With A New CEO And Revamped Board, Is YRC Worldwide Back On Track For A Turnaround?

Can James Welch, the new CEO of one time transportation giant YRC Worldwide, succeed in  retooling and rehabilitating the company that was close to bankruptcy last year? The quick answer is yes, based on his less-than-a-year performance as helmsman of the ailing YRC.

With his extensive experience in the trucking industry, some investors believe that if there’s anybody who could pull the behemoth out of its dark hole, it would be Welch, a 33-year veteran in the transportation industry, including 29 years at YRC.

His years at YRC culminated in his being promoted to president and chief executive of YRC’s Yellow Transportation subsidiary in 2000. The unit posted record operating profits from 2004 to 2006.

Welch, however, quit in 2007 when he started to question the new direction that parent YRC was taking. “I disagreed with the new acquisitive strategy of the company, and I felt the acquisitions it was pursuing were ill-timed and were bad moves,” says Welch. The acquisitions, he noted, boosted the company’s debt level to $1.3 billion. So at age 52, Welch quit YRC and retired.  Full Story...........

YRC Freight Implements Network Changes

Latest restructuring intended to reduce freight handling, speed shipments

YRC Freight implemented two changes of operations over the April 7 weekend, reconfiguring its terminal network to speed freight and reduce handling.

The restructuring, approved by the Teamsters union last month, eliminated road domiciles, shifting drivers from end-of-the-line terminals to hubs, the company said.

The less-than-truckload carrier also eliminated its in-house Velocity network, established in 2008 to speed next-day freight, and its utility employee category.

The changes focus YRC Freight on longer haul LTL shipments traveling more than 500 miles, although the company said it would to haul overnight freight.

The network redesign is the latest step by YRC Worldwide’s new leadership to improve the struggling LTL group’s performance and return to profitability.  Full Story...........

YRC's Welch Says Bad Decisions Brought Down Stock Price

James Welch, chief executive officer of YRC Worldwide Inc., says "ill timed acquisitions" by the company's previous management brought down the company's stock price.

Welch talked to Bloomberg's Kathleen Hays and Vonnie Quinn on "The Hays Advantage" on Bloomberg Radio on April 4, 2012.

 Audio download here..............