Analysis: Behind the Wave of Trucking Mergers and Acquisitions

Lana Batts moderates a fleet panel discussion at a past Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting. Photo: TCA

It's been a long time since we've seen the number and size of trucking mergers and acquisitions like we have lately. There's the merger of Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation, plus numerous acquisitions in the flatbed market by Daseke. Before that, XPO Logistics purchased Con-way, later selling off its truckload component to a Canadian company while keeping the less-than-truckload.

To get some perspective, I contacted Lana Batts. She's currently partner emeritus of Transport Capital Partners, a consulting firm specializing in transportation mergers and acquisitions. However, she is known for much more than that. Her 40-plus years in trucking includes being president of the Truckload Carriers Association and senior vice president of government affairs for the American Trucking Associations.

Here are the highlights from our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. Lana, what is driving all of this mergers and acquisitions activity?

Lana: When you look at the Knight-Swift merger… it's the maturing of the truckload industry…and faith in the future. Nobody really has any market share to talk about compared to what you see in other segments of trucking. And the reality of it is, contrary to what we always thought prior to deregulation in 1980, there are in fact economies of scale in truckload. It's all the back office stuff, and a lot of that is driven by regulation. With the regulations the industry is facing, you've got to spread that out over enough trucks.

Q. What about the many acquisitions by Daseke, which is reportedly now the largest flatbed operation in the country?

Lana: There wasn't a dominant player in the flatbed sector. And what Don Daseke did as an outsider with outside money, is nobody in the trucking industry could finance ...Read the rest of this story

Rand McNally publishes annual atlas for commercial drivers

Rand McNally released a new edition of its Motor Carriers' Road Atlas for over-the-road commercial drivers. The new edition features truck-navigable roads, trucking regulations, and low-clearances. It is available in several formats at travel centers, bookstores, and online.

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FMCSA Proposes Split Sleeper Berth Pilot Program

Photo: FMCSA

Hoping to develop “statistically reliable evidence” on whether split-sleeper-berth time affects driver safety performance and fatigue, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing a pilot program that would give a limited number of CDL holders-- who regularly use a sleeper berth to accumulate their required 10 hours of non-duty work status-- temporary relief from the existing sleeper-berth regulation of the Hours of Service rule.

During the pilot program, participating truckers would have the option to split their sleeper berth time within parameters specified by FMCSA. The agency said that driver metrics would be collected for the duration of the study and that participants' safety performance and fatigue levels would be analyzed. Official notice of the proposal is slated to be published on June 6.

FMCSA pointed out that currently any interstate driver who operates a property-carrying vehicle equipped with a sleeper berth and who uses the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus a separate 2 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two, before returning to on-duty status.

By contrast, the pilot program would give participating drivers a temporary exemption from this requirement for consolidated sleeper berth time. The agency said that for study purposes, drivers would be allowed to split their sleep into no more than two sleeper berth segments.

“Current regulations allow drivers to use one 10 hour period, or splits of 9 and 1 hours or 8 and 2 hours,” said FMCSA. “Drivers operating under the exemption for this study would be allowed to use any combination of split sleeper periods, totaling 10 hours, with neither period being less than 3 hours , allowing for the driver to use splits of 3 and 7 hours, 4 and 6 hours, or two 5-hour periods. ...Read the rest of this story

KeepTruckin to host webinar on ELD mandate

KeepTruckin announced it is hosting a free webinar on the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate on June 7, 2017 at 10 a.m. (PST).

The webinar, titled “Electronic Logging Device Mandate: What You Should Know,” will be presented by Joe Rajkovacz, who is the director of governmental affairs and communications for the Western States Trucking Association.

The webinar will include discussion on the following topics:

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Rand McNally Publishes 37th Edition of Motor Carrier’s Road Atlas

Rand McNally has released a new edition of its Motor Carriers' Road Atlas for over-the-road commercial drivers, featuring truck-navigable roads, trucking regulations, and low clearances.

The new edition is available in several different formats at travel centers, bookstores, and online.

“Rand McNally has been at the forefront of innovation in the trucking market with an advanced suite of navigational devices and other in-cab technology,” said Stephen Fletcher, CEO of Rand McNally. “Even as many professional drivers adopt technology to help them do their jobs – such as with electronic logging – most continue to rely on the Motor Carrier's Road Atlas as a quick reference and reliable back-up for navigation.”

The new 2018 edition includes thousands of updates to the maps as well as to guidelines and regulations pertinent to professional drivers. Features include:

The atlas is available in paperback as well as in a spiral-bound, laminated Deluxe version. There also is an updated Large Scale edition with maps that are 37% larger. The Large Scale Motor Carriers' Road Atlas features the U.S. only, is printed on laminated pages, and has a tough spiral binding for stay-flat pages.

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Northeast Great Dane names new president

Northeast Great Dane (NEGD), a full-service Great Dane dealer, announced that long-time partner John Gendelman has been named president of the company. Tom Leuner, former president of NEGD, will assume the role of CEO.

“John has been an integral part of NEGD's success for 40 years,” said Leuner. “He is not only a business partner but a dear friend and I look forward to seeing him continue to help the company prosper in his new role as president.”

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In-house maintenance: Make sure you look at all the factors

A recent study came out that reported fleets are seeing productivity improvements by bringing maintenance in-house. That likely is true for large fleets that already have shop locations and technicians in areas where large quantities of their trucks are domiciled.

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