RoadLink buys southern intermodal company

RoadLink buys southern intermodal company RoadLink USA, the nation's largest independent intermodal drayage and logistics company, said it has acquired Atlanta-based Transus Intermodal LLC.
   The purchase is the first since RoadLink, based in Jacksonville, Fla., was itself acquired last year by private investment fund Fenway Partners. Fenway recently sold a majority stake in Greatwide Logistics Services to other investors, but still retains other transportation companies in its portfolio.
   RoadLink has developed the last five years by rolling up small, regional trucking companies into a national network. Transus fits the RoadLink and Fenway model because most of its 300 drivers are owner-operators. The $40 million company has 12 service centers in the South, providing full regional coverage.
   RoadLink said the combination of the companies would allow it to expand international and domestic services in the South.   
   'Transus will immediately provide RoadLink with a substantial presence in the South, giving us an industry-leading position in every major intermodal region in the United States,” said RoadLink Chief Executive Ron Sorrow. 'The acquisition also substantially boosts RoadLink's presence in the international intermodal segment, which is continuing to grow due to global outsourcing.'
   'We believe RoadLink is the ideal vehicle to consolidate the highly fragmented intermodal trucking market space, and the addition of Transus is an excellent first step in achieving our collective vision,' said John Anderson, chairman of RoadLink and Fenway's transportation advisor.
   With the Transus acquisition, RoadLink USA has consolidated annual revenue of $250 million, a driver force of more than 1,700 owner/operators and employees and 60 service centers.