Roadrunner adds over 100 lanes, establishes Kansas City hub

Latest additions bolster carrier’s long-haul LTL network

Roadrunner has added nearly 400 lanes since March. (Photo: Roadrunner)

Less-than-truckload carrier Roadrunner announced Thursday it has added more than 100 lanes and established Kansas City as a major hub in its network.

All major geographical regions of the U.S. saw lane additions, with the industrial-oriented Midwest experiencing the most significant expansion. Roadrunner said most key markets in the Midwest now have direct service into its new Kansas City hub.

Roadrunner (OTC: RRTS) also improved network connectivity between locations in the Northeastern, Southern and Western U.S. to the interior of the country.

“The addition of new lanes into our Smart Network speaks volumes about the level of service we’re delivering,” said Tomasz Jamroz, president and chief operating officer, in a news release. “This expansion moves us closer to our goal of becoming the preeminent long-haul LTL carrier in the country.”

Jamroz said the company recently logged a fourth straight month of record gains in its service metrics.

Roadrunner also expanded its guaranteed service offering, adding more than 21,000 miles of coverage in the U.S. and Canada. New guaranteed lanes include: Houston-to-Atlanta, Philadelphia-to-Dallas, Seattle-to-Dallas, San Francisco-to-Chicago, as well as certain originations from Commerce, California and Milwaukee.

The carrier now has more than 60 guaranteed lanes.

“Our commitment to a direct-run Smart Network gives shippers more control and reliability —especially as others in the market contract,” said Shari Leon, vice president of linehaul operations at Roadrunner. Leon said the expanded service is improving transit times and reducing shipment handoffs, which minimizes damages.

“This scale-up into high-demand cities showcases the power of our over-the-road model and precision linehaul planning,” Leon said.

The company added 278 lanes to its direct metro-to-metro, long-haul network in March.

Roadrunner provides a national LTL service footprint through a network of more than 40 terminals and over 1,000 independent drivers.

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Todd Maiden

Based in Richmond, VA, Todd is the finance editor at FreightWaves. Prior to joining FreightWaves, he covered the TLs, LTLs, railroads and brokers for RBC Capital Markets and BB&T Capital Markets. Todd began his career in banking and finance before moving over to transportation equity research where he provided stock recommendations for publicly traded transportation companies.