I put the whole story on because if you don't have an account with trafficworld you won't be able to read it.
While Smid says that if Yell/Road were to combine the 'flip sign' would say YRC, I think that the flip signs would be a lot cheaper to replace than paint jobs after the next contract is signed and done with.
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YRCs' latest attempt to wring more costs from its long-haul network should enhance its ability to respond to shipper equipment demands. However, it is also raised flags for those who fear Yellow Transportation and Roadway Express are destined to become a single brand.
YRC's new 53-foot white trailers come equipped with a sign in the middle of the rear doors that can be flipped to read Yellow or Roadway depending on the network through which a particular shipment is being hauled.
"It's an efficiency and customer-facing opportunity," said YRC National Transportation President and CEO Mike Smid. "We get short-order requests for a significant number of trailers, and the ability to interchange equipment and make availability in the other brand is an important play for us."
Smid said that while YRC had been planning on purchasing equipment that would bring a higher level of flexibility into its national network, the railroads' decision to stop providing repositioning services in its own equipment accelerated YRC's decision to move on the plan.
"Rail-provided equipment was drying up, and it pushed the project forward," Smid said. "For years, transcontinental freight moved in rail-provided equipment and rail-repositioned equipment. They're not providing that service anymore, so we had to replace that capacity with the appropriate equipment."
So far YRC has placed 2,500 of the new trailers into service, representing roughly 3 percent of 85,000 Roadway and Yellow trailers moving in YRC's long-haul network, with that percentage expected to increase over time, Smid said.
YRC's decision to do more repositioning of its own equipment will not change the company's use of rail, Smid said. According to YRC's labor contract, up to 26 percent of the company's road miles can be moved over the railroads.
Smid maintains that the new equipment will help both companies continue to drive service improvements. Before Yellow bought Roadway in 2003, the average amount of time a shipment was in the company's network was in excess of four days. That number has been pared down to 2.8 days or less. Approximately 50 percent of shipments in both Yellow and Roadway are delivered in two days or less; no five-day points remain on either system.
YRC "will to continue to take steps to try to make the system more efficient and to utilize equipment better," Smid said. "The issue has always been there with our brands, and an effort to maintain the sanctity of the brands, and we think this approach does that."
But labor is concerned that using the same equipment will eventually weaken that sanctity, and may be a more profound sign that the Yellow and Roadway will eventually become a single brand.
"There's definitely widespread concern that they'll start to integrate operations, including road operations," said Ken Paff, national organizer for Teamsters for a Democratic Union.
"They say they have no intention, so I don't expect any changes in the near term, but I hear a lot of concern from Teamster members about what may be in the pipeline."
Labor and others have also pointed out that in some areas Roadway and Yellow share the same terminal - another sign that the companies are destined to become one.
Smid denies the new equipment will eventually lead to changes that will go against the company's long-standing aversion to combining the companies.
"It's in fact a strong signal that the two brands are distinct," Smid said. "If we were going to take (the merger) approach, you'd see either all YRC or maybe no brand. Inside it's still only going to be either Yellow or Roadway freight. There is no commingling, or a situation where both Yellow and Roadway freight are moving between points in each other's network. It's simply an equipment efficiency play to respond faster, the ability to respond from a capacity standpoint more rapidly in any given market."
Although the two carriers interline freight for customers at remote locations where only one or the other carrier provides service, "that's been going on since the acquisition," Smid said. As for terminal sharing, Smid said there were more than 30 facilities where both Roadway and Yellow operate in the same facility.
"They are in distinct areas, but in the same piece of real estate," he said. "But that was the case at a number of facilities even before the acquisition. It's not uncommon in the industry. And that will continue."
trafficworld.com
While Smid says that if Yell/Road were to combine the 'flip sign' would say YRC, I think that the flip signs would be a lot cheaper to replace than paint jobs after the next contract is signed and done with.
--------
YRCs' latest attempt to wring more costs from its long-haul network should enhance its ability to respond to shipper equipment demands. However, it is also raised flags for those who fear Yellow Transportation and Roadway Express are destined to become a single brand.
YRC's new 53-foot white trailers come equipped with a sign in the middle of the rear doors that can be flipped to read Yellow or Roadway depending on the network through which a particular shipment is being hauled.
"It's an efficiency and customer-facing opportunity," said YRC National Transportation President and CEO Mike Smid. "We get short-order requests for a significant number of trailers, and the ability to interchange equipment and make availability in the other brand is an important play for us."
Smid said that while YRC had been planning on purchasing equipment that would bring a higher level of flexibility into its national network, the railroads' decision to stop providing repositioning services in its own equipment accelerated YRC's decision to move on the plan.
"Rail-provided equipment was drying up, and it pushed the project forward," Smid said. "For years, transcontinental freight moved in rail-provided equipment and rail-repositioned equipment. They're not providing that service anymore, so we had to replace that capacity with the appropriate equipment."
So far YRC has placed 2,500 of the new trailers into service, representing roughly 3 percent of 85,000 Roadway and Yellow trailers moving in YRC's long-haul network, with that percentage expected to increase over time, Smid said.
YRC's decision to do more repositioning of its own equipment will not change the company's use of rail, Smid said. According to YRC's labor contract, up to 26 percent of the company's road miles can be moved over the railroads.
Smid maintains that the new equipment will help both companies continue to drive service improvements. Before Yellow bought Roadway in 2003, the average amount of time a shipment was in the company's network was in excess of four days. That number has been pared down to 2.8 days or less. Approximately 50 percent of shipments in both Yellow and Roadway are delivered in two days or less; no five-day points remain on either system.
YRC "will to continue to take steps to try to make the system more efficient and to utilize equipment better," Smid said. "The issue has always been there with our brands, and an effort to maintain the sanctity of the brands, and we think this approach does that."
But labor is concerned that using the same equipment will eventually weaken that sanctity, and may be a more profound sign that the Yellow and Roadway will eventually become a single brand.
"There's definitely widespread concern that they'll start to integrate operations, including road operations," said Ken Paff, national organizer for Teamsters for a Democratic Union.
"They say they have no intention, so I don't expect any changes in the near term, but I hear a lot of concern from Teamster members about what may be in the pipeline."
Labor and others have also pointed out that in some areas Roadway and Yellow share the same terminal - another sign that the companies are destined to become one.
Smid denies the new equipment will eventually lead to changes that will go against the company's long-standing aversion to combining the companies.
"It's in fact a strong signal that the two brands are distinct," Smid said. "If we were going to take (the merger) approach, you'd see either all YRC or maybe no brand. Inside it's still only going to be either Yellow or Roadway freight. There is no commingling, or a situation where both Yellow and Roadway freight are moving between points in each other's network. It's simply an equipment efficiency play to respond faster, the ability to respond from a capacity standpoint more rapidly in any given market."
Although the two carriers interline freight for customers at remote locations where only one or the other carrier provides service, "that's been going on since the acquisition," Smid said. As for terminal sharing, Smid said there were more than 30 facilities where both Roadway and Yellow operate in the same facility.
"They are in distinct areas, but in the same piece of real estate," he said. "But that was the case at a number of facilities even before the acquisition. It's not uncommon in the industry. And that will continue."
trafficworld.com