M&A in Transportation Continues

It seems to have started with TFI’s acquisition of UPS Freight, or Penske’s deal with Black Horse, and now Uber announced today that they’ve agreed to purchase Transplace for $2.25B.  This on the heels of Knight Swift’s deal with AAA Cooper and Werner’s acquisition of a couple smaller regional truckload carriers.

The covid era brought supply/demand issues causing rates to rise. Many carriers, including Landstar just today, have announced record revenues and profits.  With profitability, these carriers and brokers appear to be an attractive target for M&A activity.

With 30+ years in the business and having survived many of the ups and downs, this really is a time to “make hay when the sunshines” but tread lightly.  With profit, government will be looking to tax motor carriers (especially with more punishing greenhouse gas related punishments).  When the supply chain adjusts, whether the supply/demand issues are a new normal or the demand decreases and rates come back down), the higher costs of running a trucking business will remain.