Universal Logistics Holdings Inc. recently announced plans for a major $50 million expansion of its truck parts facility in Roanoke, Virginia, aiming to boost capacity and better serve surging demand in the heavy duty vehicle manufacturing industry.
Major Investment to Support the Booming Class 8 Truck Market
The Michigan-based company will construct a new 254,000-square-foot facility adjacent to its current Lee Highway building in Roanoke. The sizable investment will create 45 additional direct jobs and provide Universal with significantly more space for its Class 8 truck sub assembly operations.
According to Universal CEO Tim Phillips, the substantial expansion reflects the company’s commitment to enhancing its offerings for truck original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and building on its position as a foremost service provider in freight transportation and logistics.
Universal currently handles truckload, intermodal, brokerage, dedicated contract carriage, and subassembly services across North America and even extends into Mexico, Canada and Colombia. However, the firm is now making Virginia an even greater focal point to capture more of the fast-growing Class 8 truck parts logistics activities.
New Facility Slated to Come Online in 2025
The timeline has construction of the new facility slated for completion in 2025. It will join Universal’s array of over 100 logistics centers strategically situated across the U.S. to meet surging warehousing and inventory management demand.
While Universal did not specify which truck manufacturers it aims to support from the expanded Virginia base, the move comes amid booming Class 8 truck production spurring parts suppliers and logistics providers to ramp up capabilities in key manufacturing hubs.
Other notable truck builders in the region include Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks USA. And Universal also runs an extensive 1 million-square-foot sequencing facility in Detroit that supports Stellantis automotive manufacturing operations.
Major Growth in Universal’s Automotive and Truck Segment
The Roanoke investment represents the latest in an array of moves from Universal further expanding its automotive and heavy truck segment — one of the company’s fastest growing divisions.
Just last summer, Universal subsidiary Logistics Insight Corp. landed a major contract to operate a large high-tech parts logistics hub supporting General Motors’ electric vehicle manufacturing in Detroit. That 400-employee facility is on pace for completion by the end of 2024.
With Class 8 truck production hitting all-time highs of over 430,000 units in recent years prior to 2022, Universal is strategically growing its capacity to handle surging component volumes flowing from parts suppliers to truck assembly plants.
The company’s commanding presence across integrated North American logistics channels also enables it to meet intensifying demand among manufacturers seeking greater flexibility, transparency and responsiveness in time-sensitive parts delivery.
So the significant enhancement of Universal’s offerings in Virginia aims to capture a larger slice of that booming truck parts logistics market and strengthen its hand as an indispensable partner for truck builders.
By leveraging their expertise and resources, Lading Logistics aims to provide efficient and reliable international shipping and logistics solutions for their clients.
