US less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Pitt Ohio is bridging the gap between domestic and international freight by opening its first marine terminal in Norfolk, Virginia.

The 15,000-square-foot, 37-dock-door facility is the latest example of how LTL carriers are expanding into drayage, container handling and global supply chains. It is a new direction for trucking companies looking to route more freight into their networks.

From the Norfolk terminal, Pittsburgh-based Pitt Ohio will coordinate inland transportation, customs clearance and related services, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Pitt Ohio is also a non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO,).

The 14th-largest US LTL carrier in 2024, Pitt Ohio said it will use its own chassis to maintain control over shipments for importers and exporters while integrating maritime, inland transportation and warehousing.

The Norfolk terminal has been several years in the making. Pitt Ohio, which has been hauling regional LTL freight since 1979, was drawn into the drayage business during the COVID-19 pandemic, when shipper customers turned to the company for help.

The pandemic saw increased interest in transloading, which requires the type of cross-dock operation that has sustained LTL carriers since the 1920s.

In addition to Pitt Ohio, carriers such as Estes Express Lines, Averitt and A. Duie Pyle are building and opening terminals near seaports.

LTL freight is still primarily sourced from domestic industrial manufacturers, but e-commerce and the shrinking size of shipments are driving more freight toward LTL.