Hub Group founder Phillip C. Yeager, 80, dies

Realizing the potential of intermodal as a new and more fuel efficient form of transportation, Yeager started Hub Group with his wife Joyce by his side and $500 in cash.

The Trucker News Services

9/30/2008

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — Phillip C. Yeager, founder and chairman of Hub Group Inc., has died from complications following a heart attack, the company said. Yeager, an intermodal industry pioneer, founded Hub Group in 1971 with his late wife Joyce. He was 80 years old at the time of his death. Working together as a team, the two built a company that started in a windowless one room office above a flower shop and is today a publicly traded Fortune 1000 corporation with over $1.6 billion in annual sales.

Yeager was born in Bellevue, Ky., in 1927 and grew up in a working class family during the Great Depression. A butcher's son, Yeager learned the value of hard work and thrift during these formative years, character traits that would define his life.

He began his transportation career in 1952 with the Pennsylvania Railroad. He worked for the railroad for 19 years, witnessing the introduction of intermodal service, which combines the use of truck and rail transportation.

Realizing the potential of this new and more fuel efficient form of transportation, Yeager started Hub Group with his wife Joyce by his side and $500 in cash. With his strong relationships at the railroads and his reputation for honesty, customers began shipping with Hub Group in impressive numbers. The company began a geographic expansion and had locations in over 25 important rail cities by 1985.

Yeager remained an active chairman, company spokesman and industry advocate up to the time of his death. Despite his tremendous accomplishments, Yeager was a down to earth person who never lost the common touch. His hard work, determination and integrity have been an inspiration to everyone at Hub. He will be sorely missed, the company said.

Hub Group Inc. is an asset-light freight transportation management company providing comprehensive intermodal, truck brokerage and logistics services. The company operates through a network of over 30 offices throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.