Please see below from Estes:
Hurricane Helene has caused severe damage in several areas, including Asheville, NC. Terminal 022 in Asheville has sustained significant damage to the dock, yard, and office, and will not be operational for some time as we work to repair and mitigate the damage.
Estes is also working with various state agencies to supply hurricane relief, with important deliveries of supplies to affected communities. To continue servicing our customers, we have implemented a temporary plan:
- Freight Routing: Full loads in the system will be rerouted to Charlotte, NC (010). From there, it will be distributed based on workload and available resources to nearby terminals. The zip codes in the points file will remain destined to Terminal 022 but freight will be routed to 010 Charlotte for now. The points file will be updated as time progresses to reflect new servicing terminals of those affected zips.
- Action Required: If you have closed loads for 022, leave them as they sit and load to fill them if they are at your terminal. Build full loads for 022 freight, high and tight, racked up well, secured. Focus on loading hurricane relief supplies separate if possible (food, water, shelter, power, building supplies). We will run full loads into Charlotte.
- Asheville Email: We are working to redirect the Asheville team’s email distribution groups to the appropriate channels for monitoring.
- Customer Communication: A dedicated email inbox is being set up for inquiries related to freight delivering out of Asheville. Additionally, we are increasing phone support to handle customer questions. More info to follow.
- Hurricane Relief Supplies: Several requests for hurricane relief supplies are expected to route through Asheville and other affected areas from most larger origin points. For larger requests (two trailers or more), please ensure they are routed through the Roll Outs Team at rollouts@estes-express.com for proper vetting and planning. When in doubt, ensure you vetted and work with us on larger requests you receive, but keep in mind hurricane relief supplies are compared to time critical. They are helping real people, who need supplies. Handle them with care but keep us in the loop for proper planning. We do not want to overwhelm a terminal with deliveries that can’t be made.
- Local Terminal Support: If customers contact your local terminal during the first part of the week, clerks should convey that we are addressing the situation and provide updates as available. Please make sure to include clear freight bill notes on shipments to avoid confusion and maintain alignment across the system.
After Operations has been able to assess terminals and P&D routes after Hurricane Helene hit numerous Southeast areas this weekend we have made the decision to turn off inbound quoting for specific terminals at this time – These terminals are open, but not at full capacity – We are turning off quoting to help the flow of freight into these areas. Quoting zips inbound to these terminals has been turned off on MyEstes, API as well as SMC3 as of today 9/30/2024
Staying organized through challenges like this is key. We will provide more updates as the week progresses. Please keep those affected by the storm across the Southeast in your thoughts, especially those who have lost homes, belongings, pets, and even loved ones in this historic event.