ODFL adds additional capacity to LTL network, with seven new or improved facilities

Earlier this week, Thomasville, N.C.-based national less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) announced it is again growing its national footprint, with the addition of seven new or improved facilities.

“Offering premium service is at the forefront of our value proposition,” said Chip Overbey, ODFL senior vice president of strategic planning, in a statement. “Each new and expanded facility helps to facilitate the economic growth of the local communities in which we operate while better serving our customers.”

ODFL said that these new facilities are strategically placed to reinforce its commitment to operational excellence and to build network quality. And it added that ODFL has a continuing focus on expansion, as well as to improve current service centers by opening more doors, upgrading technology, and hiring more staff, as part of a collective effort focused on service, at a time when demand remains on a growth trajectory.

What’s more, ODFL said that in order to provide premium service, it looks for service center locations where there is anticipated future growth and heightened customer demand. And it added that the strategic locations reduce shipping time, enhance delivery flexibility, and allow for increased capacity in key metropolitan areas. In February, during its quarterly earnings call, ODFL said it plans to open between eight and ten new service centers in fiscal year 2022.

ODFL’s new service centers and expansions include the following:

• Alliance, Texas—The latest Texas addition supports the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. The new, 75-door facility is one of four Old Dominion service centers in the area, with a total of 587 doors among the facilities to support growing capacity needs. With 74 employees, the Alliance location services north Texas and South Oklahoma;
• Byhalia, Miss.—The Byhalia service center is positioned just outside of Memphis, Tenn., a key distribution hub with easy access to major interstates, rail, and one of the largest air freight facilities in the world. This service center operates on 28.6 acres, with 102 doors and room for continued growth. Old Dominion hired 26 new employees to help serve Byhalia;
• Clear Lake, Iowa—Located right at the crossroads of I-35 and Highway 18, the Clear Lake service center is a 32-door facility that sits on 9.5 acres. Strategically located between Des Moines and Minneapolis, the facility allows Old Dominion to service the area between these key metropolitan areas;
• Kernersville, N.C.—The 103-door Kernersville service center is located 20 minutes from Old Dominion headquarters and exemplifies the Company’s commitment to serving the Triad region. In particular, this facility will provide additional service capacity in the Triad in conjunction with the nearby Greensboro service center;
• Marysville, Wash.—The Marysville service center sits on nearly 10 acres of land and is the 30th service center to open in the Pacific Northwest. Currently operating with 52 doors and space for expansion to 79 doors, this service center is poised for future growth. The service center moves shipments spanning several industries, notably agricultural-related shipments in the Skagit Valley along with construction supplies due to local interest in building;
• West Columbia, S.C.—Currently operating with 63 doors, the Columbia service center has space to eventually add an additional 50 doors. The relocated facility sits in a prime location by I-26, I-77, and I-20. The service center provides expanded capacity in the Columbia market as well as provides the region with a pivotal linehaul relay point serving Florida service centers to the south and the break bulk facilities to the north in Morristown, Tenn. and Greensboro, N.C.; and
• Westfield, Mass.—Located on more than 14 acres, the Westfield service center hired 10 employees as part of its local expansion efforts. Located near the intersection of I-90 and I-91, the service center will dramatically improve response time to shippers in Western Massachusetts and allowing future growth in the South Windsor, Conn. Facility

In a 2021 interview, ODFL Senior VP of Operations Dave told LM that the company is wide open with its real estate investments.

“We have always been at the forefront of doing that and have never really taken the foot off the gas, knowing that we want to keep expanding our network to be able to build our service center capacity and our door capacity,” he said. “The challenge we are running into now is that in select markets, where it is harder to find commercial real estate, and if you do find something, it often seems like someone does not want a trucking company near them so they kind of push back. We are facing that challenge as well.”

Bates explained that most of ODFL’s decisions as they relate to where and when to open up a service center are based on metrics included in what it calls a door pressure report, which measures the [number] of shipments pushing across each dock door over a period of time.

“As we see those numbers escalating in certain markets, that triggers the movement for some type of expansion or spin-off of a certain service center in that market,” he said. “That is how we gauge what we have done over the years, however, with things as tight as they have been with finding real estate, we have had property come available, or even a vacant service center come available, and we may not be ready today to expand in that market, but we might in the next four-to-five years so we will jump on something just to be able to have that resource when we need it.”