YRC Worldwide

YRC Worldwide

Type	Public NASDAQ: YRCWD
Industry	Transportation
Founded	1924
Founder(s)	A.J. Harrell
Headquarters	Overland Park, Kansas, USA
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	James E. Hoffman Chairman of the Board
Revenue	$ 8.94 billion - 2008
Operating income	$ -1.074 billion - 2008
Net income	$ -622 million - 2009
Total assets	$ 3.966 million - 2008
Total equity	$ 474.39 million - 2008
Employees	55,000 - September 2009
Subsidiaries	YRC Inc. YRC Logistics YRC Glen Moore YRC Reimer Holland Reddaway New Penn
Website	YRCW.com

YRC Worldwide Inc. is the holding company for a portfolio of brands including YRC, YRC Reimer, New Penn, USF Holland and USF Reddaway. YRC Worldwide has a comprehensive network in North America with local, regional, national and international capabilities. YRC Worldwide offers supply chain solutions for heavyweight shipments and serves customers who ship industrial, commercial and retail goods. The company is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

The company traces its history back to 1924 when A.J. Harrell of Oklahoma City founded the Yellow Cab and Transit Company, a bus and taxi company that served central Oklahoma. The company remained small until 1952, when an ownership group led by George E. Powell Sr. bought the company. During this time, Yellow helped pioneer the concept of consolidating small freight shipments into trailer loads.

Corporate headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas

In 1968, the company name was changed from Yellow Transit Freight Lines to Yellow Freight System Inc. During the deregulation of interstate trucking in the 1980s, Yellow Freight System embarked on a massive restructuring by creating new distribution centers across the country to better serve customers. The company changed its name to Yellow Corporation in 1992, when it created a parent company, with Yellow Transportation, Inc. as its largest division.

Vintage Yellow Corp. Logo

In December 2003 Yellow Corp. acquired Roadway Corp. for $1.05 billion, forming Yellow Roadway Corporation. The merger more than doubled revenue; Yellow Corp. posted a 2003 revenue of $3.07 billion, and Yellow Roadway Corp. had a 2004 revenue of $6.8 billion. These revenues continued to increase with the $1.5 billion acquisition of USF Corp. to a high of $9.9 billion in 2006. These increases also saw jumps in profit, which increased from $40 million in 2003 to $184 million in 2004 to a high of $288 million in 2005. Yellow Roadway Corp. also made forays into the international market, particularly China. In September 2005, the company purchased half of Chinese freight-forwarding company JHJ International Transportation Co. Ltd. and in August 2008, bought a 65 percent share of Chinese Shanghai Jiayu Logistics Co.

Possibly due to earlier manufacturing slowdowns, YRC reported a net loss of $976 million for its 2008 fiscal year. In 2009 it again reported a net loss of $622 million. Towards the end of 2009, YRC narrowly averted having to file for bankruptcy protection by successfully persuading its bondholders to exchange their $470 million in bond notes for roughly 94% of the company’s shares. Concurrent with more recent manufacturing sector growth and recovery, since the fourth quarter of 2009, YRC has again been approaching a net positive balance sheet.^[1] Nonetheless its share price declined in year 2010 more than 80%, raising in 2011 suspects of Death spiral financing.^[2] In 2011, September the company completed a financial restructuring that has essentially wiped out any shareholder equity.^[3]

On March 1, 2009, Yellow Transportation and Roadway formally merged to create YRC Worldwide.

Why Yellow was Orange

In 1929, A.J. Harrell enlisted the help of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company to improve highway safety by determining the vehicle color that would be the most visible on the nation's highways. After the review was completed, it was determined that the color of the Swamp Holly Orange would be most visible from the greatest distance. Swamp Holly Orange became the color used on all company tractors.^[4]

The American Trucking Association has recognized the YRC Worldwide Safety Program with its prestigious President's Trophy, the motor carrier industry's highest award for highway safety and accident prevention.

References

1. ^ Twiddy, David (March 16, 2010). "YRC Worldwide reports a fourth-quarter profit....". http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2010/03/15/daily24.html. Retrieved 2010-03-27.  Financial summaries of YRC books, 2008 - 2009
2. ^ "YRC Worldwide - A Calculated Risk". February 15, 2011. http://seekingalpha.com/article/253025-yrc-worldwide-a-calculated-risk. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 
3. ^ "Big time losers and the reasons why". September 16, 2011. http://estocksdaily.com/big-time-losers-and-the-reasons-why-yrcw-pcx-sngx/. Retrieved 2011-09-19. 
4. ^ http://www.myyellow.com/dynamic/services/content/serviceguide/fyi/truckcolor.jsp

External links

• YRC Worldwide
• YRC Worldwide Insight
• YRC Inc.
• Holland and Reddaway
• New Penn