Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Caterpillar sells most of logistics unit

Majority stake in Cat Logistics subsidiary to be bought by private mergers and acquisitions firm.

Mark Solomon
By Mark SolomonMay 09, 2012
Mark Solomon
Mark Solomon joined DC VELOCITY as senior editor in August 2008, and was promoted to his current position on January 1, 2015. He has spent more than 30 years in the transportation, logistics and supply chain management fields as a journalist and public relations professional. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in Washington as a reporter for the Journal of Commerce, covering the aviation and trucking industries, the Department of Transportation, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he worked for Traffic World for seven years in a similar role. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Solomon ran Media-Based Solutions, a public relations firm based in Atlanta. He graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in journalism from The American University in Washington, D.C.
See Full Bio

Caterpillar Inc. said today it will sell its majority position in the third-party logistics (3PL) operations of its logistics subsidiary, Cat Logistics, to Platinum Equity, a Los Angeles-based mergers, acquisitions, and operations firm, for $750 million.

The transaction, expected to close in the third quarter, effectively ends one of the most extensive forays of any shipper into the world of 3PL for-hire services. Over 25 years, Peoria, Ill.-based Cat Logistics provided 3PL support to more than 50 customers worldwide besides supporting the supply chain needs of its parent company, the construction and farm machinery colossus Caterpillar Inc., also based in Peoria.

Under the agreement, Cat Logistics will retain 35 percent of the 3PL firm and will continue to provide logistics support within the Caterpillar network. That business is expanding as demand for Caterpillar's products and services continues to grow across the globe, Cat Logistics said.

In addition, the 3PL operation will continue to provide services for several non-Cat-branded parts as well as for Caterpillar Japan.

The sale "enables Caterpillar to increase its focus on our core business that aligns with our strategic business model," said Stu Levenick, Caterpillar's group president, customer and dealer support, in a statement.

"We have a lot of experience owning and operating businesses that provide complex supply chain solutions," said Jacob Kotzubei, a partner at Platinum Equity, in the same statement.

Platinum has acquired four companies that fit in its transportation and logistics portfolio. Perhaps the most well known is American Commercial Lines, a Jeffersonville, Ind.-based dry and liquid barge transporter that Platinum acquired in 2010.

Caterpillar had said more than a year ago that it would consider selling its logistics operations so it could focus on its fast-growing and enormous core business.

Article
caterpillar logistics servicecaterpillaramerican commericial lines
Article
caterpillar logistics servicecaterpillaramerican commericial lines

The Latest

containers stacked in yard
Regulation/Government

U.S. manufacturers scramble to avoid pain of tariff war

More Stories

chart of women's portion of transport and storage jobs

Women hold only 12% of transportation and storage jobs worldwide

Women are significantly underrepresented in the global transport sector workforce, comprising only 12% of transportation and storage workers worldwide as they face hurdles such as unfavorable workplace policies and significant gender gaps in operational, technical and leadership roles, a study from the World Bank Group shows.

This underrepresentation limits diverse perspectives in service design and decision-making, negatively affects businesses and undermines economic growth, according to the report, “Addressing Barriers to Women’s Participation in Transport.” The paper—which covers global trends and provides in-depth analysis of the women’s role in the transport sector in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—was prepared jointly by the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

diagram of lithium-ion battery in EV
Batteries/Chargers/Motors/Fuel

Lithium refinery to build $1.2 billion factory in Oklahoma

cargo handling cranes at a port
Cranes

Port of Savannah got four more ship-to-shore cranes on Saturday

warehouse workers handling boxes
Supply Chain Optimization Software

Aptean picks up fellow supply chain software vendor Logility

a port yard with artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence

​Putting artificial intelligence to work

How clever is that chatbot?

Oh, you work in logistics, too? Then you’ve probably met my friends Truedi, Lumi, and Roger.

No, you haven’t swapped business cards with those guys or eaten appetizers together at a trade-show social hour. But the chances are good that you’ve had conversations with them. That’s because they’re the online chatbots “employed” by three companies operating in the supply chain arena—TrueCommerce, Blue Yonder, and Truckstop. And there’s more where they came from. A number of other logistics-focused companies—like ChargePoint, Packsize, FedEx, and Inspectorio—have also jumped in the game.

Keep ReadingShow less
White House in washington DC

Experts: U.S. companies need strategies to pay costs of Trump tariffs

With the hourglass dwindling before steep tariffs threatened by the new Trump Administration will impose new taxes on U.S. companies importing goods from abroad, organizations need to deploy strategies to handle those spiraling costs.

American companies with far-flung supply chains have been hanging for weeks in a “wait-and-see” situation to learn if they will have to pay increased fees to U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement agents for every container they import from certain nations. After paying those levies, companies face the stark choice of either cutting their own profit margins or passing the increased cost on to U.S. consumers in the form of higher prices.

Keep ReadingShow less
phone screen of online grocery order

Houchens Food Group taps eGrowcery for e-com grocery tech

Grocery shoppers at select IGA, Price Less, and Food Giant stores will soon be able to use an upgraded in-store digital commerce experience, since store chain operator Houchens Food Group said it would deploy technology from eGrowcery, provider of a retail food industry white-label digital commerce platform.

Kentucky-based Houchens Food Group, which owns and operates more than 400 grocery, convenience, hardware/DIY, and foodservice locations in 15 states, said the move would empower retailers to rethink how and when to engage their shoppers best.

Keep ReadingShow less
solar panels in a field

J.B. Hunt launches solar farm to power its three HQ buildings

Supply chain solution provider J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. has launched a large-scale solar facility that will generate enough electricity to offset up to 80% of the power used by its three main corporate campus buildings in Lowell, Arkansas.

The 40-acre solar facility in Gentry, Arkansas, includes nearly 18,000 solar panels and 10,000-plus bi-facial solar modules to capture sunlight, which is then converted to electricity and transmitted to a nearby electric grid for Carroll County Electric. The facility will produce approximately 9.3M kWh annually and utilize net metering, which helps transfer surplus power onto the power grid.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2025.