YRC Freight touts faster deliveries in wake of network re-alignment

YRC Freight, the long-haul unit of less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier YRC Worldwide Inc., said it has cut one day off transit times on thousands of its traffic lanes. The reduction follows a network re-alignment that saw the unit cease transporting shorter-haul traffic to focus on longer-distance moves.

The announcement, made Monday, is the first public report card on the unit's progress since it implemented the network change on April 8. At the core of the re-alignment move was a decision to end YRC Freight's deliveries on lengths of haul of under 500 miles and to turn that business over to the parent's three regional LTL subsidiaries.

Monday's announcement of transit time reduction affects 24,000 YRC lanes in North America, or slightly less than one-quarter of its continental network. Examples of affected lanes include Indianapolis-to-Los Angeles, with transit times reduced to three days from four; Charlotte-to-Seattle, which has been cut to four days from five; and Salt Lake City-to-Denver, reduced to one day from two.

All 24,000 affected lanes will experience at least a one-day shortening of transit times, with some seeing times reduced by two days, according to a company spokeswoman.

One of the key objectives of the network change was to reduce the costs and delays created by having too many workers handling the freight. The company said it has eliminated 700,000 physical "touches" of freight compared with April 2011, thus allowing it to improve delivery times and reduce damage claims.