Dive Brief:
- Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings’ LTL ambitions progressed further in 2024 through a strategy that’s based on organic growth and M&A running concurrently, company executives said on an earnings call last month.
- The company added 11 new locations in Q2, per an earnings report in July; less than a week later, the carrier announced the acquisition of Los Angeles-based Dependable Highway Express, which has 14 locations.
- “Overall, the 38 locations planned to open in 2024 will add over 1,000 doors to our network, representing a 22% increase to our door count from the beginning of the year,” CEO Adam Miller said on the July 24 earnings call.
Dive Insight:
The country’s largest truckload carrier launched into the LTL industry in 2021, growing noticeably in the Southeast and Northwest through M&A.
During the earnings call, Treasurer and SVP of Investor Relations Brad Steward said it will take both organic and M&A transactions to hit the company’s growth targets.
Last year, Yellow Corp.’s bankruptcy helped in that regard as LTL companies gobbled up property through auctioned properties and leases.
Those Yellow markets involve 13 properties and 12 leases for Knight-Swift. Miller said the additions are improving spot activity and will help with volume next bid season.
“We're going to continue down the organic front, and when we find the right partner and has the right leadership and it's going to be the right fit in the organization, we'll be very quick to pull the trigger on that,” Miller said, “because we believe building out a nationwide LTL has a lot of benefits, not just from increased profitability and service for our customers, but also I think there's a lot of synergies that can align with our truckload business as well.”
