William B. Cassidy | Jun 03, 2011 6:15PM EDT
German logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL purchased Standard Forwarding, a five-state less-than-truckload motor carrier in East Moline, Ill.
The acquisition gives the world’s largest logistics operator its first asset-based trucking business in the U.S. and a longer reach into the Midwest. Deutsche Post DHL’s freight division had some $5.5 billion in revenue last year from its trucking and rail operations in 53 European and Asian countries.
And it may not be Deutsche Post's last U.S. trucking acquisition. The company wants to expand its footprint in U.S. heavy-freight markets, a spokeswoman said. “We didn’t really have a (freight) presence here,” said Jennifer Pakradooni, a spokesperson for Deutsche Post DHL in Miami.
“Freight is an area where we’re continually looking to invest and strengthen our network,” Pakradooni told The Journal of Commerce. However, Deutsche Post has no other U.S. trucking acquisition plans at this time, she said.
Standard Forwarding ranked 48th on The Journal of Commerce’s list of top 50 LTL trucking companies last year, with $58 million in revenue in 2009. The company, founded in 1934, has approximately 300 tractors and 16 terminals, serving customers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.
President John Ward and other executives purchased the trucker in March 2010, after the company reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Standard Forwarding will operate outside the DHL Americas corporate structure, reporting straight to Thomas George, CEO of DHL Freight, in Germany. Ward, his management team and employees will stay with the firm, and Standard Forwarding won’t be rebranded under the DHL name, Pakradooni said.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com and follow him on Twitter @wbcassidy_joc.
