XPO saves on outsourcing costs, prepares for market upside
Dive Brief:
XPO reduced its purchased transportation costs for its North American less-than-truckload segment in Q2 to $32 million, down about 53% compared to a year ago, per an earnings release.
Investments in rolling stock in recent years have allowed XPO to cut outsourcing costs in the short term and position the carrier for success once the market improves, Chief Strategy Officer Ali Faghri told Trucking Dive.
'When demand recovers in the LTL industry, you're going to see truckload rates go up significantly, 20-, 30-, 40-percent,' he said. 'And that's really where we're going to see a bigger benefit, because we've essentially insulated our cost structure from this cost category.'
Dive Insight:
XPO can operate linehaul miles more efficiently than third-party contractors, the company notes, and so it's finding wins among a market slowdown.
Outsourced linehaul miles were 6.8% of total miles in Q2 for the carrier, a significant shift from a rate of 15.9% a year ago, per company earnings reports.
'That's more than 900 basis points lower than last year and the best level in our history, with more opportunity ahead,' CEO Mario Harik said on a July 31 earnings call.
New AI-powered linehaul models are 'driving additional savings, reducing normalized linehaul miles by 3%, empty miles by over 10% and freight diversions by more than 80%,' he added.
The company aims to hire a director of AI, and Harik said the company plans to launch more AI integrations this year. XPO is also currently piloting how AI can improve pickup and delivery operations that lower costs, the CEO said.
AI initiatives with other transportation players have led to efficiencies, such as ArcBest optimizing city routes to reduce miles and fuel costs and C.H. Robinson Worldwide offering price quotes, eliminating significant manual processing and speeding up output for customers.
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XPO leans on AI to minimize miles, handling for LTL freight
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Fox Sports
22 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Boston Celtics Finalize Sale to Bill Chisholm: 'Coming in 2nd Is Not Acceptable'
National Basketball Association Boston Celtics Finalize Sale to Bill Chisholm: 'Coming in 2nd Is Not Acceptable' Published Aug. 19, 2025 12:55 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link The Boston Celtics have a new owner, and there's one thing that isn't going to change at the NBA's most-decorated franchise. "Coming in second is not the objective, and it's not acceptable," private equity mogul Bill Chisholm said Tuesday after taking control of the team from Wyc Grousbeck. "The ultimate yardstick is winning championships. Wyc's got two, and we're going to get more, and he and I together are going to help drive that." Chisholm leads a group that bid $6.1 billion for the Celtics — a record price for an American professional sports franchise. The NBA unanimously approved the deal last week, and all that was left was for the money to change hands on Tuesday. "We are committed to building on the legacy of the Celtics and raising banners," Chisholm said. "And I can't wait for the team to get back out there this fall." A Massachusetts native, Chisholm said his earliest Celtics memories are of the Dave Cowens, JoJo White and John Havlicek teams that won two NBA titles in the 1970s, but he really fell hard for the teams with Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale that added three more banners to the Boston Garden rafters in the '80s. "I became a rabid fan during the Bird, McHale, Parish era. That was my team," Chisholm said in an interview with The Associated Press shortly after the deal was finalized. "How can you be a teenager in Massachusetts, or New England, with that group and not end up being a lifelong Celtics fan?" ADVERTISEMENT The team was put on the market last summer, soon after Tatum and Brown vanquished the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals. Chisholm won the bidding in March and leads a group that now has majority ownership control of the team, with full control coming by 2028 at a price that could bring the total value to $7.3 billion. That's the highest price ever paid for a team in the four major North American sports, though a piece of the Los Angeles Lakers changed hands this summer at a price that would value the entire franchise at $10 billion. Other investors include Aditya Mittal, Bruce Beal, Andrew Bialecki, Dom Ferrante, Rob Hale, Mario Ho and Ian Loring. Sixth Street is also a "major participant" in the investment group, the team said in a news release. Grousbeck and co-owner Steve Pagliuca led a group that bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million and presided over an era in which the Celtics won two NBA titles, lost in the finals two other times and made the playoffs in 20 of 23 seasons. The team's most recent title came in 2024, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Team president Rich Gotham, general manager Brad Stevens and coach Joe Mazzulla are all expected to remain in their positions. Chisholm will represent the team in league matters as governor, with Grousbeck staying on as co-owner, CEO and alternate governor to run the day-to-day operations alongside Chisholm. "We've got a really solid core to the roster. We've got, I think, the best basketball people that there are. And we've got a really talented business operations team," Chisholm said. "And then we've got a leader like Wyc. I mean, why would you go make major changes to that? "I think there are things we can always improve on," he said. "But that is a really, really good place to start." Grousbeck said he can already tell that Chisholm understands the significance of owning one of the NBA's charter franchises, with its unmatched 18 championships and a history of Hall of Famers from Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy and Bill Russell to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. "It's an unbelievable responsibility, and an unbelievable thrill," Grousbeck said. "But it's a huge challenge because the greats built it. And we're just here trying to maintain the legacy, which is a great honor." Chisholm takes over the team in a bit of a transition just two seasons after its latest title. Tatum is recovering from surgery to repair the ruptured right Achilles tendon injury he suffered in Boston's Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the New York Knicks, dooming the Celtics' hopes of a repeat. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — key parts of the title-winning team — were traded to avoid the NBA's punitive second apron payroll tax. Another key player, Al Horford – who came off of the bench or subbed in for the oft-injured Porzingis the past two years – remains a free agent. Grousbeck said the days of outspending opponents to win championships are over. "We had our two years at supermax, 100 mph, and now you take a year to reset a little bit, which every team will be doing," Grousbeck said. "And we'll be back. We're coming back as hard as we can." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Boston Celtics National Basketball Association What did you think of this story? share
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
The Boston Celtics have a new owner. The drive to add more NBA championships won't change
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics have a new owner, and there's one thing that isn't going to change at the NBA's most-decorated franchise. 'Coming in second is not the objective, and it's not acceptable,' private equity mogul Bill Chisholm said Tuesday after taking control of the team from Wyc Grousbeck. 'The ultimate yardstick is winning championships. Wyc's got two, and we're going to get more, and he and I together are going to help drive that.' Chisholm leads a group that bid $6.1 billion for the Celtics — a record price for an American professional sports franchise. The NBA unanimously approved the deal last week, and all that was left was for the money to change hands on Tuesday. 'We are committed to building on the legacy of the Celtics and raising banners,' Chisholm said. 'And I can't wait for the team to get back out there this fall.' A Massachusetts native, Chisholm said his earliest Celtics memories are of the Dave Cowens, JoJo White and John Havlicek teams that won two NBA titles in the 1970s, but he really fell hard for the teams with Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale that added three more banners to the Boston Garden rafters in the '80s. 'I became a rabid fan during the Bird, McHale, Parish era. That was my team,' Chisholm said in an interview with The Associated Press shortly after the deal was finalized. 'How can you be a teenager in Massachusetts, or New England, with that group and not end up being a lifelong Celtics fan?' The team was put on the market last summer, soon after Tatum and Brown vanquished the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals. Chisholm won the bidding in March and leads a group that now has majority ownership control of the team, with full control coming by 2028 at a price that could bring the total value to $7.3 billion. That's the highest price ever paid for a team in the four major North American sports, though a piece of the Los Angeles Lakers changed hands this summer at a price that would value the entire franchise at $10 billion. Other investors include Aditya Mittal, Bruce Beal, Andrew Bialecki, Dom Ferrante, Rob Hale, Mario Ho and Ian Loring. Sixth Street is also a 'major participant' in the investment group, the team said in a news release. Grousbeck and co-owner Steve Pagliuca led a group that bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million and presided over an era in which the Celtics won two NBA titles, lost in the finals two other times and made the playoffs in 20 of 23 seasons. The team's most recent title came in 2024, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Team president Rich Gotham, general manager Brad Stevens and coach Joe Mazzulla are all expected to remain in their positions. Chisholm will represent the team in league matters as governor, with Grousbeck staying on as co-owner, CEO and alternate governor to run the day-to-day operations alongside Chisholm. 'We've got a really solid core to the roster. We've got, I think, the best basketball people that there are. And we've got a really talented business operations team,' Chisholm said. 'And then we've got a leader like Wyc. I mean, why would you go make major changes to that? 'I think there are things we can always improve on,' he said. 'But that is a really, really good place to start.' Grousbeck said he can already tell that Chisholm understands the significance of owning one of the NBA's charter franchises, with its unmatched 18 championships and a history of Hall of Famers from Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy and Bill Russell to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. 'It's an unbelievable responsibility, and an unbelievable thrill,' Grousbeck said. 'But it's a huge challenge because the greats built it. And we're just here trying to maintain the legacy, which is a great honor.' Chisholm takes over the team in a bit of a transition just two seasons after its latest title. Tatum is recovering from surgery to repair the ruptured right Achilles tendon injury he suffered in Boston's Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the New York Knicks, dooming the Celtics' hopes of a repeat. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — key parts of the title-winning team — were traded to avoid the NBA's punitive second apron payroll tax. Grousbeck said the days of outspending opponents to win championships are over. 'We had our two years at supermax, 100 mph, and now you take a year to reset a little bit, which every team will be doing,' Grousbeck said. 'And we'll be back. We're coming back as hard as we can.' ___ AP NBA:
Boston Globe
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Celtics sale finalized, Bill Chisholm takes over as owner of the franchise
Chisholm takes ownership of at least 51% of the team, with full control coming by 2028 at a price that could bring the total value to $7.3 billion. That's the highest price ever paid for a team in the four major North American sports, though a piece of the Los Angeles Lakers changed hands this summer at a price that would value the entire franchise at $10 billion. Advertisement Grousbeck led a group that bought the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million. Under their ownership, the Celtics won two NBA titles, lost in the finals two other times and made the playoffs in 20 of 23 seasons.
