Saia is an American less than truckload (LTL) trucking company that originated in

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane– Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's governme ...

, in 1924. With original operation occurring in Louisiana and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

for the first fifty years, expansion came after 1980 when coverage began reaching into more states in the South. Further expansion happened through mergers with other companies, which allowed Saia to provide service for thirty six states. Saia ranks in the top ten of LTL carriers in the United States, with revenues of over $1.8 billion in 2020.

History

Foundation and expansion

Saia began in 1924 in Houma, Louisiana by Louis Saia Sr. Louis was a produce dealer who realized that there was more success in delivering produce rather than selling it. The first Saia truck was his car with the rear seats removed. By 1970, Saia expanded and established terminals in

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Saia became one of the largest regional LTL carriers in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with 23 terminals throughout the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

and revenue exceeding $50 million.

Subsidiary of Preston and Yellow

The Saia family sold Saia to Preston Trucking in 1987. The Yellow Corporation purchased Preston Trucking, along with subsidiaries Saia & Smalley, in 1993. In 1995 Saia merged with Smalley Transportation resulting in the establishment of terminals in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and western

Resumed independence

In 2002 Saia and Delanco, New Jersey-based Jevic Transportation, another Yellow Corporation subsidiary, spun off to form an independent publicly traded company called SCS Transportation (SCS). Clark Brothers Transport, Inc. was acquired in 2004 incorporating its nine state, sixteen terminal operations into Saia. In 2006, SCS sold Jevic to a

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

affiliate for $40 million. The sale came after years of low profitability at Jevic and allowed SCS to focus on its more successful Saia unit. Along with the sale, SCS announced plans to rebrand the parent company to Saia and move its corporate headquarters from

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

to Saia's headquarters in

Duluth, Georgia Duluth ( ) is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. Located north of Interstate 85, it is approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Duluth had a population of 31,873, and the United Stat ...

. Saia president Rick O'Dell would become president, CEO, and a board member of the parent company with former chairman and CEO, Bert Trucksess, transitioning to non-executive chairman. Jevic, originally founded in 1981 by Harry Mulschlegel, would shut down in 2008 after being unable to improve its fortunes as an independent company. Saia began trading on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

with the symbol SAIA.

Expansion via acquisitions

Saia expanded further with the acquisitions of two LTL carriers:

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

–based The Connection Company in 2006 and Madison Freight Systems (MFS) of

Waunakee, Wisconsin Waunakee () is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison, it is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Waunakee bills itse ...

in 2007. Saia acquired Robart Transportation (and subsidiary The RL Services Group) in 2012 for approximately $7.8 million. Robart, founded in 1981 in

, was a non-asset truckload and brokerage service provider while The RL Services Group focused on supply chain, logistics, data mining, and operations analysis and related services. The acquisition of Robart, which Saia planned to rebrand under the Saia name, marked Saia's first significant move into non-asset logistics services. In 2015, Saia acquired Dallas-based

third-party logistics Third-party logistics (abbreviated as 3PL, or TPL) is an organization's long-term commitment of outsourcing its distribution services to third-party logistics businesses. Third-party logistics providers typically specialize in integrated opera ...

provider LinkEx for $25 million. LinkEx was founded in 2002 as a non asset–based intermodal logistics management company, providing services and technology for management of international and domestic shipments. After the LinkEx purchase, Saia's previous non-asset acquisition, Robart, was merged into LinkEx which continued operations as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saia with offices in Dallas, Atlanta, and Guadalajara, Mexico. In December 2023, Saia acquired 17 terminals of former parent company Yellow Corporation in the

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

sale for $235.7 million.

Operations

Saia has 194 terminals and serves the 48 states in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

directly. It also serves Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada via a network of partners. The three operating service groups of Saia are Saia LTL Freight, Saia Logistics Service, and LinkEx. Saia has over 13,000 employees and handles over 30,000 shipments per day as of 2023. In 2017, Saia partnered with TST Overland Express, now TST-CF Express to provide cross border shipments into Canada. Saia provides the equivalent service for TST.

References

External links

Saia Official WebsiteLinkEx Official Website
{{Authority control Companies based in Fulton County, Georgia 1924 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Trucking companies of the United States Companies listed on the Nasdaq Houma, Louisiana Companies in the S&P 400