Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
Saia
The Johns Creek, Georgia, less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier that began as Louis Saia Sr.'s produce-delivery business in Houma, Louisiana, in 1924, spent 1993–2002 inside Yellow Corporation, left it in a 2002 spin-off (as SCS Transportation, with Jevic), took the Saia name in 2006, and from 2017 turned itself from a southern regional carrier into a national one by building and buying terminals. Its defining bet was buying density ahead of volume: it bought 28 of Yellow's properties (17 owned terminals for ~$235.7m in the Dec 2023 auction plus 11 leased sites for ~$8m, ~$244m in all, reported), raised capex to ~$1bn in 2024 from ~$437m in 2023, and opened more than 20 terminals in 2024 (reported). Revenue grew from ~$1.8bn (2020) to ~$3.23bn (2025) and $982.5m in Q3 2026 alone (+17% y/y), but the network was built into a falling market: its operating ratio reached 91.1% in Q1 2025 (worst since Q2 2020) and its shares fell 30.7% in a day (25 Apr 2025, reported). By Q3 2026 the OR was back to 87.6% with record tonnage — still ~16 points behind Old Dominion's 71.5%. Saia is the book's test case of whether density bought ahead of volume becomes the next Old Dominion or a margin trap.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1924, Houma, Louisiana, by Louis Saia Sr., as a produce-delivery business (company; reported)
- Headquarters
- Johns Creek, Georgia (moved to Duluth, Georgia, in 2006; now Johns Creek, reported)
- Ownership / structure
- Public (Nasdaq: SAIA since 2006; the parent was SCS Transportation, listed on Nasdaq from 1 Oct 2002 after the spin-off from Yellow)
- Leadership (2026)
- Frederick J. ("Fritz") Holzgrefe III, president and CEO (CEO since 2018, verify; earlier CFO); Rick O'Dell CEO from 2006 (reported)
- Segment
- One: US LTL (Saia LTL Freight), plus small logistics and truckload brokerage units (LinkEx, acquired 2015 for ~$25m, reported)
- Scale
- Revenue >$1.8bn (2020) → ~$3.23bn (2025, 10-K via secondary summary); ~194 terminals serving the 48 contiguous states directly (reported, verify current count); >13,000 employees and >30,000 shipments a day (2023, reported); Q3 2026 revenue $982.5m (+17% y/y) with record revenue and tonnage per workday (company, reported)
- Profits
- 2025 operating income ~$352m and net income ~$255m (reported), an OR of ~89.1% (computed); Q1 2025 OR 91.1%; Q3 2025 OR 85.9% reported incl. a ~$14.5m real-estate gain (87.6% adjusted); Q3 2026 OR 87.6%, operating income $122.3m, diluted EPS $3.41 (reported)
- Pricing (Q3 2026)
- Yield (revenue per cwt) ex-fuel −2.2% y/y (+1.5% q/q); revenue per shipment ex-fuel +5.8%; weight per shipment +8.1%; tonnage per workday +8.9%; shipments per workday +0.8%; fuel surcharge 22.5% of revenue (15.2% a year earlier) (earnings-call summaries, reported)
- Capital
- Capex ~$437.2m (2023) → ~$1bn (2024 plan) (company, reported); ~$2bn spent on network expansion in all (FreightWaves, May 2026, reported); Q3 2026 cash ~$203m, debt ~$100m, nine-month free cash flow >$240m; $250m buyback authorised (Oct 2026, reported)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding (1924); inside Yellow and the SCS Transportation spin-off (1993–2002); the Jevic sale and rename to Saia (2006); going national (2017–); 28 Yellow properties (Dec 2023); the ~$1bn capex year and 20+ terminal openings (2024); the 2025 margin squeeze and share-price fall; record revenue, OR recovery and a buyback (2026)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1924
Founding in Houma
Founding
2002
SCS Transportation Spin Off from Yellow
Spin-off (from the parent's side: divestment)
2006
Jevic Sale and Rename to Saia
Divestment / strategy pivot
2017
Going National Northeast Expansion
Network build
2023
Yellow Terminal Purchase
Acquisition (real estate, bankruptcy auction)
2024
Billion Dollar Capex and Terminal Openings
Network build
2025
Margin Squeeze and Share Price Fall
Failure / cycle exposure (the cost of the 2023–24 expansion)
2026
Recovery Record Revenue and Buyback
Recovery / capital return