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Universal Logistics acquires rail terminal operator for $194M

Parsec acquisition pushes Universal’s contract logistics revenue over $1B

Universal Logistics adds $230 million to the top line in its latest deal. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Universal Logistics announced it has acquired rail terminal operator Parsec for $193.6 million. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to Universal’s earnings.

Cincinnati-based Parsec provides terminal management services at 20 rail yards across North America. The company specializes in container lift services for Class I, regional and short-line railroads. It also offers drayage, container and chassis stacking, equipment maintenance, and equipment sales and leasing.

Parsec has 2,100 employees and generated $230.2 million in revenue for the 12-month period ended Aug. 31.

“This strategic acquisition further enhances our value-added service offering, and provides Universal a meaningful presence in the rail terminal services space,” said Universal CEO Tim Phillips in a news release.


Parsec will become part of Universal’s (NASDAQ: ULH) contract logistics segment, pushing annual revenue in the unit to more than $1 billion. The unit had 5,400 employees prior to the acquisition.

Including Universal’s intermodal, trucking and company-managed brokerage segments, the company generated a total of $1.66 billion in revenue last year.

Shares of ULH were off 0.1% at 11:35 a.m. EDT on Tuesday compared to the S&P 500, which was down 1%.

Acquisition price$193.6M
Parsec’s revenue run rate$230.2M
Universal’s revenue run rate (2023)$1.66B
Earnings expectationsimmediately accretive
Recent acquisitions by UniversalElliott Custom Brokers, Roadrunner Intermodal Services, Southern Counties Express, Fore Transportation
Table: Company reports

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden


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Todd Maiden

Based in Richmond, VA, Todd is the finance editor at FreightWaves. Prior to joining FreightWaves, he covered the TLs, LTLs, railroads and brokers for RBC Capital Markets and BB&T Capital Markets. Todd began his career in banking and finance before moving over to transportation equity research where he provided stock recommendations for publicly traded transportation companies.