b'4American Journal of Transportation ajot.com(RESHAPINGcontinued from page 2)issues. However, trucking fleet operators financialTop 100 North American Trucking Companieshealth remains resilient, leading to low default ratesCarrier Home Office Public/Private Service Notesand stable transportation-backed ABS [Asset-Based Securities] performance.Fitch added that the lim- 1. UPS Inc. Atlanta, GA NYSE-UPS Integratorited supply of Class 8 heavy duty trucks and trail- 2. FedEx Corp. Memphis, TN NYSE-FDX Integratorers (chassis) cause increased asset values, driving up recovery rates within ABS transactions.3. XPO Logistics Greenwich, CT NYSE-XPO 3PLUberFreightspurchaseof Transplacewasnt4. J.B. Hunt Transport Lowell, AR NASDAQ-JBHT Intermodaltheonlyblockbusteracquisitionduring2021.In January, Montreal-based (10 on the list)TFI Inter- 5. Knight-Swift Transport Phoenix, AZ NYSE-KNX TL/LTLnational Inc, in something of an unexpected move,6. YRC Worldwide Overland Park, KS NASDAQ-YRCW TL/LTLannounced that it had signed a deal to acquire UPS7. Schneider Greenbay, WI NYSE-SNDR TL/LTLFreight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) and dedicated truckload(TL)divisionsof(UPS)UnitedParcel8. Landstar System Jacksonville, FL NASDAQ-LSTR TL/LTLService,Inc,forUS$800million. Approximately9. Old Dominion Freight Line Thomasville, NC NASDAQ-ODFL TL/LTL90% of the acquired business will operate indepen-dently within TFI Internationals LTL business seg- 10. TFI International Montreal, QC TSX-TFI TL/LTLment under its new name, TForce Freight, while11. Ryder Supply Chain Solutions Miami, FL NYSE-R 3PLacquired dedicated TL assets will join TFIs TL busi-ness segment. The move instanteously gave TFI an12. Hub Group Oakbrook, IL NASDAQ-HUBG Intermodalenormous strategic footprint that links Mexico, the13. Estes Express Lines Richmond, VA Private TL/LTLU.S. and Canada. In November, TFL followed up14. ArcBest [ABF Freight Systems] Fort Smith, AR NASDAQ-ARCB 3PL: TL/LTL/Epeditedthe massive UPS deal with an acquisition of D&D Sexton, a Carthage, Missouri based carrier special- 15. Werner Enterprises Omaha, NE NASDAQ-WERN 3PLizing in refrigerated transportation. 16. Penske Logistics [Penske Truck Leasing] Reading, PA NYSE-PAG 3PLs TraTegica cquisiTionsp ave TheW ay Tog roWTh 17. Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. Downers Grove, IL NYSE-RRTS TL/LTLAlthough the overall financial climate is an impor-tant aspect of the current M&A run, the motivation18. USA Truck Van Buren, AR NASDAQ-USAK TL/Intermodal/DRAYbehind each individual transaction varies considerably.19. NFI Camden, NJ Private TLFor example, in early January, (25) RoadOne20. U.S. Xpress Enterprises Chattanooga, TN NYSE-USX TL/ExpeditedIntermodaLogistics,basedinRandolph,Massa-chusetts, acquired DDI Transportation, followed in21. R+L Carriers Wilmington, OH Private LTL/ExpeditedFebruary by the purchase of JZ Expedited and in22. CRST International Cedar Rapids, IA Private TL/ExpeditedSeptember with the acquisition of Rose Logistics. The additionsa better description of the companies23. Saia Johns Creek, GA NASDAQ-SAIA TL/LTL/Expedited working under the RoadOne umbrella of brands, as24. C.R. England Inc. Salt Lake City, UT Private TL/Intermodalthe new name Rose IntermodaLogistics impliesare part of an overarching strategy of RoadOne of25. RoadOne Intermodal Logistics Randolph, MA Private TL/LTL/DRAYstrategic expansion via acquisition.26. Universal Logistics Holdings Warren, MI NASDAQ-ULH 3PLIn RoadOnes case, back in January of 2019, Non- 27. Forward Air Corp. Greenville, TN NASDAQ-FWRD TL/LTL/Expedited antum Capital Partners announced it was partnering with founders Ken Kellaway and David McLaughlin to28. Southeastern Freight Lines Lexington, SC Private TL/LTLrecapitalize RoadOne IntermodalLogistics, the leading29. Averitt Express Cookeville, TN Private TL/LTLasset-light, independent intermodal drayage provider in North America. As the recent acquisitions attest, the30. Evans Delivery Co. Schuylkill Haven, PA Private TL/LTLtiming was good for RoadOne to recapitalize to take31. Crete Carrier Corp. Lincoln, NB Private TLadvantage of truckings bull market run. Although the primary reason for RoadOnes acquisitions is to expand32. Purolator Mississauga, ON Private Integratorthe companys service portfolio, a secondary issue driv-ing asset-heavy trucking acquisitions is the driver short- 33. Lynden Inc. Anchorage, AK Private TL/LTLage. As Kellaway commented at the time of the Rose34. Celadon Group Inc. Indianapolis, IN OTC-CGIP TL/LTL/DRAYLogistics deal: In drayage, the market is experiencing significant driver shortage issues due to the major chal- 35. KLLM Transport Services Jackson, MS Private TL/LTLlenges at ports and ramps nationwide. 36. Ruan Des Moines, IA Private TLThe M&A strategy for many trucking companies is not only to acquire rolling stock assets but to build37. Roehl Transport Marshfield, WI Private TLtheirlogisticsservices.InSeptember,thetrucking38. Alliance Shippers Englewood Cliffs, NJ Private 3PL(14) ArcBest (the holding company for the better-known ABF Freight) acquired Chicago-based truck- 39. Covenant Transport Services Chattanooga, TN NASDAQ-CVTI TL/Expeditedload broker MoLo Solutions. The key reason for the40. Pitt Ohio Transportation Group Pittsburgh, PA Private TL/LTL/Expedited acquisition was to expand asset light operationsto keep the asset light side of company business in bal- 41. Central Transport International [CenTra] Warren, MI N/A LTLance with the asset heavy trucking interest.42. Day & Ross Transportation Group Hartland, NB N/A TL/LTLOtherM&Asinvolvebolsteringanumberof divisions simultaneously with one strategic acquisi- 43. Cardinal LogisticsConcord, NC Private TL/LTLtion. Take the recent example of (11) Ryder Solu- 44. Marten Transport Ltd. Mondovi, WI NASDAQ-MRTN TL/Intermodal/DRAYtions acquisition of Whiplash. Ryder, announced on December 13th the company had signed an agree- 45. Stevens Transport Dallas, TX Private TLment to buy Whiplash, a provider of omnichannel46. Western Express Nashville, TN Private TL/Intermodal/DRAYfulfillment and logistics services, for approximately $480million.Whiplash,basedinCityofIndus- 47. Mullen Group Okotoks, AB, CA TSX-MTL TL/LTLtry,California,offersscalablee-commerceand48. Dayton Freight Lines Dayton, OH Private TL/LTLomnichannelfulfillmentsolutionstoclients.The companyalsohas19dedicatedandmulti-client49. Heartland Express Inc. North Liberty, IA NASDAQ-HTLD TLwarehousestotalingnearlysevenmillionsquare50. Performance Team Los Angeles, CA N/A 3PLfeet and providing access to key port operations and gateway markets. For Ryder the acquisition boosts51. OnTrac Inc. Chandler, AZ Private Parcel Deliverytheir e-commerce capabilities while also adding a52. Bison Transport Winnipeg, MB Private TL/LTLlarge client listWhiplash handles some 250 brandsand a sizeable warehouse footprint located near53. Cowan Systems Baltimore, MD Private TLmajor ports and gateways markets.54. USA Truck Van Buren, AR NASDAQ-USAK TL/Intermodal/DRAYB igfooT : W iDening Thec orporaTef ooTprinT 55. PAM Transport Tontitown, AR NASDAQ-PTSI TL/Intermodal/DRAYAlthough many of the acquisitions of 2020/2021 wereaimedatexpandingtheassetlightservice56. Canada Cartage [Nautic Partners] Mississauga, ON N/A TL/Intermodal/DRAYside of the business some were clearly aimed at57. Dart Transit Company Egan, MN Private TLbuildingupsectorcoveragesandexpandingthe58. Consolidated Fastrate [Fastrate] Woodbridge, ON PrivateDray/LTL/TLcorporate footprint. (RESHAPINGcontinued on page 5) (TRUCKINGcontinued on page 5)'