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Source: Landstar closes major Ukraine operation in wake of invasion

Local agency seen as heavy hitter within the company’s system

Landstar shutters Ukranian agency operations (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Landstar System Inc., the giant freight broker and third-party logistics provider with significant exposure to Ukraine, has suspended its operations there in the wake of Russia’s invasion, according to a highly placed source.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Landstar’s (NASDAQ: LSTR) Ukrainian agency is “offline” as of Saturday, the source told FreightWaves.

The agency generates as much as $1.1 billion in annual revenue from its Ukrainian operations, according to the source. That would represent about 15% of the company’s $6.53 billion in fiscal year 2021 revenue. It employs about 400 people, the source said

The impact of the action is material enough for the company to consider submitting an 8-K filing  with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the source said. An 8-K filing is reserved for unusual or extraordinary events that may influence a company’s operations.


In its annual 10-K filing with the SEC, Landstar acknowledged that some of its agencies maintain operations in Ukraine. Landstar executives did not return requests for comment on Saturday.

Landstar operates through thousands of independent sales agents and a network of owner-operator drivers known as Business Capacity Operators. Landstar’s drivers don’t operate under a forced dispatch system and can pick up any loads they want.

Landstar performed strongly during 2021, culminating in a terrific fourth quarter where it set all-time quarterly records for revenue, operating and net income, and diluted earnings per share. In late 2021, the company’s board declared a one-time cash dividend of $2 per share.


Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.