NFI snaps up Canadian 3PL

NFI snaps up Canadian 3PL    NFI, a large trucking and logistics provider based in Vineland, N.J., said Tuesday it has bought IPD Global, a multimodal Canadian freight forwarder that specializes in perishable imports from Central and South America, and Europe.
   The move gives NFI, which owns a handful of warehouses north of the border, an increased presence in the Canadian food and grocery market, as well as intermodal sales access to the Canadian National railroad.
   The new transportation capability enables NFI to cross-sell trucking and warehousing by connecting the warehouses to a transportation network that utilizes NFI trucks or third-party carriers, NFI Chief Executive Officer Sidney R. Brown, told American Shipper.com on the sidelines of a third-party logistics conference in Atlanta.
   Family-owned NFI also plans to expand its warehousing footprint and add a dedicated contract carriage business in Canada, he said.
   NFI had $810 million in revenue last year and expects to top $900 million this year. It is ranked No. 35 on the Transport Topics Top 100 for-hire motor carriers and No. 16 in the publication's Top 50 logistics providers, based on revenue.
   IDP had CAN$50 million ($48.9 million) in revenue in 2009. Eighty percent of the cargo it manages is international. In recent years it diversified into a reseller of intermodal space on the Canadian National.
   'IPD's non-asset-based transport services, specializing in inbound and cross-border routes, offers a perfect complement to NFI, with its strengths in outbound transport and dedicated fleets, and its widespread distribution and warehousing network. Our logistics and transportation brokerage services will further enhance NFI's already wide range of offerings,' said IPD President Rob Rusnov in a statement. 'Now all of our clients and potential clients on both sides of the border will have access to our combined expertise.'
   NFI intends to keep the management team in place, Tom Connolly, managing director of EVE Partners, said in an interview. EVE Partners is an Atlanta-based investment-banking firm that advised IPD on the transaction.
   Details about the transaction were not disclosed. ' Eric Kulisch