Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., a U.S. regional trucker, has extra capacity ready in case its industry consolidates, its chief executive officer said.

Thomasville, North Carolina-based Old Dominion held on to trucks it normally would have sold when it bought new equipment this year, making it ready to expand, CEO David Congdon said in an interview yesterday. The company is a less-than-truckload hauler, meaning it takes freight or goods from more than one customer in a truck,

“We kept the trades as opposed to selling them in anticipation that there might be a major industry consolidation event,” he said.

YRC Worldwide Inc., the largest less-than-truckload U.S. hauler, said its third-quarter revenue fell 45 percent compared with a year earlier and this week announced an exchange offer to swap as much as $536.8 million in notes for 95 percent of the stock. The stock fell the most since at least 1980 after the Overland Park, Kansas-based company announced the plan Nov. 2.

“In general right now, there is I would estimate 20 to 25 percent excess capacity in the industry,” Congdon said. If YRC “were go to out of business, it would bring the supply-demand equilibrium back to normal.”

Asked about Congdon’s comments, Suzanne Dawson, an outside spokeswoman for YRC, said, “YRC does not comment on rumors from others.”

Old Dominion rose 3 cents to $24.35 New York time yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The shares have fallen 14 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Greiling Keane in Washington at agreilingkea@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 00:00 EST