Vienna, Va.-based e-commerce parcel carrier OnTrac recently announced a significant expansion of its Midwestern delivery network. This expansion will extend “beyond Chicagoland” and Illinois, reaching into the greater Midwest, including Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Louis, Missouri.

Expansion Details

According to Josh Dinneen, OnTrac’s Chief Commercial Officer, the expansion to Chicago and the Midwest was driven by strong customer demand for a reliable alternative carrier that offers speed, cost savings, and exceptional service. With this expansion, OnTrac will now serve the top 30 metro markets in the United States, enabling retail partners to reach 70% of the population across 35 states and Washington, D.C.

“We are excited to launch in Chicagoland and the Midwest and look forward to welcoming more team members to the OnTrac family,” said Dinneen.

New Sort Center

As part of this expansion, OnTrac opened a new 334,000 square-foot sort center at 565 South Pinnacle Drive, Romeoville, Illinois. This facility is equipped with state-of-the-art material handling equipment, including fully automated small package sorters, which will facilitate millions of deliveries to consumers across the Midwest.

Weekend Delivery Service

In March, OnTrac introduced weekend delivery services to assist retail shippers in delivering e-commerce orders on Saturdays and Sundays. This service went into effect on March 16 and is available in 75% of OnTrac’s delivery network, covering 31 states and Washington, D.C., and reaching more than 175 million consumers.

Benefits of Weekend Delivery

The new service offers several benefits:

• Average transit times are two days faster than other carriers.

• No additional fees for Saturday and Sunday delivery.

• Increased customer acquisition, brand loyalty, and positive feedback by meeting consumer expectations of faster delivery.

• Differentiation from competitors who do not offer weekend delivery.

• Customers placing orders on Thursday or Friday will receive their items sooner, without waiting until the following Monday or Tuesday.

Response to Consumer Demand

Dinneen emphasized that the expansion was driven by the need to meet consumers’ expectations for quick delivery, regardless of the day of the week. “Our seven-day service responds to these demands, empowering retailers to win more customers by providing fast delivery every day of the week,” he said. This service is a significant advantage for retailers aiming to differentiate themselves in the market by offering faster delivery.

Feedback for the seven-day service has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Dinneen. Many of OnTrac’s omnichannel retail and direct-to-consumer customers have already signed up for the service to secure volume ahead of the launch.

Expansion into Texas

In July 2023, OnTrac expanded its services into Texas, following its Texas-based expansion plan initiated in August 2022. This expansion focuses on the fast-growing megaregion of Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, with the Dallas-Fort Worth facility serving as the major Texas-based sort hub, reaching 19 million new consumers through faster residential e-commerce delivery services.

Last summer, OnTrac also expanded its transcontinental delivery service, connecting its East and West Coast delivery footprints. This allows the company to move packages from coast to coast in four days or less to all of its sort centers.