XPO Logistics touts benefits of investments in LTL driver training initiatives

Freight transportation and logistics services provider XPO Logistics continues to take steps to beef up its driver fleet for its less-than-truckload (LTL) business, saying today it expects more than 150 trainees to complete courses at its United States-based driving schools in 2017.

These courses are held at the company’s LTL service centers, where students are able to train to qualify for a commercial driver’s license (CDL), and experienced drivers can learn the specifics of LTL transportation, said XPO, adding that a hostler class is also offered for students that want to learn more about terminal yard operations.

“Our CDL training is a unique career opportunity in that both the company and the student have skin in the game,” said Tony Brooks, president of the LTL business for XPO Logistics, in a statement. “Students commit to classroom and hands-on instruction, and XPO provides free tuition and income while training. The program is designed to create satisfying careers for professional drivers who share our focus on safety and customer service.”

XPO cited various benefits of its driving schools in terms of how they provide the groundwork for augmenting its future driver fleet, including:

• Students work for XPO in paid part-time positions as dockworkers while attending class; this enables them to earn a living while learning their profession.
• XPO provides the training tuition-free, saving each student an estimated $5,000 or more versus for-profit commercial driving schools.
• CDL students must complete classroom training on federal and state highway laws, regulatory and safety compliance, vehicle safety inspection techniques, and defensive driving skills. They also spend 150 hours behind the wheel coached by a veteran driver. Importantly, XPO students train with the same equipment they will be operating when they graduate.

Earlier this month, XPO said that the former Con-way Freight (part of its late 2015 acquisition of Con-way), had officially been re-branded as XPO’s North American LTL business, with this rebranding aligning the XPO North American LTL operations with its Europe-based operations.

XPO’s less-than-truckload segment, which is the second largest less-than-truckload provider in North America, covering 99% of U.S. zip codes and providing more next-day and two-day lanes than any other LTL carrier, had a 390 basis point operating ratio improvement at 89, with operating income up 49 percent annually at $95.5 million. The LTL segment accounts for 24 percent of the company’s gross revenue, and its projected industry growth rate is 1-1.5xGDP.

On its recent first quarter earnings call, XPO said that its LTL segment is ahead of plan to improve annual profit by $170-$210 million by late 2017, having already topped $175 million in improvement.