COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (October 6, 2005) - Costco Wholesale Corporation, a global retailer with operations in eight countries, has selected Averitt Express to provide transportation and supply chain management services for its warehouse club operations in the state of Texas.
Under the terms of the contract, Averitt is providing Costco with an integrated transportation and supply chain management solution comprised of several transportation modes. Averitt will handle the transportation of all retail items available at the selected Costco warehouse club stores, from meat and poultry products to televisions and computers.
Costco operates 12 warehouses in the state of Texas.
In addition to handling a large number of weekly on-demand moves and regular round-trip moves, Averitt will also employ on-site personnel to coordinate outbound transportation from Costco's distribution center in Dallas.
According to Costco officials, in addition to Averitt's ability to provide a wide variety of integrated services, one of the key factors in its decision to award the business was Averitt's ability to provide equipment flexibility to meet its demand to handle both dry and refrigerated freight. Averitt will use customized refrigerated trailers and dry vans to handle Costco's goods.
About Costco Wholesale Corporation
Costco currently operates 460 warehouses, including 338 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 65 in Canada, 16 in the United Kingdom, five in Korea, four in Taiwan, five in Japan and 27 in Mexico. The company plans to open an additional 12 to 13 new warehouses (including the relocation of one warehouse to a larger and better-located facility) prior to the end of calendar year 2005.