Saia began in 1924 when Louis Saia, Sr., a produce dealer in Houma, LA, decided there was more to be made in delivering produce than selling it. Our first "truck" was the family car with the rear seats removed.
Over the next 45 years, Saia continued to expand, establishing terminals throughout Louisiana and Texas. By 1986, Saia was one of the largest regional LTL carriers in the country, with 23 terminals across five Southeastern states, approximately 1000 employees and over $50 million in revenue.
In 1987, the Saia family sold the company to Preston Trucking. When Yellow Corporation purchased Preston in 1993, it also acquired Saia. Two years later, Saia merged with Smalley Transportation, another Yellow division, and opened terminals in North and South Carolina and western Texas. As a result, Saia customers had access to 100% of all 11 Southern states we now covered.
In 2001, Yellow integrated its Action Express and WestEx divisions, under the Saia brand, increasing our direct coverage to 21 states and more than 100 terminals. In 2002, Saia and Jevic Transportation, another Yellow Corp. company, spun off to form an independent, publicly traded company, SCST.
In 2004, Clark Brothers Transport, Inc. and its nine-state, 16-terminal network joined Saia's network, providing our customers service to key Midwestern markets including Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis. Two years later, SCST sold Jevic Transportation, folded all corporate functions into Saia and began trading on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol "SAIA."
In 2007, Saia announced the acquisitions of The Connection Company, of Columbus, OH, and Madison Freight Systems, Inc. based in Waunakee, WI. That same year, we also had over a billion dollars in gross revenue for the first time in our history.
In 2012, Saia expanded our capabilities beyond LTL with the purchase of The Robart Companies, a Georgia-based firm that provides non-asset based truckload service and third-party logistics.
Today, Saia's network of 166 terminals and approximately 10,500 employees covers 42 states in the U.S. as well as Canada. Through our network of partners, we serve the balance of the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii, plus Puerto Rico and Mexico. Through our operating service groups -Saia LTL Freight, Saia Logistics Services, and LinkEx -we provide complete transportation and logistics solutions.
Took this picture of their terminal in Greensboro NC