YRC President Jeff Rogers says the nation's third-largest LTL company needs to improve efficiency in its freight handling operations, and will seek discussions with the Teamsters Union on a redesign of its terminal network.


YRC managers will meet with union officials after completing a review of the troubled carrier's network, Rogers told The Journal of Commerce on Friday.

The redesign is the next step in a restructuring effort Rogers began last year. It's part of a broader overhaul of the YRC Worldwide business that's taken place since a financial rescue that included critical concessions from the Teamsters.

The long-haul LTL operator lost more than $1.6 billion as its parent company's revenue tumbled from nearly $10 billion in 2006 to $4.3 billion in 2010.

Earlier this week, YRC announced plans to close the former Roadway general headquarters in Akron, Ohio, eliminating 50 to 100 jobs and transferring others.

YRC Worldwide merged Roadway with Yellow Transportation in 2009, six years after Yellow bought Roadway for $1.1 billion. "We're moving forward as YRC, not Yellow, not Roadway," Rogers told the JOC. "Those companies don't exist anymore. One of the biggest tasks ahead for me is to bring the Yellow and Roadway folks together."

JOC reports the company is considering whether further consolidation is needed, but Rogers said he wants to eliminate some freight handling.

"We need to look at the way we're moving freight through distribution centers," Rogers said. That could require Teamster approval for a change of operations.

Last fall, Rogers said YRC is handling "too much freight too many times," which can drive up costs, slow shipments and risk higher claims. Changing the operations, however, is complicated by contractual work rules.

Rogers said there are steps YRC can take to reduce freight handling before a change of operations, such as making sure terminals adhere to load plans.