Estes Express Lines has been expanding its door count, surpassing 13,000 recently and on track to hit 14,000 this year.
LTLs have been investing in anticipation of the next upcycle, expanding networks amid a slower manufacturing environment and auctioning of Yellow Corp. properties.
The investments have distributed the carrier’s excess capacity more evenly, where key openings are enhancing service and reliability nationwide, the company said.
“Every new terminal represents progress — more capacity, more reliability, and more opportunities for our people and customers,” Webb Estes, president and COO of Estes, said in a statement. “We’re building for the future of freight, ensuring our network can deliver the speed and dependability today’s supply chains demand.”
In a recent interview with Trucking Dive, Estes noted how characteristics of his company — private and debt free — helps free the business to look more long-term.
“In LTL, you don’t get to pick it up and deliver it exactly where you want to every time,” he said.
With excess capacity, Estes said he’d argue that “you’re only as good as your weakest link.” So concentrating on bringing elasticity to constrained areas raises the network’s health.
He noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the company’s terminals had excess capacity — while other, key areas of Estes’ network were deeply hit with the demand of one of the biggest freight booms the country has ever seen.
In Minneapolis, which is one of Estes’ busiest areas, the company moved into a larger facility and also found another facility a competitor was moving out of.
That provided relief and moved the company toward its mission of providing a top level of service. Additions over the last year targeted “very specific areas where there was a specific need,” he said.
Additions last year, featuring new, relocated and expanded terminals, involved locations across 18 states, the company said in a January news release.
Estes’ terminals in Buffalo, New York, and Tracy, California, are now among the largest in the company’s network, operating 171 and 167 doors, respectively, the release noted.
The overall result in 2025 was the company’s best on-time service numbers, lowest claims ratios ever and best load factor, Estes said.
“We were able to do all three of those things, and it’s because a lot of the areas where we were feeling the biggest pinch finally could breathe,” Estes said.
