Dive Brief:
- AAA Cooper Transportation reopened four former Yellow Corp. terminals its parent company, Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings, acquired from the bankrupt LTL carrier last year, according to an announcement on LinkedIn last week.
- The facilities in Jackson, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio; Athens, Georgia; and Everett, Washington, were among more than a dozen properties and another 10 leases Knight-Swift purchased from Yellow at its bankruptcy auction.
- “We look forward to providing transportation needs with superior service and a great customer experience in these markets,” AAA Cooper said in the LinkedIn post.
Dive Insight:
Knight-Swift, the largest U.S. truckload carrier, entered the LTL sector with its $1.35 billion acquisition of Alabama-based AAA Cooper in 2021.
The trucking giant’s real estate acquisitions from Yellow are intended to support its strategy to provide national in-house LTL service by 2026.
Knight-Swift paid $51.3 million for 13 properties and another $2.2 million for 10 leases sites in the auction.
It’s open to additional investment in its network. Knight-Swift is eyeing M&A opportunities that could provide a foothold in the Northeast and Southwest, company executives said in May.
XPO, Estes Express Lines, Saia and other carriers likewise have been hurrying to renovate and reopen the shuttered terminals each acquired in the biggest bankruptcy in trucking history.
