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Dive Brief:
- TFI International has acquired Dahlsten Truck Line, a regional trucking company in Clay Center, Nebraska, which also operates in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, TFI said in a LinkedIn post.
- Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Dahlsten, a family business founded in 1946, leases or owns about 75 trucks and transports more than 27,000 loads annually, according to his website.
- Even in a relatively slow M&A year by the Canada-based trucking giant’s standards, it has acquired a dozen companies. TFI is “well positioned” for a major acquisition in 2024, Chairman, President and CEO Alain Bédard said during a Third quarter earnings call last month.
Dive Insight:
Dahlsten’s separate packaging and bulk operations use dry truck, scoop and pneumatic trailers, with power units maintained “to the highest industry standards”, according to his website. Its tractors are equipped with satellite, with dashboard cameras and electric logs for the safety of the driver.
The carrier, which specializes in dry bulk and package services, joins TFI’s Specialized Truckload business unit along with Vedder Transportation Group, a British Columbia-based tanker TFI acquired in September.
The TL acquisitions underscore the company’s focus on the performance of this segment, which Bédard described to investors as “very disappointing” in a challenging freight environment this year.
TFI had invested about $100 million in M&A this year as of its third-quarter earnings call and raised a $500 million fixed-rate private placement “to get a little more dry powder” for acquisitions in 2024, Bédard said.
The company sparked rumors earlier this year that it might acquire ArcBest Corp., the parent of 100-year-old LTL ABF Freight, by revealing it had bought shares of the rival’s stock.
That deal, put on hold by union negotiations at both carriers, will consolidate the two remaining unionized LTL giants after Yellow Corp.’s bankruptcy. this summer.
“The chance of doing something big in ’24?” Bédard said on the phone call. “I would put it at 65%, 75%.”