The company was initially called Express-1 Expedited Solutions and listed on
American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol XPO. It was acquired by
Brad Jacobs and renamed to XPO Logistics in September 2011.[8][10][11] In June 2012, XPO listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.[12]
XPO has acquired a number of logistics businesses in North America and overseas.[13] Some notable acquisitions include:
3PD, Inc. (August 2013),
Pacer International, Inc. (March 2014),
Norbert Dentressangle SA (April 2015) and
Con-way Inc. (October 2015). XPO paid US$3.56 billion, which included acquired debt, for European transport company Norbert Dentressangle and $3 billion for Con-way.[14][15]
XPO sold its truckload division (acquired from Con-Way) to
TransForce for $558 million in cash.[16]
In June 2016, XPO was included in the
Fortune 500 list of the largest US corporations based on revenue.[17]
The company has conducted logistics operations for the Evian Golf Championship and the
Paris Marathon.[18] In 2019, XPO Logistics released a mobile game simulating freight operations for the
Tour de France.[19]
Beginning in 2021, XPO Logistics broke into three separate publicly-traded companies, making XPO solely an LTL (
less-than-truckload) provider.[20][21]
GXO Logistics
In August 2021, the company spun off its contract logistics business into a separate company named
GXO Logistics, with facilities located primarily throughout North America and Europe.[22][20] GXO stands for "game-changing opportunities".[23] Malcolm Wilson is the CEO of the company.[24]
RXO
This was followed by XPO Logistics spinning off its brokerage and other services segment to a separate company named RXO, Inc. in November 2022.[25][26][27][28] RXO stands for "reliability multiplied by outperformance" and provides global
forwarding.[28] RXO is headquartered in
Charlotte, North Carolina, and provides managed transportation and
last-mile logistics.[29] Drew Wilkerson was appointed as CEO of the company.[9]
2022–present
XPO dropped "Logistics" from its name in December 2022 and remains solely an LTL carrier, which allows multiple customers to transport goods in the same truck.[25] In August 2022,
Brad Jacobs announced he was stepping down as CEO and would serve as executive chairman. Mario Harik, XPO's former chief information officer, who also serves as the company's president, was appointed as CEO.[22] In March 2022, XPO sold its North American
intermodal business to Illinois-based
STG Logistics for $710 million.[30][20] In March 2023, XPO appointed J. Wes Frye, a retired industry veteran, to its board of directors.[31] In April 2023, XPO announced the hire of Dave Bates as chief operating officer of North American LTL.[32] In December 2023, XPO received approval from a Delaware bankruptcy court to acquire 28 service centers of
Yellow Corporation for $870 million as a part of
Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[33][34] The acquisition was finalized in January 2024.[35]
Operations
North American LTL
XPO is the second largest provider of less-than-truckload services in North America.[36] Since November 2022, the company's North American operations have been solely focused on LTL freight transportation.[37] LTL is a freight model which involves shipping smaller quantities of goods for multiple customers at a time.[38] In 2022, XPO's CEO stated that the company operates in 99% of US zip codes.[39] As of March 2022[update], XPO produces new and re-manufactured trailers at a factory in
Searcy, Arkansas.[39][40]
European Transportation Segment
XPO provides dedicated truckload, LTL, truck
brokerage, managed transportation, last mile and
freight forwarding in Europe.[41] The company also manages
multimodal solutions, such as road-rail and road-short sea combinations.[42] 1,000 new drivers were hired in the U.K. and
Ireland in 2022.[43][44]
Controversy
A 2018 article by The New York Times profiled the experiences of several employees working at a
Memphis warehouse operated by XPO.[45][46][47] The warehouse had no windows or
air conditioning, and sometimes temperatures there surpassed 100 °F (38 °C). The article described several cases of warehouse workers
miscarrying, which were attributed to management's refusal to allow pregnant workers to avoid strenuous jobs.[48] According to the article and XPO employees, a worker died of
cardiac arrest on the warehouse floor in 2017; employees said they were told by managers to continue working. A spokesperson for XPO called the allegations in the article "unsubstantiated, filled with inaccuracies", and claimed they were "fueled by the
Teamsters".[45]
In October 2021, XPO agreed to pay $30 million to 784 drivers who said the company paid them less than
minimum wage.[49][50]