b'2American Journal of Transportation ajot.comM&A reshapingTOP 100 TRUCKING COMPANIEStrucking industryBy George Lauriat, AJOTT rucks fors ale many, if not most, 3PL trans-Since the middle of 2020,portoperationsareasset NorthAmericantruckinglight with few wheels on the companieshavebeenbeingground. But semantics aside, bought at an astonishing rate.trucking, taken in the context Call it a sell off, an industryof the wider field of logistics, consolidationorsimplyahas become a prime target for pay day for trucking compa- institutional investment. niessurvivingCOVID-19,Fitch Ratings in a Decem-the end result is the truckingber8threportoutlinedthe landscapeisbeingreshapedcurrent risk and reward con-andreshapedquickly.Howditionsforinvestmentin long will the snatching up ofthesector:Truckingfleets assets continue? At this stage,areexperiencingheight-itisanybodysguess.Sure,eneddemandpressurefrom there are a number of obvi- ongoing global supply chain ouscontributingreasonsforissues,USinlandtranspor-willing sellers and even moretationbacklogsandlabor willingbuyers.Fromabig(RESHAPINGcontinued picture perspective, low inter- on page 4)est rates, pent up capital look-ing for an investment home, a rebounding economy, and a strongdemandfortrucking,The Premier LTL & Truckload areprovidingfertileground fortruckingindustryM&A\x06b7\x02\x03rrb1-om(Mergers & Acquisitions). BridgepointInvestment Banking,afirmthatspe-cializesinM&A,intheir Trucking&LogisticsM&A QuarterlyUpdateforthe third quarter of 2021, wrote: We are bullish on the M&A"\x18\x07v\x02o;u|_;uo-7\x02voom\x02ruob7;v\x02v|u;-lbm;7\x02|u-mvrou|-om\x02market for the Trucking andvou1bm]\x02=ou\x020o|_\x02|u1ho-7\x02-m7\x02\x15$\x15\x027;b;ubm]\x02-\x021olr;;\x02;7];\x02|o\x02ou\x02Logisticsindustryinmid- o;u-\x02ruo1u;l;m|\x02ruo1;vv2021 and heading into 2022. Theimpactoftheantici-pated tax policy changes are real and perceptible. While a few tell us that they believe these changes will not occur, thevastmajorityareplan-ningforthiseventuality.\x03|ol-|;\x02!\x1ev\x02-m7\x02v-;\x02 \x0b|;\x021-uub;uv\x02om\x02lou;\x02Manyfounder-ledandfam- 0;\x02u;vou1;\x02l; |_-m\x02rub1;\x02-om;ily-ownedcompanyowners areseriouslyconsidering whether the time is right for an ownership transition. \x1brlb;\x02o;u|_;uo-7\x02 \x06b7\x02v|u-|;]b1\x021-uub;u\x02D ealM akerso pen TheD oor |u-mvrou|-om\x02vr;m7 r-u|m;uv_brvNodoubttheclimatein DC and the booming demand for trucking services has had aninfluenceontheincreas-inglyrapidpaceoftruck-ing M&As, but this round of trucking industry acquisitions is different from those in the past.Thereisanall-inclu-siveness to this consolidation cycletheacquisitiontar-getsarentsegmentspecific and includes everything from MomandPopoperationstoNOW INCLUDESUber Freights (subsidiary of Uber Technology) $2.5 billion TRUCKLOADacquisitionofTransplace,a 3PL owned by TPG Capital. Its easy to argue that the aforementioneddealisnt reallyatruckingM&A. NeitherUberFreightnor Transplacearereallytruck-ingcompanies[bothcom-panieswereexcludedfrom AJOTs Top 100 North Amer-icanTruckingCompanies], butasTransplacesowntag line notes, they are [email protected] | 770-486-5800 | www.smc3.comintrucking.Andcertainly'