Saia to open 3 terminals in September

LTL carrier’s expansion includes entry into North Dakota

Saia plans to open 18 to 21 new terminals in 2024. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia said Wednesday that it will open three terminals in the western U.S. during September. The expansion is part of a bigger plan to open 18 to 21 new facilities this year.

Two new terminals in Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota, will be the carrier’s first locations in the state. A new terminal in Sidney, Montana, will be its fourth in that state. Earlier this year, Saia (NASDAQ: SAIA) opened its first Montana location in Missoula. The Bismarck location appears to be one of the 28 terminals it acquired from bankrupt Yellow Corp. (OTC: YELLQ).

Saia opened six former Yellow locations across Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming last month.

“Every facility we open is an opportunity to create long-term value by strengthening our network and enhancing our ability to serve our customers better,” said Patrick Sugar, Saia’s EVP of operations, in a news release. “Our expansion into North Dakota is particularly significant, as it allows us to provide a higher level of service in this market.”

Even with the cost drag associated with launching the terminals, the company expects to see a normal change rate in margin (100 to 200 basis points of deterioration) from the second to the third quarter this year. The company has a longer-term goal of delivering 100 to 200 bps of annual margin improvement.

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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.