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YRC Freight history
YRC Freight company history timeline
In 1924, Harrell traded his cabs for trucks and established the Yellow Transit trucking company.
YRC Freight traces its origins to 1924 when A.J. Harrell, an Oklahoma City entrepreneur, founded a bus and taxi service that he named Yellow Cab Transit Co.
He shortened the name to Yellow Transit Co. in 1926.
1944: A.J. Harrell sells Yellow Transit, and the company is renamed Yellow Transit Freight Lines.
In 1945 Roadway Express began replacing owner-operators with hired drivers to run its own fleet.
1951: Yellow declares bankruptcy.
In 1952, a teenager from Steinbach, Manitoba, D.S. Reimer, with help from his father, Frank F. Reimer, founded Reimer Express Lines with a route between Winnipeg and Windsor, Ontario.
In 1956 Carroll Roush, the younger of the two founding brothers, decided to sell his interest in Roadway.
Yellow was quick to capitalize on this latest boost to the trucking industry, and by 1957 had reached revenues of $15 million.
In 1965, Yellow purchased Watson-Wilson Transportation System, launching a new period in the growth of the company.
1965: Yellow acquires Watson-Wilson Transportation System, doubling its size.
1968: Company changes its name to Yellow Freight System.
The company continued to expand, and by 1969, Reimer Express was providing coast-to-coast service in Canada.
In 1980 deregulation of rates and services opened new avenues for motor carriers.
1 Trucker Joins a Price-Cutting Convoy," Business Week, February 8, 1982.
By 1982, however, with revenues slipping, Roadway chose to discount its prices.
Yellow's profits continued to fall through 1983.
In 1984 Roadway Services acquired Spartan Express, Inc.; Nationwide Carriers, Inc.; and Roberts Express, Inc.
Yellow also increased its LTL freight contracts to encompass nearly two-thirds of its business, and by 1985, Yellow had expanded its number of terminals to 600.
In 1985 Roadway's earnings dipped for the first time in 32 years.
With only Alaska left unrepresented in the United States, Yellow created a terminal there in 1987.
In 1987, a New York City trucking firm, Lifschultz Fast Freight Inc., filed suit against trucking's big three—Yellow Freight, Roadway Services, and Consolidated Freightways—charging predatory pricing and conspiracy to restrain trade and free competition in certain segments of the industry.
In 1988 Roadway acquired Viking Freight, the largest regional carrier in the western United States.
RPS contributed one-fourth of Roadway Services' profits in 1989.
In March 1990 Roadway's Roberts Express unit launched a European subsidiary, Roberts Express, B.V., headquartered in Maastricht, the Netherlands.
RPS and Viking Freight both performed well, but the latter's VFS Transportation subsidiary did not, and was closed down in 1990.
Yellow entered Mexico in 1991, forming Yellow Freight Mexicana, and further increased its Canadian presence.
A depressed economy and the pressure of low-cost competitors kept prices down for Roadway in 1991.
It also extended its reach to 24 ports in the Pacific Rim. It began offering services to 20 countries in Europe in 1991, and opened export services to the Middle East two years later.
In 1992, Yellow formed a Texas subsidiary, Yellow Transportation, extending its regional business in that important state.
1992: Yellow enters the regional less-than-truckload (LTL) market with the purchase of Preston Trucking Company.
Moore, Janet, "Akron-Based Roadway Express Completes Phase-In Export Service to Middle East," Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, December 28, 1993.
Also in 1993, the company acquired Saia Motor Freight Line, a southern LTL carrier.
In 1993, Yellow Freight restructured as a holding company for its subsidiaries, changing its name to Yellow Corporation.
When the Supreme Court finally declined to hear the case in 1993, the big three trucking firms had spent more than $6 million in refuting the charges made by Lifschultz.
------, "Yellow Freight Is 1st LTL to Announce Price Rises for '95," Journal of Commerce and Commercial, November 22, 1994.
A 24-day Teamster strike in 1994 resulted in more than $25 million in losses for Yellow, while the rough winter of that year further slowed the trucking industry and depressed profits.
In 1994 the Teamsters called a strike at Roadway Express that lasted for 24 days.
When Roadway Systems announced in August 1995 that it was spinning off its principal subsidiary, analysts suspected that the company was trying to ditch its unprofitable unionized member.
He was replaced by William Zollars, who had served as the president of Yellow Freight since 1996 and had been instrumental in the restructuring at that subsidiary.
But in 1997, the company began to reap the rewards of its cost-reduction efforts; it moved back into the black with year-end income of $52.4 million.
In 1997, Roadway acquired Reimer Express, which provided a seamless cross-border gateway and enhanced service from Canada to Mexico.
In a January 28, 1998 press release, Myers attributed the improvement largely to $145 million in savings at Yellow Freight, and indicated that in the coming year, Yellow Corp. would focus on reducing expenses at its other subsidiaries as well.
In April 1998 Roadway reached agreement with the Teamsters on a new five-year contract.
In June 1998, Yellow formed a new subsidiary--YCS International--to serve as Yellow's international carrier.
In 1998, it acquired Action Express, a regional carrier that expanded the company's inter-regional coverage to the Pacific Northwest.
In November 1999, having restored Yellow to profitability, the company's "turnaround CEO," Maurice Myers, resigned.
Through alliances with various international partners, YCS (which was renamed Yellow Global in 2000) allowed the company to offer shippers greater geographic coverage.
In 2000, Yellow Corporation recorded the best financial performance in its history, with net income of $68 million--a 33 percent increase over the previous year.
In a June 2001 interview with CNNfn, Yellow CEO Bill Zollars said that the company planned to deal with the downturn by continuing to build broader capabilities, focusing on high-growth global services and looking for ways to reduce expenses until the economy rebounded.
The company adopted a holding company structure in 2001, forming Roadway Corp. to oversee its main subsidiary—Roadway Express.
Maile, Matt, "Merger Unites Truckers with Large OKC Roots," Journal Record, July 9, 2003.
Trunick, Perry A., "A Tale of Two LTL Giants," Transportation & Distribution, August 1, 2003.
In 2003, these powerful leaders came together under the banner of Yellow Roadway Corp.
Schultz, John D., and Paul Page, "Zollars' Next Challenge," Traffic World, May 24, 2004.
Heaster, Randolph, "A Year After Merger, Trucking Firm Yellow Roadway Is Riding High," Kansas City Star, December 11, 2004.
Ward, Andrew, "Yellow Roadway Drives into More Competition," Financial Times, June 6, 2005.
In 2007, YRC set plans in motion to acquire Shanghai Jiayu Logistics, one of the largest LTL carriers in China.
During 2007, YRC's earnings began to fall as fuel costs continued to rise.
In 2010, YRC Worldwide (YRCW) started the business restructuring.
The company’s former CEO, Bill Zollars, left the company in 2011 along with the chief finance officer, chief operating officer, chief accounting officer, and chief marketing officer.
In 2011, the IBT waived its right to terminate and also agreed not to further modify the Agreement for Restructuring of YRC Worldwide (YRCW).
In 2011, the new board of directors included two nominees from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (or IBT). Each of YRCW’s operating subsidiaries has employees who are represented by the IBT. The company’s workforce is dominated by these employees.
In the beginning of 2012, it shut down the formerly acquired Roadway’s headquarters and rebranded YRC Freight.
The next year, YRCW completed its financial restructuring and noted that it issued a “substantial number of shares of our common stock.” It also issued $140.0 million, 10% Series A Convertible Senior Secured Notes due in 2015, as well as $100.0 million of Series B Notes.
Part 1 - Why Has YRC Worldwide Stock Fallen since 2016 Began?
Beginning May 8, 2019 YRC Reimer will operate under the YRC Freight brand.
"YRC Worldwide Inc. ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved June 21, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/yrc-worldwide-inc
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YRC Freight competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saia | 1924 | $3.2B | 12,000 | 142 |
| Old Dominion Freight Line | 1934 | $5.8B | 19,779 | 105 |
| USF Reddaway | 1919 | $335.0M | 2,600 | - |
| Central Transport | 1995 | $140.0M | 99 | 691 |
| NEMF | 1918 | $560.0M | 3,200 | - |
| PITT OHIO | 1979 | $505.0M | 3,100 | 55 |
| R+L Carriers | 1965 | $2.0B | 14,000 | 270 |
| AAA Cooper Transportation | 1955 | $780.0M | 4,500 | 399 |
| Estes Express Lines | 1931 | $20.0M | 18,000 | 204 |
| Dayton Freight | 1981 | $679.0M | 1,398 | 471 |
YRC Freight history FAQs
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YRC Freight may also be known as or be related to YRC Freight, YRC Freight Inc, YRC Freight Inc., YRC Worldwide, Yellow Corporation and Yrc Freight.