USF Dugan's Cape terminal to close July 8

Yellow Roadway Corp., the nation's largest less-than-truckload carrier, is closing newly acquired regional carrier USF Dugan and confirmed Wednesday that the Cape Girardeau terminal was among those that would close July 8.

The Cape Girardeau USF Dugan terminal employs 22 people, including 18 drivers, according to a company spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman said the area will now be served by another Yellow Roadway division, USF Holland, which has a terminal in Sikeston, Mo. There will be job opportunities for employees throughout the USF Holland division, she said.

USF Dugan will deliver all shipments currently in its system and all service commitments will be fulfilled, she said.

USF Corp.'s area of operations will be filled by other regional carriers operated by YRC Regional Transportation, an umbrella company formed when Yellow Roadway completed its acquisition of USF Corp. for $1.37 billion.

Dugan was one of four regional USF carriers that were struggling before being bought by Yellow Roadway. One of USF's problems had been that Dugan overlapped its service territory with other USF trucking firms, according to published reports.

Dugan has about 2,300 employees, including about 1,900 drivers and dock workers. The company does not know how many employees will remain with the company.

Holland will move into Dugan's service area in Missouri and northeastern Kansas.

Holland will also acquire Dugan's Missouri terminals in Joplin and Springfield. Other Missouri terminals operated by Dugan, such as in St. Louis and Columbia, will be shut down.