Merger and Acquisition activity in the transportation and logistics industry, especially among trucking companies, increased during the third quarter this year, according to global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
“The environment for trucking is improving which makes some of these deals more attractive,” Jonathan Kletzel, PwC’s transportation & logistics leader, told Fleet Owner. “In many cases a rationale for M&A can be made based upon higher growth and profit potential.”
He said PwC foresees “a variety of motivations” driving more trucking deal making. “In some cases these deals have primarily achieved the broadening of service portfolios into new logistics offerings.”
Overall, trucking and logistics-focused deals continued to increase, with the two modes combined representing more than 40% of M&A activity in the third quarter this year.
“In particular, the North American trucking M&A market is robust with companies looking to improve geographic reach, expand TL businesses, enhance logistics offerings and add new capacity as freight demand improves,” Kletzel said.
