News

YRCW: COVID-19 Response and Preparedness

YRCW conducts daily leadership meetings and continues to review established contingency and emergency preparedness plans to prioritize the health and safety of all employees and to maintain customer service.

• Currently, there are no COVID-19-related delays or disruptions across our freight network.

• YRCW’s role in the North American supply chain is critical, especially now. We remain dedicated to servicing our customers and keeping essential freight and medical supplies moving across North America.  YRCW is prepared to support any freight shipment or network disruption challenge, especially where we can assist in transporting critical supplies to customers.

• We continue closely monitoring COVID-19 updates and news to address questions/concerns and to plan accordingly from a business continuity standpoint. YRCW’s network remains very strong and flexible. In the event of any emergency response initiative, we can shift supply chain patterns to ensure we meet customers’ needs, while continuing to prioritize the health and safety of our employees.

• We continue to monitor the latest updates and information across the CDC, NIH, WHO and Health Canada, and will address questions/concerns accordingly related to the health and safety of YRCW employees and business continuity.

• Infrastructure, including duplicate customer service centers and other contingencies, allow us to continue customer service support in the event of any emergency response.

• Based upon the recommendations from official health organizations, we have suspended all visitors to the YRCW Field Resource Center (Overland Park, KS), Holland corporate office (Holland, MI) and Reddaway corporate office (Tualatin, OR).

• In accordance with CDC guidelines on social distancing, YRCW has suspended all non-mission critical travel and postponed large group meetings. Instead, we will continue to conduct business, shifting interactions to digital platforms or telephone. While we plan for a shift in in-person customer communications for now, we are not reducing customer contact.

• The U.S. and Canadian governments see YRCW as an essential carrier and are not stopping any cross-border operations. YRCW drivers from Canada and U.S. origins are crossing as normal day-to-day business. We have seen few delays; however, Customs on both sides of the border is keeping commerce flowing for commercial trucks.

• As a coast-to-coast interstate carrier, we have asked the United States Department of Transportation to monitor state and other travel restrictions and, if appropriate, take action to ensure there are no impediments to interstate commerce.

• The trucking industry is the backbone of the American economy, and YRCW continues to serve the North American supply chain, delivering goods – especially critical and urgently-needed items – to our customers.

• Thank you to the 30,000+ employees of YRCW who remain dedicated to safely and diligently serving our customers during these challenging times.

Following are steps YRCW is taking to ensure the health and safety of all employees and to continue servicing our customers. We continue to update this information as the COVID-19 situation evolves.

• Weekly email to all YRCW employees to address key information:
  • Communicate safety/health tips to prevent the spread of illness and exposure to COVID-19
  • Share official health organizations’ latest updates on COVID-19
  • Increase awareness of COVID-19 symptoms
  • Remind anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or feeling ill to stay home and to contact their supervisor
  • Maintain hygiene/health supplies across offices and terminals for employees’ use
• Employee screening per CDC advisories:
  • Screening employees who, in the past 14 days, have traveled to or been in contact with anyone traveling from: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, China, Europe, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
  • As of today, these countries are listed on the CDC website as locations with widespread sustained transmission of COVID-19.
• Maintaining open two-way communication:
  • Directing employees to a dedicated internal email address for COVID-19-related questions, concerns and external requests
  • Encouraging increased communication between managers and teams to share company communications on COVID-19
• Timely response to customers’ questions and concerns:
  • Compliance with pick-up/drop-off driver request forms
  • Addressing customer questions and needs related to timely freight shipment of goods and in accordance with CDC and other official health organizations’ guidelines for health, safety and mitigation of COVID-19 exposure
  • Suspending travel and in-person meetings to shift interactions to digital or phone contact
• Adhering to CDC-recommended social distancing:
  • Recommending all managers consider options to limit the size of pre-shifts/meetings to allow for the social distancing recommendations as outlined by the CDC, the White House and official health organizations
  • Encouraging meetings to occur via digital platforms or telephone; limiting in-person meetings to mission-critical and with very limited group sizes

Customers or external parties with questions, please contact CustomerQuestions@YRCW.com.