Jevic Transportation Inc.
succumbs to hard times
May 20, 2008 8:51 AM
Jevic Transportation, Inc, a less-than-truckload transportation services provider, has discontinued operations effective May 19, 2008. Although the Delanco NJ-based company will not be making pick-ups, a company spokesperson has said the firm is running a delivery operation until all freight "in our system is delivered".
"We owe that to the many loyal customers who have been the backbone of Jevic over the last 27 years," said Pete Robinson, director of marketing and corporate communications.
Since going private two years ago, the company worked diligently to bring the company back to strong profitability.
In April, Jevic aggressively realigned the organization to improve costs and improve efficiencies. The realignment was going as planned, and freight delivery costs were improving.
"Sadly, escalating fuel costs, higher insurance costs, a slowing economy, and ultimately a tightening of the credit market were too much for us to overcome," Robinson said.
With this action, about 1,500 workers are no longer employed.
The company was founded in 1981 and grew rapidly during the 1980s and early ‘90s. At one time it had facilities in Delanco; Chicago IL; New England, New York NY; Charlotte NC; Atlanta GA; Houston TX; Cleveland and Cincinnati OH; and Los Angeles CA.
Jevic was know for its operating model that handled freight less than conventional carriers, lowering lost and damaged shipments dramatically, while still delivering to the entire 48 states. This "Breakbulk-Free" model, as it came to be known, was the platform for innovations that solidified the carrier’s reputation for customer service.
Jevic was the first nationwide LTL carrier to offer what has become a standard offering in the industry: time-definite and day-definite services, branded "100% Guaranteed", which provided expedited delivery. It also offered the Jevic "Heat Fleet,"a fleet of heated trailers used to protect freezable freight en route to destination in cold winter months.
