Old Dominion Freight Line history

Despite some challenges, the company remained profitable thorough the end of the decade but used its proceeds to finance expansion and by 1940 had three service centers, 45 employees, and 12 drivers.

During World War II, ODFL expanded outside Virginia beginning in 1941 by buying the trucks of New Dixie Transfer and leasing New Dixie's CPCN for a year.

The company converted a disused lumber mill into a trucking terminal in 1942 to support the volume of business they were doing during the war.

ODFL was one of many unionized carriers impacted by a Teamsters strike that lasted over 10 weeks in 1946.

Following the strike, ODFL was able to recover and in 1947 was operating 16 straight trucks, 25 tractors, and 35 trailers and was profitable.

OD built its first new service center in Norfolk, VA in 1948.

When Earl Congdon died in 1950, his wife Lillian took over the presidency of the company.

In 1957, Old Dominion extended its operations to most major markets in North Carolina and southern Virginia.

1962: The company expands with the purchase of a High Point, North Carolina-based furniture mover; Earl Congdon, Jr., becomes president.

1969: New acquisitions expand Old Dominion's reach into the Northeast and the South.

With the acquisition of New Jersey-based Deaton Trucking in 1979, Old Dominion entered the market for full-load and flat-bed trucking.

Federal reform of trucking industry regulations through the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 prompted many changes at Old Dominion.

With greater emphasis on developing LTL services, Old Dominion discontinued its furniture shipment division and sold the general commodities truckload and flatbed freight division of its Deaton subsidiary in 1991.

In 1993 the company launched new intra-regional service in the mid-Atlantic states.

In September 1995, Old Dominion acquired certain assets of Denver-based Navajo LTL, Inc., including 82 tractors, 264 trailers, and ten service centers.

Revenues in 1996 reached $293 million, yielding a net profit of $6.1 million.

In 1997, his son David Congdon became the President of Old Dominion Freight Lines.

The two acquisitions resulted in the addition of nine new service centers in 1998, while another four service centers opened in upstate New York, extending new service to that area.

Expansion continued in 1999 with the January acquisition of Skyline Transportation.

In the first half of 2000, Old Dominion extended full-state service to 21 states east of the Mississippi River.

An opportunity to improve its service network in Texas and Oklahoma came in February 2001 with the acquisition of Carter & Sons Freightways, Inc. of Carrollton, Texas.

Old Dominion introduced two new services in 2002, OD Air Express and OD Parts Assembly and Distribution.

In 2003 Old Dominion continued to expand and upgrade its service center facilities.

By 2005, the company expanded into Canada, Vermont and the Dakotas.

2010-Present: OD experienced unprecedented growth, from stock price to the total number of employees.

In 2011 Old Dominion, with the growth of E-commerce, expanded into household delivery.