News / Transplace buys Yusen Logistics' North America intermodal business

Yusen Logistics. Photograph by Martin Neeves Photography - www.martinneeves.com - Tel: 01455 271849 / 07973 638591 - E-mail: [email protected]

Yusen Logistics has sold its North American intermodal and road freight brokerage operations to US logistics service provider Transplace.

The deal, for an undisclosed amount, covers Yusen intermodal operations in Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Memphis, Chicago and Dallas, and the unit will be incorporated into Transplace’s Celtic Intermodal division.

The takeover “further supports Transplace’s commitment to strategic growth in order to build a competitive advantage for our company and our customers,” said its CEO, Frank McGuigan.

“Our customers will benefit from the network synergy with Transplace’s intermodal and over-the-road footprint, resulting in better opportunities for more effective execution of their intermodal shipments as well as mode conversion,” he added.

Celtic Intermodal president Doug Punzel said: “As more shippers are looking to integrate intermodal into their transport operations, Transplace is committed to best positioning itself to enable its customers to take advantage of the opportunities available with intermodal.

“The addition of Yusen Logistics’ intermodal operations will allow our customers to better take advantage of this highly effective and efficient mode in a time of high transport rates and capacity constraints.”

Transplace was itself the subject of an ownership change last year when its private equity owner, Greenbriar, an investment firm which also owns SEKO Logistics, sold the company to TPG Capital.

That sale was part of TPG Capital’s growing interest in supply chain assets and followed investments into logistics software developers Llamasoft and Transporean.