Universal Truckload taps Rogers, ex-YRC Freight head, as next CEO

Truckload carrier Universal Truckload Services Inc. said today it has named Jeffery A. Rogers, former president of YRC Freight, to become Universal's CEO at the end of the year.

Rogers will succeed Scott Wolfe, who will retire from Universal when his employment contract expires at year's end. Universal said that Rogers has already come on board as executive vice president.

Wolfe today was named to Universal's board and will stay on as director after his retirement as CEO, the Warren, Mich.-based company said.

Universal is a holding company for several trucking carriers and logistics companies. Manuel "Matty" Moroun, an industry legend who built his fortune supporting the transportation and logistics needs of the automotive industry, owns a controlling stake in Universal. Moroun, who turns 87 tomorrow, also owns CenTra Inc., which controls less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Central Transport International.

In addition, Moroun owns the Ambassador Bridge, site of the busiest border crossing between the United States and Canada. He is the only private owner of a bridge spanning the two countries.

Last September, LTL carrier YRC fired Rogers as the head of its largest unit, which provides long-haul trucking services. James L. Welch, YRC's CEO, had been unhappy with the pace of progress at the division. Following Rogers' dismissal, Welch temporarily assumed the helm of the unit. Rogers ran YRC Freight for three years; prior to that, he headed YRC's profitable Holland regional truck subsidiary.

YRC Freight's well-documented problems had brought the parent company to the brink of bankruptcy twice in the past four-and-a-half years. The amalgamation of the former Yellow Transportation and Roadway Express, YRC Freight has struggled for more than a decade due to high costs, persistent problems with the integration process, and a general reduction in demand for long-haul trucking services as U.S. transportation became more regionalized and more longer-haul traffic converted to rail intermodal services.

Rogers appeared to be making progress at YRC Freight. However, the unit posted lower second-quarter 2013 revenue and a wider operating loss over the year-earlier quarter. Company executives attributed the declines to the affect of a major network realignment implemented in May, a period that coincided with an increase in traffic. As a result, operations and service quality were affected, the company said.