Zone Players

Quest for Quality - Regional LTL

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 8/1/2006

Year after year, shippers say there’s a long list of characteristics that they look for in a regional LTL carrier. In fact, if we were to write a “Help Wanted” ad for a quality regional LTL, it would read like this: “Punctual, flexible, innovative problem solver who’s ready to respond with top-quality customer service on extremely short notice.” Sounds like a tall order; yet according to the 1,562 respondents in the Regional LTL categories, there are an even dozen carriers that fit this description.

Picking up prizes in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic for the third consecutive year are A. Duie Pyle (37.04) and New Penn Motor Express (35.53). A. Duie Pyle came in on top, outscoring the pack with an impressive 12.42 in On-time Performance and a solid 5.0 in Information Technology. Joining the two repeat winners are New Century Transportation (35.87) and Pitt Ohio Express (35.15).

Down South, only two carriers beat the heat by scoring higher than the 34.05 weighted average: Southeastern Freight Lines (35.87) and Con-way Freight (formerly Con-Way Southern Express), with 34.22. Both took home medals last year as well.

In the Midwest/North Central region, it looks like there are two dynasties in the making. Con-way Freight (formerly Con-Way Central Express), with 35.45, and USF Holland (33.99) came out on top for the third year in a row.

Out West, shippers showered awards on Oak Harbor Freight Lines (35.59), Lynden Transport (35.26), Con-way Freight (formerly Con-Way Western Express), with 34.97, and USF Reddaway (34.20).

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional LTL Carriers (color chart)

	On-timePerformance	Value	Information Technology	Customer Service	Equipment &Operations	Weighted Score
A. Duie Pyle	12.42	8.67	5.00	6.44	4.51	37.04
New Century Transportation	11.41	9.08	4.54	6.00	4.83	35.87
New Penn Motor Express	11.92	8.55	4.70	6.07	4.29	35.53
Pitt Ohio Express	11.48	8.99	4.49	6.03	4.16	35.15
AVERAGE	11.44	8.56	4.64	5.93	4.21	34.78
South/South Central Regional LTL Carriers (color chart - con't.)
	On-timePerformance	Value	Information Technology	Customer Service	Equipment &Operations	Weighted Score
Southeastern Freight Lines	11.59	9.22	4.79	5.98	4.29	35.87
Con-way Freight	11.21	8.12	4.92	5.77	4.20	34.22
AVERAGE	11.10	8.48	4.52	5.81	4.14	34.05
Midwest/North Central Regional LTL Carriers
	On-timePerformance	Value	Information Technology	Customer Service	Equipment &Operations	Weighted Score
Con-way Freight	11.89	8.22	5.01	6.02	4.31	35.45
USF Holland	11.16	8.46	4.50	5.80	4.08	33.99
AVERAGE	11.19	8.36	4.57	5.77	4.10	33.99
Western Regional LTL Carriers
	On-timePerformance	Value	Information Technology	Customer Service	Equipment &Operations	Weighted Score
Oak Harbor Freight Lines	11.84	9.17	4.34	6.20	4.04	35.59
Lynden Transport	11.97	8.43	4.46	6.13	4.26	35.26
Con-way Freight	11.58	8.10	5.02	5.95	4.32	34.97
USF Reddaway	11.31	8.60	4.64	5.69	3.97	34.20
AVERAGE	10.81	8.44	4.44	5.59	3.94	33.23
All scores are weighted. Weighted scores are determined by multiplying the average raw scores by the average importance of each attribute (1 = least important; 5 = most important). To find the attributed weights for this category, see the introduction to the Quest for Quality report. Source: Logistics Management, Reed Research Group