F E AT U R E
17
The Power of Supply Chain
Partnerships
BY ANDREA OBSTON, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, CLDA
By Andrea Obston
Director of Public Relations, CLDA
James Welch took the stage at
the CLDA Annual and got the atten-
tion of the crowd right off the bat.
Speaking about the relationship
between LTL companies and local
carriers he said: “We know we have
to develop relationships with com-
panies like yours. We have the ability
to deliver to you multiple shipments
from any point in North America.
CLDA members have the knowledge,
expertise and resources to take those
same shipments the final mile. Our
partnership needs to be built on a
commitment to grow our businesses
together and at the same time make
sure it is a profitable endeavor for all
of us.”
Welch brought his 35 years
of experience in the transporta-
tion business in to play in a rousing
keynote speech highlighting the
need to find ways for LTL carriers
and CLDA members to leverage their
strengths to serve a fast growing
market efficiently and competitively.
He is the chief executive officer of
YRC Worldwide, a $5 billion trans-
portation company that is a leading
provider of LTL transportation ser-
vices throughout North America.
YRC Worldwide has four LTL operat-
ing companies, YRC Freight, Holland,
Reddaway and New Penn. Prior to his
position at YRC Worldwide, Welch
was the president and chief execu-
tive officer of Dynamex Inc.
Welch built his case for a partner-
ship between LTL carriers and last-
mile providers based on his obser-
vations of the supply chain. “America
has a magnificent supply chain,” he
said. “This is an industry that never
sleeps. America is powered by trucks
daily. Trucking, whether it be over
the road or final mile, is the life-
blood of our nation’s commerce.
Trucks travel 775 million miles every
day, hauling over nine billion tons
of freight by way of the 1.8 million
trucks on the road.
“LTL companies carpool ship-
ments,” Welch continued. “We are
the segment of transportation that’s
between truckload and parcel. We’ll
pull together 15 to 20 shipments for
different customers into one truck-
load, bringing them to terminals and
distribution centers everywhere. Our
network allows us to pick up ship-
ments from multiple locations and
funnel them into the area of delivery
by the final mile carrier.”
YRC Freight, for example, has
14,200 dock doors and 258 service
centers around the country handling
10.4 million shipments per year. They
look for partnerships from compa-
nies like CLDA members. “We need
help from companies like yours to
deliver on that last mile,” said Welch.
“We thrive on shipping partnerships
to serve customers. We interact
Customized Logistics and Delivery Association | Fall 2016