs that reward drivers keep its trucks running as much as 22 hours a day and for safe and efficient performance and building new spreading the fixed costs associated with running facilities to provide a comfortable and safe place for trucks over more revenue. drivers to stay when they are on the road. Another solution is to exchange freight with other As the industry looks ahead, it’s nice to see compa- fleets and put more freight on railroads. nies taking steps to take care of their business by tak- The company is planning a new service to Canada, ing better care of their drivers. for instance, in which trailers would be handed off to a Canadian carrier. “Our desire is to grow the asset-light part of our business,” White said. “That includes rail intermodal and freight brokerage.” ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND SOURCES The 2012 Transport Topics Top 100 is a project of TRANSPORT TOPICS Publishing Group and features data compiled from public and private for-hire trucking companies. In some cases, revenue estimates were used to determine sector rankings. Senior Features Writer Daniel P. Bearth coordinated the project with assistance from Karen Villar. Cover design is by Joe Terry, senior designer. The design is by Patrick Donlon, assistant director of art and production. RANK RANK REVENUE % NET INCOME % OPERATING UNITS 2011 2010 COMPANY (000) CHANGE (000) CHANGE EMPLOYEES EQUIPMENT (DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES) 1 UPS Inc. 53,105,000 7.2 3,804,000 14.0 398,300 101,121 company-owned tractors UPS Package Operations (air and ground package delivery) 1 Atlanta 49,545,000 3,338,000 400,600 straight trucks, package cars, UPS Supply Chain Solutions (transportation management, air, ocean, rail and ground NYSE: UPS vans and motorcycles freight forwarding, expedited, customs brokerage, supply chain design, contract Scott Davis, Chairman and CEO 78,974 trailers carriage, service parts distribution and repair, returns management, David Abney, COO 230 aircraft assembly and distribution, vehicle routing, dispatch and tracking systems, Kurt Kuehn, CFO includes operations of Kiala S.A. acquired in February) UPS Freight (regional and interregional LTL, truckload, dedicated contract carriage, www.ups.com refrigerated intermodal) UPS Capital Corp. (equipment leasing, trade finance, freight payment and insurance) UPS Mail Innovations (mail processing) The UPS Store (franchiser of retail shipping, postal and business service stores) UPS Consulting (management consulting) 2 FedEx Corp. 1 42,224,000 10.6 1,369,000 4.3 300,000 23,692 company-owned tractors FedEx Express , FedEx Trade Networks , FedEx SupplyChain Systems (domestic and 2 Memphis, Tenn. 38,180,000 1,313,000 285,000 53,839 straight trucks international air and ground package and freight delivery, air and ocean freight forwarding, NYSE: FDX 84,817 trailers customs brokerage, transportation management, order fulfillment, Frederick Smith, Chairman and CEO 688 aircraft warehousing and distribution, service parts, returned goods management, supply chain Alan Graf Jr., CFO consulting, includes operations of MultiPack in Mexico acquired in July 2011 and Opek Sp. z.o.o. in Poland acquired in June) www.fedex.com FedEx Ground , FedEx Home Delivery, FedEx SmartPost (commercial and residential ground package delivery and consolidation) FedEx Freight , FedEx Custom Critical (regional and national LTL, expedited) FedEx Services , FedEx Office , FedEx TechConnect (sales and marketing, information technology support, document and business services, customer service, billings and collections) 3 Con-way Inc. 5,289,953 6.8 88,443 NA 27,800 11,900 company-owned tractors Con-way Freight (regional and interregional LTL) 3 Ann Arbor, Mich. 4,952,000 3,985 27,900 34,400 trailers Con-way Truckload (dry van TL) NYSE: CNW Con-way Multimodal (freight brokerage, intermodal) Douglas Stotlar, President and CEO Menlo Worldwide Logistics (supply chain consulting, transportation management, Stephen Bruffett, CFO dedicated contract carriage, warehousing and distribution, freight brokerage) Road Systems (trailer manufacturing) www.con-way.com 4 YRC Worldwide 4,868,844 12.3 (354,517) NA 32,000 15,602 company-owned tractors YRC Freight (national and international LTL and TL, expedited, cross-border services) 4 Overland Park, Kan. 4,334,640 (327,770) 32,000 51,636 trailers YRC Reimer (regional and interregional LTL in Canada, cross-border services) Nasdaq: YRCW New Penn , Holland , Reddaway (regional and interregional LTL and TL, James Welch, CEO expedited, cross-border services) Jamie Pierson, CFO www.yrcw.com 1 FedEx Corp. revenue and net income are for 12 months ended Feb. 29, 2012, and Feb. 28, 2011. 4 – 2012 Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers / This Transport Topics 100 PDF is sponsored by R.L. Polk & Co. and TMW RANK RANK REVENUE % NET INCOME % OPERATING UNITS 2011 2010 COMPANY (000) CHANGE (000) CHANGE EMPLOYEES EQUIPMENT (DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES) 5 J.B. Hunt Transport Services 4,527,000 19.3 257,006 28.7 15,631 9,109 company-owned tractors J.B. Hunt Intermodal (intermodal and drayage) 5 Lowell, Ark. 3,793,485 199,617 15,223 1,178 owner-operator tractors J.B. Hunt Truck (dry van and refrigerated TL and LTL, expedited) Nasdaq: JBHT 20,513 trailers J.B. Hunt Dedicated Contract Services (dedicated contract carriage, commercial Kirk Thompson, Chairman 54,506 containers and residential delivery) John Roberts III, President and CEO J.B. Hunt Integrated Capacity Solutions (freight brokerage) Craig Harper, COO David Mee, CFO www.jbhunt.com 6 Schneider National Inc. 3,400,000 9.7 NA NA 17,400 9,900 company-owned tractors Schneider National Truckload Services (dry van TL, expedited, dedicated 6 Green Bay, Wis. 3,100,000 NA 18,395 1,800 owner-operator tractors contract carriage) Chris Lofgren, President and CEO 80 straight trucks Schneider National Bulk Carriers (liquid bulk, chemical and petroleum tank) Lori Lutey, CFO 32,000 trailers Schneider Intermodal Services (intermodal) 13,600 containers Schneider Logistics Services (transportation management, freight brokerage, www.schneider.com transloading and intermodal drayage, warehousing and distribution, supply chain consulting) Schneider Finance (equipment leasing) 7 Swift Transportation 3,333,908 13.8 90,550 NA 17,400 11,867 company-owned tractors Swift Transportation (dry van and refrigerated TL, flatbed and heavy 7 Phoenix 2,929,723 (125,413) 18,000 4,035 owner-operator tractors