CONTENT FROM OLD DOMINION
TEN YEARS AGO, when the Great Recession was driving sharp
cutbacks across the shipping industry, trucking and global transpor-
tation leader Old Dominion Freight Line was bucking trends by dou-
bling down on investments in physical assets and technology. Seeking
a long-term return, the company increased capital expenditures to
more than $200 million between 2008 and 2009.
Today, such investments continue—and continue to pay off. Net
income has jumped from $35 million in 2009 to more than $600 million
in 2018, as business customers count on Old Dominion and its 99%-
plus on-time delivery rate.
“ We are providing that level of service because we’ve made that
investment in our network,” says senior vice president of strategic
planning Chip Overbey. “It helps [our customers with] speed to market
and reduces their inventory carrying cost.”
When it comes to upgrading physical assets, Old Dominion has kept
its foot on the gas pedal. From
2009 through 2018, the company
plowed $1.4 billion into expanding
its national network, which now
includes 236 service centers in
48 states. In 2019, Old Dominion
is on track to invest $220 million
more into real estate, plus another $260 million into
equipment, IT, and other areas.
The goal: Keep building on success. Old Domin-
ion’s share of the nation’s less-than-truckload (LTL)
market has grown from about 6% in 2010 to 11%
today. Its compound annual growth rate has aver-
aged 12.7% since 1997.
Reaping the benefits of this strategy are Old
Dominion customers in industries from supermar-
kets to manufacturing and third-party logistics.
OD’s state-of-the-art IT infrastructure lets custom-
ers plan with precision, and they can count on a fleet
whose trucks are just 3.5 years old on average—
making it one of the youngest fleets on the road.
Old Dominion is also going where its competitors
can’t—sometimes literally. For instance, when one
customer needed to get medical equipment into
hospitals, it ran into a problem: Not all hospitals are
equipped with standard loading docks. Other carri-
ers balked. But OD developed the right combination
of specialty services to access the facilities, win the
contract, and service the customer. Its investments
in capacity give OD operational flexibility, which
means even late-notice orders don’t run into a
stop signal.
“Many times, customers come to us at the end
of the month or end of the quarter and say, ‘Hey,
I know I don’t give you all our business, but, man,
we really need you at the end of the month. Can
you help us?’” Overbey says. “And because we’ve
made the investment [in an expanded network], our
answer is ‘ Yes.’”
Like its new trucks on the highway, Old Domin-
ion’s investments in operations show no signs of
slowing down. And that’s good news for custom-
ers whose businesses depend on deliveries done
right. ■
TRUCKING
TOWARD
SUCCESS
How more than $1 billion in strategic
capital expenditures is boosting returns
for Old Dominion Freight Line.
Old Dominion’s
national network
includes 236 service
centers in 48 states.
