old dominion freight line inc on thursday announced a general rate increase of 49 effective jan 3 the general rate increase is based on the companys economic forecast and expectations for the operating environment said todd polen vice president for pricing services at the thomasville ncbased company we must continue enhancing our highquality service network and systems to meet and exceed our customers expectations and deliver on our promises the general rate increase will impact class tariffs and aims to partially offset the impact of rising real estate costs said polen old dominion freight line