William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | May 07, 2012 12:21PM EDT
Michael J. Naatz resigned as president of less-than-truckload carrier Holland, a regional subsidiary of YRC Worldwide, and joined railroad Kansas City Southern as senior vice president and chief information officer.
His May 4 departure was noted in a one-line statement included in YRC Worldwide’s first quarter earnings report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company did not immediately name a replacement or say how it would handle the transition at Holland, part of YRC’s profitable regional LTL carrier group.
At KCS, Naatz will report to President and CEO David L. Starling. "Mike is a great addition to the KCS team," Starling said in a statement.
"His extensive transportation leadership experience will enhance our information technology efforts and business planning capabilities," Starling said.
Prior to being named president of Holland last September, Naatz was chief customer officer and an executive vice president at YRC Worldwide in Overland Park, Kan.
As chief integration officer, he played a critical role in the merger of Yellow Transportation and Roadway in 2009 that created long-haul carrier YRC Freight.
Naatz had worked for YRC and USF in various roles, including CIO, since the 1990s. He succeeded Jeff Rogers at Holland when Rogers became president of YRC Freight.
YRC Worldwide, a $4.9 billion company, has lost nearly $3 billion since 2006, and the holding company is struggling to return YRC Freight to profitability.
The regional group, which also includes New Penn MotorExpress and Reddaway, has been improving its financial standing more rapidly than YRC Freight.
The regional group, which accounts for about a third of YRC’s business, increased revenue 9.8 percent year-over-year in the first quarter to $402 million.
The group reported an $11.4 million operating profit in the quarter, compared with a $1.2 million loss a year ago and a $6.9 million profit in the fourth quarter.
Strong automotive sales and a related surge in manufacturing are helping Holland increase freight volume and revenue in its 12-state Central U.S. territory.
“We’ve seen a nice return of customers and growth from within customers,” Naatz said in an interview with The Journal of Commerce in the first quarter.
“Business has been good, the volume has been nice, our market share has been improving on all three levels — weight, shipment count and revenue,” he said.
Holland is the largest of the three regional trucking companies in terms of locations and power equipment, with 57 service centers and more than 5,400 tractors.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc