Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/716013
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2016 45 INNOVATORS ROADRUNNER TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS Cudahy, Wis. services, and Wando Trucking, a Charles- ton, S.C.-based provider of intermodal and related services in the Southeast. In July 2013, Roadrunner acquired Springfi eld, Mo.-based Marisol Inter- national, a nonasset-based provider of international ocean and air transportation management, for $66 million. Two months later, Roadrunner purchased Batesville, Ark.-based G.W. Palmer Logistics, a non- asset temperature-controlled truckload provider, for about $2.5 million. That same month, Roadrunner acquired Salisbury, Mass.-based refrigerated truckload pro- vider Yes Trans Inc. for $1.2 million. In February 2014, Roadrunner bought Little Rock, Ark.-based Rich Logistics, a provider of truckload and expedited services throughout the United States and Mexico, along with Everett Transportation Inc., an exclusive Rich contractor, for about $48 million. The next month, Roadrun- ner acquired Los Angeles-based Unitrans International Corp., a nonasset-based provider of international ocean and air logistics solutions for cold chain and high- value shipments, for $55.5 million. In July 2014, Roadrunner purchased Kokomo, Ind.-based ISI, a regional logis- tics provider for the automotive industry, for about $13 million. The next month, Roadrunner acquired Belleville, Mich.- based Active Aero Group, a supply-chain solutions provider of ground and air expe- dited services, for about $115 million. In July 2015, Roadrunner bought El Paso, Texas-based Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution for about $35 million. Stage- coach provides regional, intermodal and over-the-road truckload services through- Roadrunner knows the fast track to success – and the slower route to satisfying customers BY DEAN SMALLWOOD R oadrunner Transportation Systems (CCJ Top 250, No. 34) has a name that implies getting things done fast, and judging by the company's rapid growth over the last 10 years, the name also could apply to its ambitious plans for global expansion just as much as it does for quick delivery. But the asset-light transportation and logistics services provider also is fi nding success with what it touts as a fl exible and responsive strategy to its customers' needs, and one that's seemingly a direct contradiction to its moniker: adding days to delivery. The Cudahy, Wis.-based company offers customized and expedited less-than-truck- load and truckload logistics, transportation management and intermodal solutions, freight consolidation, inventory management, expedited services, international freight forwarding, customs brokerage and global supply chain solutions. Roadrunner has come a long way since 2006 when it ranked No. 149 in the fi rst-ever CCJ Top 250 – the rankings before that year had been dedicated to the nation's top 100 for-hire fl eets. The company, then known as Roadrunner Dawes Freight Systems, posted $345 million in 2005 revenue, operated 405 tractors and 616 trailers and had 563 drivers, primarily owner-operators. An indication of things to come was evident in the 2007 ranking when the company blasted halfway up the list to No. 75, recording $555 million in 2006 revenue – a nearly 61 percent increase – and operating 1,316 and 2,051 trailers, with 1,398 drivers. Roadrunner fi led its Initial Public Offering in July 2008 and went public in May 2010. In last year's ranking, the company reported $1.873 billion in 2014 revenue and operated 3,900 tractors and 5,500 trailers, with 4,063 drivers. Decade of diversi ed growth Roadrunner's more recent head-spinning growth spurt began in 2011 with eight acquisi- tions within a two-year timeframe. In May 2013, the company announced two more: Adrian Carriers, a Milan, Ill.-based provider of container management and intermodal The LTL hauler refocuses its network standards to further enhance service consistency.