Fall 2026
Business Update
Contributed by: Eric Vander Pol, Co-President
Greetings Oak Harbor Team –
I hope this finds you and your family healthy and well. Hard to believe but we are nearing the end of 2026 already. Fall has definitely set in here in the PNW and the holiday season is right around the corner. I pray each one of you gets to spend some quality time with family or loved ones this year. Finding that time to connect with your close circle of people is important.
Quarter Three Results
As for company performance, this year has been relatively strong when it comes to hitting our goals. Our main goal for 2026 was to improve our company Operating Ratio without jeopardizing service or safety.
Operating Ratio
94.11%
-1.15%
from last year
95.26%
last year
Happy to report that throughout the first three quarters of the year, we are 2.20% YTD ahead of where we were at this time last year. Increased volumes and revenue levels have certainly been a blessing and helped us navigate some substantial cost increases as well.
Shipment count is up about 4% year over year, with revenue outpacing that due to high fuel surcharge revenue.
On-time service has some catching up to do with last year’s numbers, however. The company is sitting about 1.5% YTD behind where we were last year. We are excited about finishing out this year strong with a strong fourth quarter and fully reaching our goal set out for 2026.
Plans for 2027
Looking out into 2027, the company has some great projects and ambitions. While improving service and profitability will always be front of mind, I wanted to briefly highlight from a ten-thousand-foot view a few projects we have for next year. These projects will continue to be a work in progress and refined over time, but wanted to share the general ideas we will be working on next year:
Onboard Cameras & Equipment Tracking
Fully rolling out a new platform for onboard cameras and a new equipment tracking system. Technology in this space is moving very fast, and we have identified areas we can improve substantially. This will be the number one focus item for our maintenance and safety teams in 2027.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Implement a new CRM for our Sales and Pricing team. Currently working on a home-grown platform, we recognize the need to improve this situation. In a perfect world we want our Sales team with a single platform for them to live and breathe with access to all data points necessary to perform their daily functions.
Improved Billing Processes
Improve our billing speed. The billing process refers to getting the information from BOL into our main operating system so anyone can have visibility and knowledge of a shipment. This is for both Employees and Customers. The main goal for next year is to cut down the amount of time from when a shipment is picked up to when it is fully visible in our system.
Accident & Property Claims System
Lastly, we want to roll out an application to help with accidents and property claims. We have identified a vendor to move forward with this already. The current process for this is fairly manual and this application will help automate and streamline many of those tasks necessary when involved in an accident. While many won’t see any of the results of this project, it certainly will benefit the company from an administrative point of view.
Those are just a few high-level items that will be focused on in 2027. The company has been blessed for 110 years, and the future remains brighter than ever. We have been blessed with a great team and for that we are grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to the entire Oak Harbor Team!
