Peter Latta, the current CEO and third-generation owner of A. Duie Pyle, a transportation and logistics provider based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, began his journey with the family business at the tender age of 12. His first task was to fuel a truck, an experience that ended with him putting the wrong fuel in the vehicle. Despite this inauspicious start, Latta went on to learn the ins and outs of the business founded by his grandfather, Alexander Duie Pyle, in 1924.
The company started with a used truck driven by Alexander Duie Pyle and his wife Mary Ellen, who served as the bookkeeper and dispatcher. After World War II, James (Jim) Latta, Peter’s father, joined the company and remained until his passing in 1995. In 1985, Peter Latta returned to A. Duie Pyle after working as a CPA and an attorney. At the time, the company had fewer than 100 employees and saw about $10 million in annual revenue. Today, the company, which serves the Northeast with extended coverage through partnerships in the Southeast, Midwest, and Canada, boasts over 4,300 employees and is on track to see $850 million in revenue this year.
The company’s largest business unit is less-than-truckload transportation, a for-hire shipping service for relatively small loads or quantities of freight. In 2013, Pyle launched its dedicated service business, which customers, including the supermarket chain Wegman’s, contract for full-time work. Pyle also has a warehouse and distribution business, a truckload management service, and a legacy steel-hauling business.
A. Duie Pyle had to navigate significant challenges to become the success it is today. In 1979, the company endured a three-month strike when Latta’s father, then the CEO, sought to negotiate the terms of Jimmy Hoffa Sr.’s Teamsters National Motor Freight Agreement. Following the strike, about 30 employees resigned from the union and crossed the picket line, leading to Pyle becoming a union-free company.
In 1980, deregulation of the motor carrier industry began, making it easier for carriers to receive new territory operating authority and eliminating the antitrust exemption for collective rate setting. This led to an influx of new carriers and increasing price competition. Despite these challenges, Pyle saw deregulation as an opportunity to expand and grow.
Pyle’s key to a successful century in business, according to Latta, is the engagement of the Pyle people, who embody six core values: empathy, candor, citizenship, service first, integrity, and profitability. This engagement creates a healthy culture, fostering trust, which in turn drives the company’s discretionary effort. This effort, Latta believes, is the secret sauce that sets Pyle apart from its competitors.
In June 2019, Pyle suffered from a cyber ransomware attack, but the company’s transparency with customers during this difficult time was appreciated, and some customers even took back business temporarily with the promise to return once the situation was resolved. This incident further underscored the importance of trust and discretionary effort in the company’s success.
Latta is proud of the positive impact A. Duie Pyle has on the lives of its employees and their families, providing financial stability and enabling them to achieve their dreams. He believes that earning the trust of customers, employees, and their families is the silent force behind the company’s success.
