Dive Brief:
- Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings is slated to pay $51.3 million to acquire 13 properties from Yellow Corp. in a court-supervised auction.
- The truck terminals are concentrated in the Midwest, with the carrier aiming to obtain pairs of properties in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to a court filing Monday.
- The additions could “be very, very important for [Knight-Swift] for not only their density, but also to preclude their competitors from increasing their strength or density in that area,” said Craig Decker, a managing director with Brown Gibbons Lang & Co.
Dive Insight:
Knight-Swift has sought to build out its LTL network, stressing the priority earlier this year, even as it worked to close a deal with truckload carrier U.S. Xpress Enterprises.
With Yellow’s properties, the carrier’s LTL network could break into new states, Ohio and Michigan, and further expand footholds in Missouri and Nebraska, among other changes.
The terminal additions through the Yellow auction could also facilitate flow and density, Decker said. “They might be able to fill trucks faster. They might be able to just build trucks more efficiently. They might have less staging time in the terminals.”
Knight-Swift's pending acquisitions of Yellow terminals
In the Seattle area, the carrier already has an LTL facility just south of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. But Knight-Swift is slated to add a site by Paine Field Airport through the Yellow auction.
“It'd be great for Knight to have more density in that area, and they'll attract more freight for them,” Decker said, noting competition there from Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Old Dominion Freight Line and Saia.
And in Indiana, an existing location in Evansville could enjoy benefits of further density with a winning bid for a Yellow property just 6 miles away. Another bid in the Fort Wayne area aligned with its target for expansion in that region.
Other LTL competitors are seeking to swoop in on the opportunity to grow their networks through Yellow terminal acquisitions, with XPO poised to gain 26 properties and two leases; Estes Express Lines entering winning bids for 24 properties; and Saia Motor Freight Line slated to obtain 17 sites.
Knight-Swift didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Wednesday or Thursday.
The carrier launched into the LTL space in 2021 with acquisitions of AAA Cooper Transportation as well as Midwest Motor Express and Midnite Express, and executives have noted plans to expand.
“We plan to grow the LTL segment through organic growth and acquisitions and believe a national expansion effort will provide enhanced value to our customers,” the carrier said in an annual report released in February.
A court will need to approve the sales, and a hearing is set for Tuesday.
