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June 26, 2019 - Contributions to Transport Topics feature article “Trucking’s Next Leaders”

Jim Parham and Lana Batts contributed to the feature article on leadership challenges in the industry.

Lana Batts in part said “There are a lot of executives who are ready to retire… That’s one reason that we’re seeing more merger and acquisition activity.”

Jim Parham noted “Kids go to school and come back and say it’s not for me.” And  “while many companies have abandoned training programs…there are a few carriers, such as Schneider and J.B. Hunt Transport Services, that have a long history of developing managers…”

Read the full article here www.ttnews.com/articles/fleets-transitioning-new-management-industry-prepares-road-ahead 

April 30, 2019 - Jim Parham Participates as Panel Member at Trucking Profitability Strategies Conference

Jim Parham, Managing Partner, was pleased to participate as a panel member discussing Growth Strategies at the University of Georgia 34th ANNUAL TRUCKING PROFITABILITY STRATEGIES CONFERENCE.

October 15, 2018 - Acquisitions Help Fleets Grow

October 2018 TCP partners quoted extensively in Bulldog Magazine article Acquisitions Help Fleets Grow.

Read the full PDF article here.

November 14, 2017 - Reuters article quotes Managing Partner Jim Parham on the rapid pace of M&A activity in trucking

Jim Parham, Managing Partner, was quoted in ‘Reuters’ November 6, 2017 article “U.S. truck firms accelerate into the merging lane”

“It’s (the pace of acquisitions) been as busy as we’ve seen it since we started the business 13 years ago,” said Jim Parham, managing partner Florida-based M&A advisory firm Transport Capital Partners.

“We expect this pace to continue, if not accelerate, in the coming months,” Parham said.

Parham hopes to close four deals between firms with revenue of between $10 million to $250 million in the coming weeks but declined to provide specifics.

In February, Parham helped less-than-truckload carrier Central Freight Lines buy Wilson Trucking Corp out of Waco, Texas, another LTL carrier, to expand into the U.S. Southeast. LTL carriers consolidate smaller freight loads onto a single truck.

Read the full article here.

July 5, 2017 - Analysis: Behind the Wave of Trucking Mergers and Acquisitions

From the June issue of Heavy Duty Trucking

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.

Read the full article at HDT here.

View a PDF of the article.

April 3, 2017 - Transport Topics Quotes TCP Regarding Schneider Going Public Stock Sale

Steven Dutro, Managing Partner, was quoted in Transport Topics’  April 3, 2017 article “Schneider Initial Stock Sale May Spur growth in Truckload, Intermodal, Analysts Predict”

Schneider’s forthcoming initial public offering may close a chapter on the company’s long- standing family ownership, but it will expand the motor carrier’s ability to broaden its horizons, industry analysts said.

At least one industry analyst believes that Schneider’s IPO will strengthen interest in trucking among investors and could spur other companies to follow its lead.

“Schneider is a well-known and well-respected company,” said Steven Dutro of Transport Capital Partners in Windsor, Colorado. “I believe Wall Street and other financial investors will be paying attention.”

Read the full article here (Transport Topics Subscribers only).

October 15, 2016 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Quotes TCP regarding “Family May Be Driving Schneider IPO”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quotes TCP regarding “Family May Be Driving Schneider IPO”

Schneider has long been a leader in truckload, the sector of trucking in which carriers haul trailers containing a single shipment of freight between companies, said Steven Dutro, managing partner of Transport Capital Partners, a mergers and acquisitions adviser.

“Extremely well respected across the industry, so they’re well positioned both because of their size and their capabilities and their history,” he said.

And new rules such as those requiring truckers to replace paper log books with electronic recorders — something Schneider has already done — stand to benefit larger firms like the Green Bay carrier, Dutro said.

Read the full article here. 

 

February 1, 2016 - 2016 Will Be A Year of Stability for Trucking

Trucking Continues to Move Forward with Cautious Optimism

The fourth-quarter Transport Capital Partners (TCP) survey finds carriers remaining positive, despite tempered expectations, and looking toward stable growth in 2016.

Undeterred by continuing volatility around the world, the United States economy will likely continue its steady upward climb in 2016. And, as is often the case, the trucking industry presents us with an accurate mirror to movements in the economy at large.

Economic events in the 4th quarter of 2015 left expectations at their lowest levels in over 5 years. However, motor carrier executives remain optimistic that 2016 will bring solid growth for their companies.

“Expectations are lower than in recent years but are still positive for 2016. The indication is for a stable business environment and little fear of a recession,” summarizes Steven Dutro, TCP Partner.

Many, Not Most, Still Positive About Rates

At the beginning of 2015, 79% of the participants in our survey were looking forward to rate increases over the year ahead. Turning the page into 2016, that number had dwindled to 41% – the lowest percentage we have recorded since 2009.

Despite this dampened optimism, positive expectations remain strong. Forty-one percent of those surveyed still expect their freight revenue rates to rise this year.

“In this survey, and in carrier discussions with TCP, we are seeing more variation in the opinions of individual carriers than in prior years. Any further tightening, caused by a small increase in demand or driver shortages, will have a proportionally greater upward impact on spot and contract rates,” notes Richard Mikes, TCP Partner.

Carriers Most Positive About Capacity

Perhaps most telling of industry expectations for 2016 is that a strong majority – 61% of carriers – expect to expand their fleets this year.

“Growth expectations are not quite as robust as they were in 2014 and 2015. But, this number is still relatively consistent with the expectations – and the modest growth – of the past few years.” -Steven Dutro, TCP Partner

Read the full survey results here.

Contact:

Richard Mikes
Office: (239) 395-2595
[email protected]

Steven Dutro
Office: (970) 204-1492
[email protected]

The Business Expectations Survey by TCP, now in its seventh year, has given forward-looking guidance from industry leaders through both sides of the economic cycle. Mikes and Dutro both have senior-level experience advising carriers on strategic and operational issues as well as in mergers and acquisitions in the trucking industry.

About ACT Research Co., LLC

ACT Research, a contributor to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators, has been the recognized leading publisher of commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis, and forecasting services for the North American market since 1986. Their commitment to data quality & integrity; in-depth analysis; and timeliness have made their services the industry standard.

For more information, visit www.actresearch.net.

October 30, 2014 - The Perfect Buyer

“With all the news about company bankruptcies, increased government regulations, higher equipment costs and economic uncertainty, some motor-carrier owners are looking for options.

They are asking themselves: “Should I buy another company to get larger and spread the overhead of more regulations?” or “Should I sell? And if so, to whom?”

If selling is the preferred option, owners then find themselves looking for the “perfect buyer.”

The “perfect buyer” usually: (1) is willing to acquire either 100% of the business or a minority interest; (2) does not get involved in the day-to-day operations of the business; (3) pays fair market value; (4) offers flexible terms; (5) offers the seller the option of paying no capital gains tax on the sale; and/or (6) provides some upside participation in the future performance of the business….”

Excerpt from “Opinion: Looking for the Perfect Buyer?” by Ronald J. Gilbert, President of ESOP Services Inc. and Jim Parham, Managing Partner of Transport Capital Partners, published on the Transport Topics online newspaper. 

Read the full article here.

August 11, 2014 - Transport Topics quotes TCP regarding “Experts See More to Come”

Transport Topics article on August 4, 2014, Transport Acquisitions Rise, quotes TCP extensively.  We see several factors building interest in mergers and acquisitions but with some caution if the economy slows.

Read the full article here.*

*Highlights denote Transport Capital Partners quotes