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XPO launches driver team operations

Only existing teams eligible for the initiative, XPO says

XPO launches team driver operations (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Less-than-truckload carrier XPO Inc. (NYSE: XPO) says it has launched an over-the-road operation for team drivers.

Only existing teams can currently qualify for the program, which has not been formally announced but was posted earlier this week on LinkedIn, said Greenwich, Connecticut-based XPO. It is believed to be the brainchild of Dave Bates, who joined XPO in April as COO from rival Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ: ODFL)

XPO declined comment, citing the mandatory “quiet period” before its Oct. 30 release of third-quarter results.

According to the communication, eligible teams will “run dedicated routes between XPO facilities in brand new sleeper trucks equipped with microwaves and refrigerators.” A typical work week will consist of five days on the road, followed by two days of home time, XPO said. Because there is no mileage cap, teams are able to put in for more runs than originally scheduled, XPO said.

XPO is not the first carrier to operate with sleeper-teams in over-the-road service. Old Dominion, where Bates comes from, operates with sleeper teams.

LTL carrier networks are connected by terminals, and the longest length of haul is typically 500 miles. By contrast, truckload carriers can run thousands of miles point-to-point with sleeper teams.


2 Comments

  1. Candace Price

    I think that this is a very smart idea that XPO is planning on doing. I believe that it will raise the cost ratio for the company that other companies aren’t doing yet. Good for you XPO !! I don’t work for your company, but my husband does and he is very impressed with XPO!! He is constantly telling me all the awesome things that impress him about the company. Way to go!!

  2. The professor

    Anyone wanting to run team better take a good look at them selves because it’s no bargain…. eat sleep drive eat sleep drive that’s all you’ll do…. and if you don’t have a good partner you’re screwed!!!

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Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.