In 2021 LaserShip acquired west coast delivery serviceOnTrac Logistics, Inc. for $1.3 billion. The two entities merged their delivery networks to form a transcontinental delivery network and rebranded their combined services to OnTrac.[6]
LaserShip began as a document delivery service in 1986.[7] In the 1990s, LaserShip landed in the small parcel business during thedot-com boom. In 1999, the company partnered withBarnes & Noble to provide same-day shipping services in New York City.[2]
In March 2014, LaserShip added four states to its service area: New Hampshire, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Delaware. This expanded the LaserShip footprint by 44 percent, reaching an additional 8.5 million consumers.[2] Also in March 2014, LaserShip acquiredCleveland-based last-mile delivery company Prestige Delivery Systems,[8] further expanding services toOhio,Kentucky,Michigan andIndiana.
As of 2016, LaserShip had 63 distribution centers and four sorting centers servicing 22 states andWashington, D.C.,[9] and handled deliveries for Amazon's Same Day Service.[10][11]
In April 2019, LaserShip was awarded the International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO) Carrier Certification;[12] the company has also achieved compliance with ISCPO Carrier Security Requirements.[13]
In early 2018, the company was purchased by private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group.[14]
In May 2021, LaserShip expanded into Tennessee, opening three new branches in Memphis, Knoxville, and Nashville.[15] This expansion added 979 new zip codes,[16] an 18 percent increase of their delivery coverage.[17]
In October 2021 LaserShip acquired west coast delivery serviceOnTrac Logistics, Inc. for $1.3 billion, equivalent to $1.51 billion in 2024.[18][6]
In early 2023 LaserShip and OnTrac expanded to Texas, growing the combined LaserShip and OnTrac delivery network to cover 68% of the U.S. population.[19]
In April 2023, the company announced plans to change its name to OnTrac.[20]
OnTrac has been criticized for drivers roughly handling goods, including throwing and driving over packages.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27] LaserShip drivers have also been reported for damaging[28] and stealing[29] the personal property of recipients. The company has been penalized by multiple governments for misclassifying drivers as independent contractors.[10][30]
In 2017, numerous news reports[21][22] backed up bysurveillance camera footage depict LaserShip delivery drivers recklessly tossing packages onto customers' property. ANew York magazine article entitled "LaserShip, Amazon's New Shipping Partner, Might Be the Most Hated Company on the Internet" features a compilation video showing numerous such incidents at over a dozen different households, with packages ending up on porches, in front lawns, and on driveways.[23][24]
In April 2014, the company reached a class-action settlement of $800,000 (equivalent to $1.06 million in 2024)[18] with drivers in Massachusetts who accused the company of misclassifying them as independent contractors.[10] In November 2015, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that workers were denied overtime payments, were unlawfully denied earned compensation, and for other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.[31] The results of this litigation are pending.[as of?]
In June 2019, LaserShip was ordered to pay $597,000 (equivalent to $734,225 in 2024)[18] to drivers inNew Jersey who had been classified as independent contractors after an investigation by theUS Department of Labor.[30]
In September 2014, LaserShip reached a $5 million (equivalent to $6.64 million in 2024)[18] settlement with the city of New York over deliveries of untaxed cigarettes originating from Indian reservations. The original suit alleged that LaserShip had delivered more than 120,000 cartons between 2011 and 2013 violating federal and state laws and resulting in tax losses of $1.9 million, equivalent to $2.56 million in 2024.[18] The case was prosecuted under the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, theContraband Cigarette Trafficking Act, theRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and New York Public Health Law 1399-ll.[32] Under the settlement agreement, LaserShip ended all cigarette shipments.[33][34]
^abLaserShip Delivery Montage. December 22, 2016. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. RetrievedAugust 13, 2018 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
