In late 2021, Virginia-based LaserShip and Arizona-based OnTrac announced that they had reached a definitive agreement to merge. Then, we heard news from the newly merged companies again in July 2022 with another announcement, this time to unveil their new Transcontinental Delivery Service. This service would utilize both company’s regional sorting centers and expand them to allow for shipments to be transported from coast to coast, finally giving shippers an alternative to the big parcel carriers we’ve been accustomed to using for years.
LaserShip and OnTrac Merger
At the end of 2021, LaserShip announced that it had acquired West Coast-based parcel carrier, OnTrac, for $1.3 billion. Combined together, LaserShip’s handle on the Southern U.S. and East Coast, the two companies only had 10 states outside of their coverage zone, with all of them being in the Midwest and northern Rocky Mountain states. As both companies saw the need for other solutions to the major carriers, FedEx and UPS, they recognized the opportunity to present small and medium-sized businesses with a more cost-effective solution that still covered a respectable portion of the country and the most highly populated metropolitan areas.
New Transcontinental Service with OnTrac and LaserShip Shipping
With the recent merger, LaserShip now has a footprint that currently covers 74% of the country, resulting in them having the capacity to begin competing with the country’s biggest parcel carriers. In a press release announcing LaserShip and OnTrac’s new service, they detailed it being part of a bigger growth strategy, integrating “pure-play, coast-to-coast carrier of choice for last-mile ecommerce deliveries.” This expanded reach allows for the service to offer delivery timelines of 3-5 days and extra add-ons similar to their FedEx and UPS competitors.
Opening New Sorting Centers and Introducing the Service to Existing Locations
LaserShip and OnTrac’s new service started with their Los Angeles and New Jersey sorting centers in mid-2022, but those won’t be the only two involved in their transcontinental shipping. As the service was gradually rolled out, soon all their sorting centers were introduced to the service and started taking part. Now, the LaserShip has plans to expand their capacity with new sorting centers in New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Their sights are also on Texas with their goal of opening multiple sorting centers in early 2023.
What Josh Dinneen Has to Say About the New Service
In an interview earlier this year, LaserShip’s Chief Commercial Officer, Josh Dinnen, offered insights into their motives behind the new transcontinental service:
“As national carriers continue to implement surcharges and off-schedule rate increases, our transcontinental service gives retailers a proven alternative that can help them diversify their carrier mix, increase flexibility and capacity, and scale their businesses by reaching 74% of the U.S. population across 30 states and Washington, D.C.,” he detailed, adding “we are also expanding to Texas in the first quarter of 2023 in the urban mega-region of Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio to reach an additional 19 million consumers.”
What This New Delivery Service Could Mean for You
While LaserShip and OnTrac will need to grow significantly more to begin to truly compete with the massive reach and revenue of FedEx and UPS, this new alternative service offers small and medium-sized shippers an extra parcel carrier to consider. With their current arrangement, LaserShip’s shipping costs are typically lower, even with transcontinental shipping, which could help companies recently reeling from the 6.9% GRI increase that both UPS and FedEx are planning for the new year.
Considering an additional parcel carrier uses precious resources like time, money, and man hours. Rather than doing everything on your own, consider Reveel to help get the shipping insight your logistics management deserves. Our business intelligence platform can help with everything from invoice auditing and credit recovery to agreement negotiations and monitoring. If you’re looking to optimize your shipping logistics and get some of your resources back, contact the Reveel team to schedule a demo to learn about how to leverage each carrier today.
