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OnTrac

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OnTrac Final Mile
FormerlyLaserShip
IndustryLast mile (transportation)
Founded1986; 38 years ago (1986)
HeadquartersVienna, Virginia, U.S.
Number of locations
64 facilities (2018)
4 sortation centers (2018)
Area served
United States
Key people
  • Mark Holifield, CEO
  • Scott P. Nelson, COO
ServicesRegional carrier
Ground Service
Same-day Service
Weekend Delivery
Websiteontrac.com

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 $1.46 billion in 2023.[6] The two entities merged their delivery networks to form a transcontinental delivery network and rebranded their combined services to OnTrac.[7]

History

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LaserShip began as a document delivery service in 1986.[8] 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,[9] 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.,[10] and handled deliveries for Amazon's Same Day Service.[11][12]

In April 2019, LaserShip was awarded the International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO) Carrier Certification;[13] the company has also achieved compliance with ISCPO Carrier Security Requirements.[14]

In early 2018, the company was purchased by private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group.[15]

In May 2021, OnTrac expanded into Tennessee, opening three new branches in Memphis, Knoxville, and Nashville.[16] This expansion added 979 new zip codes,[17] an 18 percent increase of their delivery coverage.[18] In April 2023, the company announced plans to change its name to OnTrac.[19]

By 2022, OnTrac's service area covered 80 percent of the U.S population across 31 states and Washington, D.C.[20]

Disputes and settlements

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OnTrac has been criticized for drivers roughly handling goods, including throwing and driving over packages.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27] LaserShip drivers have also been reported for damaging[28] and stealing[29] the personal property of recipients. The company has been penalized by multiple governments for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors,[11][30] and for delivering untaxed cigarettes (for which the company was prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act).[citation needed]

Package tossing, property damage, and theft

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In 2017, numerous news reports[21][22] 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.[23][24]

Misclassification and non-payment of drivers

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In April 2014, the company reached a class-action settlement of $800,000 (equivalent to $1.03 million in 2023)[6] with drivers in Massachusetts who accused the company of misclassifying them as independent contractors.[11] 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.[31] The results of this litigation are pending.[as of?]

In June 2019, LaserShip was ordered to pay $597,000 (equivalent to $711,458 in 2023)[6] to drivers in New Jersey who had been classified as independent contractors after an investigation by the US Department of Labor.[30]

Cigarette settlement

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In September 2014, LaserShip reached a $5 million (equivalent to $6.44 million in 2023)[6] 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 $2.49 million in 2023.[6] The case was prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.[32] Under the settlement agreement, LaserShip ended all cigarette shipments.[33][34]

References

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  1. ^ "Parcel - May/June 2015". Nxtbook.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Bhattarai, Abha (April 13, 2014). "LaserShip looks to expand to the midwest". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  3. ^ Stevens, Laura; Benoit, David (November 12, 2013). "Activist Investor Daniel Loeb Takes FedEx Stake". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  4. ^ "Hot Companies 2013". Parcel Magazine. July–August 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  5. ^ Pack, Natalie (August 2, 2023). "OnTrac". OnTrac. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Smith, Jennifer (October 13, 2021). "LaserShip Is Buying Package Carrier OnTrac in a $1.3 Billion Deal". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Solomon, Mark (June 9, 2021). "Long controversial and now cooking, LaserShip rides the parcel-delivery wave". FreightWaves. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "LaserShip expands footprint in New Jersey to meet growing ecommerce demand". Parcel Industry. April 7, 2016. Archived from the original on January 19, 2017.
  10. ^ "LaserShip". Company Profile. Parcel. May–June 2016. p. 23. ISSN 1081-4035.
  11. ^ a b c Jamieson, Dave (April 24, 2014). "Meet the Real Amazon Drones". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  12. ^ Kaufman, Alexander C. (December 26, 2014). "Amazon's Enormous Same-Day Delivery Growth Comes At A Price". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  13. ^ "Regional Transportation Carrier Awarded Notable Security Certification". Loss Prevention Magazine. April 18, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  14. ^ Smith, Byron (April 12, 2019). "LaserShip, Inc. is the latest to be ISCPO Carrier Certified". ISCPO (Press release). Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  15. ^ Simpson, Burney (March 28, 2018). "Supply Chain Technology Leads M&A Wishlist". Transport Topics. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  16. ^ Davis, Corey (June 3, 2021). "Last-mile delivery provider LaserShip starts up Memphis facility". Memphis Business Journal. The Business Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  17. ^ Garland, Max (June 14, 2021). "LaserShip's Tennessee expansion part of growing delivery alternative to FedEx, UPS". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Bailey, Tom (June 3, 2021). "Parcel carrier LaserShip opens facility in Cordova". Daily Memphian. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Solomon, Mark (April 10, 2023). "OnTrac, LaserShip rebrand into 'OnTrac' name". FreightWaves. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  20. ^ Taylor, Caroline (August 19, 2022). "Coming in 2023: We're Expanding to Texas!". OnTrac. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Monfort, Ashley. "Home video shows delivery drivers throwing packages at Ashland home". WWBT-TV. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  22. ^ a b Peters, Jeff (December 22, 2016). NBC 12 Interview - LazyShip (aka LaserShip). Retrieved December 1, 2017 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ a b Nosowitz, Dan (September 27, 2017). "LaserShip, Amazon's New Shipping Partner, Might Be the Most Hated Company Online". Select All. New York Magazine. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  24. ^ a b LaserShip Delivery Montage. December 22, 2016. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ Zhang, Michael (July 25, 2016). "Watch How Amazon Delivered a $500 Camera Lens". PetaPixel. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  26. ^ Blake, Rob (February 20, 2017). LaserShip Driver Attempts to steal package until he is caught. Retrieved December 1, 2017 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ "Caught On Video: Meriden police involved after delivery driver throws delicate package". WTNH. March 23, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  28. ^ "Delivery man drops package off in grass, runs over orange tree". WINK NEWS. January 18, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  29. ^ Lisik, Brian (July 8, 2019). "Delivery man caught on camera burglarizing home: Brunswick Police Blotter". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  30. ^ a b Attrino, Anthony G. (June 26, 2019). "Delivery company in N.J. to pay nearly $600K in back pay to drivers". nj.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  31. ^ 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
  32. ^ "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Cases, Dockets and Filings in the District of New York". Justia Dockets & Filings. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  33. ^ "City reaches $5M settlement in cigarette case". Crain's New York Business. Associated Press. September 25, 2014. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  34. ^ Calder, Rich (September 24, 2014). "Delivery company in un-taxed cigarette racket to pay $5M". New York Post. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2016.

Further reading

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