Background

Estes Express Lines is a full-service freight transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

ation provider based in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Founded in 1931 by W.W. Estes, the company is still owned and operated by the Estes family. Robey W. Estes, Jr., became the company’s president in 1990, then chairman and CEO in 2001.

Estes has grown from a small local carrier into the largest privately held less-than-truckload (LTL) company in the United States. It currently has about 13,000 employees, more than 6,000 tractors and 22,000 trailers, and a network of 200+ terminals.

Services

Estes’ service territory covers all 50 states, the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. The company also offers worldwide freight forwarding and delivery through its network of air, ocean, and ground carriers.

Estes promotes its core services in the following categories:

• LTL
• Time Critical
• Volume and Truckload
• Global
• Custom Solutions

Key Milestones

• 1931 – W.W. Estes begins serving customers with a used Chevrolet truck.
• 1933 – First home office opens in Chase City, Virginia.
• 1937 – Company officially adopts the name Estes Express Lines.
• 1938 – Branch terminals open in Richmond, Virginia, and Norfolk, Virginia.
• 1946 – Home office moves to Richmond, Virginia.
• 1965 – Estes ventures into interstate trucking through the purchase of Coastal Freight Lines.
• 1971 – Robey Estes, Sr., becomes Estes’ president.
• 1980 – Company’s operating authority extends everywhere east of the Mississippi River.
• 1990 – Robey Estes, Jr., becomes Estes’ president.
• 1996 – Estes begins offering service to Canada.
• 1999 – First terminal west of the Mississippi River opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 2000 – Estes adds Caribbean services for direct coverage to Puerto Rico, St. Croix and St. Thomas.
• 2003 – Service begins to major commercial markets in Mexico.
• 2004 – Estes expands its Caribbean service to additional tourism and commercial markets.
• 2005 – Company adds real-time technology to connect customers, trucks and docks.
• 2008 – Estes completes its nationwide footprint establishing direct coverage to all 50 states.
• 2009 – Mexico service expands through wholly owned subsidiary Estes Logística.
• 2011 – Estes Express Lines marks its 80th anniversary.