The nation’s third-biggest freight brokerage company that traces part of its beginnings to one of Chattanooga’s most successful business startups is on the block after parent company UPS said the business has declined and is too volatile.
The cutbacks and potential sale of Coyote Logistics highlight the slowdown in what had been Chattanooga’s fastest growing industry. But local industry experts remain optimistic about the growth of what they call Chattanooga’s Freight Alley.
“Freight brokerage is a highly cyclical industry, and during the manic demand of COVID, 99% of firms over hired,” said Ted Alling, one of the founders of Access America Transport, which was sold to Coyote Logistics in 2015 before UPS bought the company the following year for $1.8 billion. “We’ve seen this correct through 2023, with UPS arguably being the laggard.”
Alling, who is now an investor in several startup and growing transportation-related companies, said in an email he remains confident in the logistics industry and Chattanooga’s leading role as a freight hub despite the slowdown in freight shipments coming out of the pandemic.
“Times like this create opportunity for the next generation of freight businesses,” Alling said. “My partners and I continue to be bullish on Freight Alley in Chattanooga.”