By Kevin Ellis for Business North Carolina
Charlotte-based freight broker RXO will invest $13.7 million and add 216 jobs over the next few years as it expands its Ballantyne headquarters. The move will also support the retention of 890 jobs in the state.
The new jobs are expected to be added between 2026 and 2028 and pay an average wage of $89,769. Mecklenburg County’s current average wage is $84,797. The jobs will include transportation brokers, logistics specialists, technology and data analysts, sales and account managers, and administrative staff.
RXO is expected to complete its investment in improvements/construction ($9.8 million) and personal property ($3.9 million) by Dec. 31, 2026. The expanded space will include 150,208 square feet.
RXO’s expansion comes more than two months after it completed its $1.025 billion acquisition of Coyote Logistics from UPS, making it the third-largest provider of brokered transportation in North America. Coyote Logistics generated about $3.2 billion in revenue last year. RXO expects at least $25 million in annualized cost synergies in the deal.
RXO connects shippers with independent carriers for transportation of freight via trucks, ships and air carriers. Its technological capabilities, industry expertise, and customer relationships, streamlines the transportation process.
The Mecklenburg County expansion will allow the company to meet increased demand and will bring opportunities for transportation brokers, operational and logistics specialists, and technology and data analysts, among others.
“RXO is thrilled to renew our commitment to Charlotte and expand our operations here,” said RXO CEO Drew Wilkerson in a release. “North Carolina’s strategic location, robust infrastructure, and skilled talent pool make it a vital hub for the transportation industry, and we’re proud to be a part of its continued growth.”
RXO also considered South Carolina for its new headquarters. Charlotte won out because of corporate financial factors, real estate costs and state and local incentives. State incentives total more than $2.4 million over 12 years, while incentives from the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are about $390,285.
The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 131%, meaning for every dollar of potential cost, the state receives $2.31 in state revenue.
RXO shares have traded between $18.75 and $32.82 in the past year and closed Monday at $30.42. It has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion. Revenue for 2023 decreased by 18.1% to $3.9 billion, from $4.8 billion in 2022, because of a softening freight environment, the company has said.
The preceding article originally appeared on November 26, 2024 at BusinessNC’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law.
