U.S. Messenger

Founded in April 1999 by Frank Gonzales and Norm Nied, both former senior managers of the original U.S. Messenger & Delivery Service, which started in 1966. Nied died in early 2021.

Coverage is described in three rings: Chicagoland, the Midwest, and nationwide.

The service list runs well past what “messenger” suggests — on-demand messenger and dedicated routing at the local end, then same-day and rush trucking, ground expedited trucking, Next Flight Out, medical specimen delivery, customized distribution, intercept and dock management, and warehousing and fulfillment. Two are unusual: print and deliver, where they produce the document as well as move it, and a parcel audit service offered both to shippers and to other couriers.

The retention figures are the numbers worth noting. They state that over 60% of their couriers have more than ten years of experience, and that many drivers have been with the company for over twenty years. For work where a driver walks into a lab, a law office or a loading dock unaccompanied, that is a more useful signal than fleet size.

Listed memberships are the CLDA, the NMSDC and the National Safety Council, plus BBB accreditation.