Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Greatwide Logistics, Cardinal Logistics to merge; deal creates big player in dedicated trucking

Combination will spawn $1 billion-a-year entity.

Greatwide Logistics Services LLC and Cardinal Logistics Management Corp. yesterday announced a merger that creates a $1 billion-a-year logistics entity with aspirations of becoming a major player in the dedicated contract carriage segment of U.S. trucking.

Under the transaction, Dallas-based Greatwide's dedicated trucking operations, which make up the largest share of its business, will be merged into Concord, N.C.-based Cardinal. Three other Greatwide units will operate on a standalone basis.


The merger combines Greatwide's capabilities in supporting longer-haul, large-fleet requirements with Cardinal's niche in "last-mile delivery," which in the logistics field is defined as either from distribution center to the retail store, from the store to the customer or, in some cases, direct-to-customer.

Under the new management structure, John Tague, who joined Greatwide as CEO in 2011 after serving as president of United Airlines, will be chairman and CEO. Vin McLoughlin, who co-founded Cardinal in 1997 as a trucking company, will be vice chairman. Centerbridge Partners LP, a New York-based private equity firm, will be the majority owner of the combined enterprise. Centerbridge along with investment firm D.E. Shaw Group acquired Greatwide in February 2009; it also has an investment in Cardinal.

The merger combines firms with strong positions in the dedicated category, where a trucker dedicates equipment and drivers to serving an individual shipper and allows the customer to lock in rates and capacity with the carrier for a multi-year period. The standard dedicated contract runs three to five years and usually requires the customer to compensate the provider for an agreed-upon number of miles driven on a round-trip basis.

Companies with enough freight to justify round-trips&mashoften from distribution centers to stores and back&mashmay find dedicated a better value proposition than paying for one-way truckload service. A dedicated option is considered more viable in cycles of tightening rig and driver capacity because shippers want the assurance of capacity at predictable rates.

The companies have been discussing the possibility of a deal for some time, according to a source familiar with the talks. A key objective of the transaction is to reduce the amount of dedicated capacity currently on the roads, the source said.

According to the statement from Cardinal announcing the deal, Greatwide is the largest for-hire provider of dedicated refrigerated transportation in the United States. The statement did not mention if money changed hands, where the new company would be located, or what the company's name would be.

In October 2008, Greatwide filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in March 2009, and the following year launched a major rebranding to broaden its customer base beyond the nation's largest shippers and simplify its operating structure.

Cardinal exited the common carriage business in 2001 when it sold its van operations to Phoenix-based Swift Transportation Co.

The Latest

More Stories

drone flying through warehouse

Robotic revolution

Robots are revolutionizing factories, warehouses, and distribution centers (DCs) around the world, thanks largely to heavy investments in the technology between 2019 and 2021. And although investment has slowed since then, the long-term outlook calls for steady growth over the next four years. According to data from research and consulting firm Interact Analysis, revenues from shipments of industrial robots are forecast to grow nearly 4% per year, on average, between 2024 and 2028 (see Exhibit 1).

market forecast for industrial robots - revenues graphEXHIBIT 1: Market forecast for industrial robots - revenuesInteract Analysis

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Freight Science dashboard screen
Freight Science

High-tech solution helps truckload carrier drive change

The trucking industry faces a range of challenges these days, particularly when it comes to load planning—a resource-intensive task that often results in suboptimal decisions, unnecessary empty miles, late deliveries, and inefficient asset utilization. What’s more, delays in decision-making due to a lack of real-time insights can hinder operational efficiency, making cost management a constant struggle.

Truckload carrier Paper Transport Inc. (PTI) experienced this firsthand when the company sought to expand its over the-road (OTR), intermodal, and brokerage offerings to include dedicated fleet services for high-volume shippers—adding a layer of complexity to the business. The additional personnel required for such a move would be extremely costly, leading PTI to investigate technology solutions that could help close the gap.

Keep ReadingShow less
indigo software screenshot WMS

Aptean adds British WMS vendor in latest acquisition

The Georgia-based enterprise software vendor Aptean today said it had acquired Indigo Software Ltd., a British provider of purpose-built warehouse management and logistics software solutions.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Aptean said the move will add new capabilities to its warehouse management and supply chain management offerings for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and 3PLs. Aptean currently provides enterprise resource planning (ERP), transportation management systems (TMS), and product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms.

Keep ReadingShow less
DHL graphic on online shopping marketplaces

DHL report shows seven factors about American online shoppers

Online merchants should consider seven key factors about American consumers in order to optimize their sales and operations this holiday season, according to a report from DHL eCommerce.

First, many of the most powerful sales platforms are marketplaces. With nearly universal appeal, 99% of U.S. shoppers buy from marketplaces, ranked in popularity from Amazon (92%) to Walmart (68%), eBay (47%), Temu (32%), Etsy (28%), and Shein (21%).

Keep ReadingShow less
schneider app screenshot for owner operators

Schneider seeks more business with owner-operators

Transportation and logistics service provider Schneider National Inc. is reaching out to owner-operators, encouraging them to do more business with the Wisconsin company using an updated digital platform.

Schneider says its FreightPower platform now offers owner-operators significantly more access to Schneider’s range of freight options. That can help drivers to generate revenue and strengthen their business through: increased access to freight, high drop and hook rates of over 95% of loads, and a trip planning feature that calculates road miles.

Keep ReadingShow less