LaserShip and OnTrac herald expansion into Texas, starting next year

On the heels of recently announcing the rollout of a new transcontinental delivery service, following their October 2021 merger announcement, Vienna, Va.-based LaserShip, the largest regional e-commerce parcel carrier and last-mile delivery services provider, and Chandler, Ariz.-based regional shipping services provider OnTrac, said earlier this month that they are expanding into Texas.

The companies said that this expansion comprises what it called the “fast-growing megaregion of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, with deliveries kicking off early next year, with the Dallas-Fort Worth facility to function as the major Texas-based sort hub, reaching 19 million new consumers through faster residential e-commerce delivery services.

LaserShip and OnTrac said that this 300,000 square-feet sort center is equipped to facilitate millions of deliveries to more than 7.6 million residents in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and also provide easy access to the I-35 and I-20 corridors. What’s more, they added that LaserShip and OnTrac are creating hundreds of full- and part-time jobs to help meet local delivery demand, while boosting economic growth across the regions.

“Our focus has always been our relationships with retailers. We are proud to expand to Texas and provide our retail partners with a proven carrier that can help them meet their customers’ expectations of faster delivery,” said Josh Dinneen, Chief Commercial Officer at LaserShip and OnTrac, in a statement. “As national carriers prioritize profits over partnerships, we are helping retailers win more customers and build brand loyalty across the Lone Star state. We also look forward to welcoming more employees into the LaserShip/OnTrac family and growing our involvement within the local communities.”

Through this expansion, the companies said that their combined delivery network will reach 80% of the U.S. population next year.

As for its new transcontinental delivery service, it is focused on helping retailers reach consumers in the nation’s most populated regions with faster and more reliable home delivery at a cheaper cost. And they added that this service will connect the companies East and West Coast delivery footprints, moving packages both way in three days.

When the merger was initially announced, LaserShip and OnTrac said they would form the only pure-play national e-commerce solution in last-mile parcel delivery and enhance customers’ ability to meet growing demand in the consumer delivery market. And they added, at the time, that in order to ensure continued exceptional service through the holiday season with expectations of heightened shipping volumes, LaserShip and OnTrac would not begin to link their networks until 2022 and would operate independently until then.

Dinneen recently told LM that that this transcontinental service is a huge win for retailers, as it empowers them to reach consumers in the country’s most populated areas with faster, reliable, cost-effective home delivery.

“As national carriers continue to implement surcharges and off-schedule rate increases, our transcontinental service gives retailers a proven alternative that can help them diversify their carrier mix, increase flexibility and capacity, and scale their businesses by reaching 74% of the U.S. population across 30 states and Washington, D.C.,” he noted.

Dinneen also explained that the transcontinental service launch was based on overwhelming feedback LaserShip and OnTrac received from their customers about the need for a carrier with their speed, reliability, cost-savings and service, but with nationwide scale.