OnTrac explained

OnTrac Final Mile
Former Name:LaserShip
Industry:Last mile (transportation)
Location:Vienna, Virginia, U.S.
Locations:64 facilities (2018)
4 sortation centers (2018)
Services:Regional carrier
Ground Service
Same-day Service
Weekend Delivery
Area Served:United States

OnTrac (formerly LaserShip) is a last-mile delivery company that services the continental United States.[1] [2] [3] [4] Founded in 1986 as LaserShip, the company is based in Vienna, Virginia and has sorting centers in 31 states.[5]

In 2021 LaserShip acquired west coast delivery service OnTrac Logistics, Inc. for $1.3 billion, equivalent to $ in . The two entities merged their delivery networks to form a transcontinental delivery network and rebranded their combined services to OnTrac.[6]

History

LaserShip began as a document delivery service in 1986.[7] In the 1990s, LaserShip landed in the small parcel business during the dot-com boom. In 1999, the company partnered with Barnes & Noble to provide same-day shipping services in New York City.[2]

In March 2014, LaserShip added four states to its service area: New Hampshire, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Delaware. This expanded the LaserShip footprint by 44 percent, reaching an additional 8.5 million consumers.[2] Also in March 2014, LaserShip acquired Cleveland-based last-mile delivery company Prestige Delivery Systems,[8] further expanding services to Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana.

As of 2016, LaserShip had 63 distribution centers and four sorting centers servicing 22 states and Washington, D.C.,[9] and handles deliveries for Amazon's Same Day Service.[10] [11]

In April 2019, LaserShip was awarded the International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO) Carrier Certification;[12] the company has also achieved compliance with ISCPO Carrier Security Requirements.[13]

In early 2018, the company was purchased by private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group.[14]

In May 2021, OnTrac expanded into Tennessee, opening three new branches in Memphis, Knoxville, and Nashville.[15] This expansion added 979 new zip codes,[16] an 18% increase of their delivery coverage.[17] In April 2023, the company announced plans to change its name to OnTrac.[18]

By 2022, OnTrac’s service area covered 80% of the U.S population across 31 states and Washington D.C.[19]

Disputes and settlements

OnTrac has been criticized for drivers roughly handling goods, including throwing and driving over packages.[20] [21] [22] LaserShip drivers have also been reported for damaging[23] and stealing[24] the personal property of recipients. The company has been penalized by multiple governments for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, and for delivering untaxed cigarettes (for which the company was prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act).

Package tossing, property damage, and theft

In 2017, numerous news reports[25] [26] backed up by surveillance camera footage depict LaserShip delivery drivers recklessly tossing packages onto customers' property. A New York magazine article entitled "LaserShip, Amazon's New Shipping Partner, Might Be the Most Hated Company on the Internet" features a compilation video showing numerous such incidents at over a dozen different households, with packages ending up on porches, in front lawns, and on driveways.[27] [28]

Misclassification and non-payment of drivers

In April 2014, the company reached a class-action settlement of $800,000 (equivalent to $ in) with drivers in Massachusetts who accused the company of misclassifying them as independent contractors. In November 2015, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that workers were denied overtime payments, were unlawfully denied earned compensation, and for other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.[29] The results of this litigation are pending.

In June 2019, LaserShip was ordered to pay $597,000 to drivers in New Jersey who had been classified as independent contractors after an investigation by the US Department of Labor.[30]

Cigarette settlement

In September 2014, LaserShip reached a $5 million (equivalent to $ in) settlement with the city of New York over deliveries of untaxed cigarettes. The original suit alleged that LaserShip had delivered more than 120,000 cartons between 2011 and 2013 violating federal and state laws and resulting in tax losses of $1.9 million, equivalent to $ in . The case was prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.[31] Under the settlement agreement, LaserShip ended all cigarette shipments.[32] [33]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parcel - May/June 2015 . 2017-12-15 . Nxtbook.com.
  2. News: Bhattarai . Abha . April 13, 2014 . LaserShip looks to expand to the midwest . July 31, 2014 . The Washington Post.
  3. News: Stevens . Laura . Benoit . David . November 12, 2013 . Activist Investor Daniel Loeb Takes FedEx Stake . July 31, 2014 . The Wall Street Journal.
  4. July–August 2013 . Hot Companies 2013 . July 31, 2014 . Parcel Magazine.
  5. Web site: Pack . Natalie . 2 August 2023 . OnTrac . 5 October 2023 . OnTrac.
  6. News: Smith . Jennifer . 2021-10-13 . LaserShip Is Buying Package Carrier OnTrac in a $1.3 Billion Deal . 2023-11-16 . Wall Street Journal . en-US . 0099-9660.
  7. Web site: Solomon . Mark . 2021-06-09 . Long controversial and now cooking, LaserShip rides the parcel-delivery wave . 2023-05-26 . FreightWaves . en-US.
  8. Web site: 2016-04-07 . LaserShip expands footprint in New Jersey to meet growing ecommerce demand . https://web.archive.org/web/20170119105643/http://parcelindustry.com/article-4612-lasership-expands-footprint-in-new-jersey-to-meet-growing-ecommerce-demand.html . 2017-01-19 . Parcel Industry.
  9. May-June 2016 . LaserShip . Company Profile . Parcel . 23 . 1081-4035.
  10. News: Jamieson . Dave . April 24, 2014 . Meet The Real Amazon Drones . January 13, 2016 . Huffington Post.
  11. News: Kaufman . Alexander C. . December 26, 2014 . Amazon's Enormous Same-Day Delivery Growth Comes At A Price . January 13, 2016 . Huffington Post.
  12. April 18, 2019 . Regional Transportation Carrier Awarded Notable Security Certification . May 6, 2019 . Loss Prevention Magazine.
  13. LaserShip, Inc. is the latest to be ISCPO Carrier Certified . April 12, 2019 . Smith . Byron . May 6, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191031042338/https://www.iscpo.org/site/lasership-inc-is-the-latest-to-be-iscpo-carrier-certified/ . 2019-10-31 . ISCPO.
  14. News: Simpson . Burney . March 28, 2018 . Supply Chain Technology Leads M&A Wishlist . August 15, 2018 . Transport Topics.
  15. News: Davis . Corey . 2021-06-03 . Last-mile delivery provider LaserShip starts up Memphis facility . 2021-06-14 . . The Business Journal.
  16. Web site: Garland . Max . 2021-06-14 . LaserShip's Tennessee expansion part of growing delivery alternative to FedEx, UPS . 2021-06-14 . The Commercial Appeal . en-US.
  17. News: Bailey . Tom . 2021-06-03 . Parcel carrier LaserShip opens facility in Cordova . https://web.archive.org/web/20210604060425/https://dailymemphian.com/article/22333/package-carrier-lasership-last-mile-delivery-tennessee . 2021-06-04 . 2021-06-14 . Daily Memphian . en.
  18. Web site: Solomon . Mark . 2023-04-10 . OnTrac, LaserShip rebrand into 'OnTrac' name . 2023-07-26 . FreightWaves . en-US.
  19. Web site: Taylor . Caroline . 2022-08-19 . Coming in 2023: We're Expanding to Texas! . 2023-10-02 . OnTrac . en-US.
  20. News: Zhang . Michael . 2016-07-25 . Watch How Amazon Delivered a $500 Camera Lens . 2017-12-01 . PetaPixel . en-US.
  21. LaserShip Driver Attempts to steal package until he is caught . 2017-02-20 . Blake . Rob . 2017-12-01 . YouTube.
  22. News: 2017-03-23 . Caught On Video: Meriden police involved after delivery driver throws delicate package . 2017-12-01 . . en-US.
  23. News: 2018-01-18 . Delivery man drops package off in grass, runs over orange tree . 2018-08-24 . WINK NEWS . en-US.
  24. Web site: Lisik . Brian . 2019-07-08 . Delivery man caught on camera burglarizing home: Brunswick Police Blotter . 2019-07-23 . cleveland.com . en-US.
  25. News: Monfort . Ashley . Home video shows delivery drivers throwing packages at Ashland home . https://web.archive.org/web/20161224051649/http://www.nbc12.com/story/34107968/home-video-shows-delivery-drivers-throwing-packages-at-ashland-home . 2016-12-24 . 2017-12-01 . . en.
  26. NBC 12 Interview - LazyShip (aka LaserShip) . 2016-12-22 . Peters . Jeff . 2017-12-01 . YouTube.
  27. News: Nosowitz . Dan . 2017-09-27 . LaserShip, Amazon's New Shipping Partner, Might Be the Most Hated Company Online . 2017-12-01 . . Select All . en.
  28. LaserShip Delivery Montage . 2016-12-22 . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/WJeJZ7BeQ8c . 2021-12-06 . YouTube.
  29. Crosby and Lewis v. Lasership, Inc., Et Al., Index Number 08694-CV-2015, SDNY - retrieved through pacer.gov and http://www.fslawfirm.com/pdfs/cs/Lasership-Complaint.pdf
  30. Web site: Attrino . Anthony G. . 2019-06-26 . Delivery company in N.J. to pay nearly $600K in back pay to drivers . 2019-07-23 . nj.com . en-US.
  31. Web site: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Cases, Dockets and Filings in the District of New York . 2017-12-14 . Justia Dockets & Filings . en.
  32. News: September 25, 2014 . City reaches $5M settlement in cigarette case . https://web.archive.org/web/20230518031425/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140925/RETAIL_APPAREL/140929930/city-reaches-5m-settlement-in-cigarette-case . 2023-05-18 . January 13, 2016 . Crain's New York Business . Associated Press.
  33. News: Calder . Rich . September 24, 2014 . Delivery company in un-taxed cigarette racket to pay $5M . https://web.archive.org/web/20140925024459/http://nypost.com/2014/09/24/delivery-company-in-un-taxed-cigarette-racket-to-pay-5m/ . 2014-09-25 . January 13, 2016 . New York Post.

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