ROMULUS -- When someone buys a car online from eBay Motors or OPENLANE, getting the vehicle from point A to point B likely involves United Road.
The car hauling company derives about $30 million in revenues transporting vehicles bought and sold online, according to Michael Wysocki, CEO. And while that represents a small portion of the company's $280 million in sales last year, Wysocki predicts that share will grow as more people become comfortable buying and selling cars online.
Online auctioneers sell hundreds of thousands of vehicles and Wysocki said his firm has become the largest shipper of privately owned vehicles sold via eBay Motors, OPENLANE and others. To help move those cars, United Road acquired Autolog Auto Transport of New Jersey in December.
The addition of Autolog's logistic corridors and network of pick-up and delivery locations will create a new wave of integration for point-to-point vehicle shipping on a national basis," Wysocki said. "This will reduce costs, improve customer service, and conquer the logistic challenge of purchasing and transporting vehicles through online transactions."
Unlike its competitors, Wysocki said United Road transports both new and used vehicles and can leverage its logistics management expertise to economically add single units to its car hauling mix. Today, United Road garners about 40 percent of its revenues by transporting new cars from assembly plants, docks and rail yards and delivering them to dealers. Those revenues have dropped by about 10 to 12 percent in the past year, Wysocki said.
Another 40 percent of revenues come from moving used vehicles with its 1,200 car haulers and 1,500 employees in a national network that covers the continental U.S., Alaska, Canada and Puerto Rico. Used car transport revenues are increasing, he said. The company also hauls cars for snowbirds who don't want to drive their vehicles from Michigan to Florida or Arizona. You can visit the United Road's consumer website at www.vehicletransportusa.com for a free instant online quote.
United Road has become a partner in the SmartWay program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and earned a 1.25 score, which places the carrier in the highest category for fuel-saving strategies.
"Another way to think of it is that the 1.25 carriers are the gold standard," said Suzanne Ackerman of the EPA. "In just the year's time since they've become a SmartWay partner, the company has already established itself as a high performer."
The Gores Group, a California-based private equity firm, acquired United Road in November 2007 and their support has helped the company grow, Wysocki said. By capturing additional market share and acquiring other companies, Wysocki predicts United Road could reach $700 million in revenues by 2014 operating from its Michigan headquarters.
"This area has been very good to us," he said. "It's still the automotive capital of the world."
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