XPO Logistics expands LTL network

Freight transportation provider XPO Logistics continues to expand its less-than-truckload (LTL) network, most recently adding terminals and maintenance shops and also increasing production at its Arkansas trailer manufacturing facility, the company said today.

The expansion includes new doors at cross-dock terminals in Sheboygan, Wisc., and Texarkana, Ark., and fleet maintenance shops at terminals in Ohio, Florida, New York, and Nevada. Equipment upgrades at the LTL trailer manufacturing facility in Searcy, Ark., are expected to nearly double the number of units produced this year compared to 2021, company officials said.

The moves follow the opening of a 264-door terminal in Chicago Heights, Ill., last October and are part of the company’s previously announced, long-term plan to drive growth and efficiencies in its North American LTL network.

Future plans include expanding its North American LTL door count by 6% by the end of 2023; continuing to implement accessorial charges for detained trailers, oversized freight, and special handling; expanding the graduate count at its U.S. driver training schools in 2022, with plans to nearly double the number of graduates compared to 2021; and “significantly” increasing the number of units produced at its trailer manufacturing facility.

“The strategic actions we initiated in the fourth quarter began showing results in a matter of weeks, giving us good traction for the execution of our plan in 2022,” Mario Harik, acting president, less-than-truckload, and chief information officer of XPO Logistics, said in a statement Tuesday. “Our investments in this high-ROIC business will benefit customers across our national LTL platform.”