Averitt Express announces the opening of a new Dallas-area DC and fulfillment center

Cookeville, Tenn.-based freight transportation and logistics services provider Averitt Express said this week that it has opened up a new 400,000 square-feet Dallas area-based distribution and fulfillment center for handling the flow and distribution of domestic and international freight and cargo in close proximity to its Grand Prairie, Texas service center.

Averitt officials said that this new facility is within short proximity of Dallas/Fort Worth International and Dallas Love Field airports, as well as the BNSF Railway and Union pacific Railroad intermodal depots. They added that the new location will be equipped to handle the growing international shipping needs in the region.

“Our team is excited about expanding our presence and ability to serve a wider array of supply chain needs in one of the nation’s busiest freight hubs,” said Wayne Spain, Averitt’s president and chief operating officer, in a statement. “Not only will this vast facility increase our service offerings in the region, but it will also create new jobs and help to better serve the state’s critical supply chain infrastructure. In addition to handling cargo that moves inland from the Port of Houston, Dallas is a major regional distribution point for products and materials that travel by rail and air via the West Coast. From our new distribution center, we can move a large number of containers back and forth between ramps, process and store inventory, and then seamlessly distribute freight through our LTL and truckload networks to any point throughout North America.”

An Averitt spokesman told LM that with population well beyond seven million, the DFW metroplex is one of the busiest freight markets in the country, and he added that the primary driving factors that led Averitt to expand in the area are a combination of increasing customer demand and the tremendous growth that is being seen in the e-commerce world.

“Shippers are looking to stage inventory for quicker and more reliable delivery, and our new location provides our customers access to one of the most valuable markets,” he said. “Discussions about opening a new location in the DFW metroplex have been ongoing since we officially launched Averitt Distribution and Fulfillment in 2019. What better way to celebrate our 50th anniversary than by opening one of the largest facilities in our company's history?”

The Averitt spokesperson added that this new location provides an enclosed space to safely store and secure inventory. Additionally, he said, it will provide more freight capacity for Averitt’s customers as it is able to hire more drivers within the market.

“The metroplex is also a very busy market in terms of international and intermodal cargo that move in and out of the area,” he said. “The new location will provide ample space to receive, transload, store and ship inventory that is coming in from the West Coast, Mexico or via the Port of Houston. Our new Distribution and Fulfillment Center in the metroplex delivers a one-stop solution for shippers of any industry. From regional to nationwide or across the borders with Canada and Mexico, we can provide a full supply chain package that is customized to the shipper's specific needs. The supply chain doesn't have to be so segmented and controlled by countless hands. We are dedicated to simplifying the supply chain so that shippers can focus on growing their business rather than moving it. That's our power of one philosophy.”