Universal Truckload buys three firms

Universal Truckload buys three firms    Universal Truckload Services Inc. of Warren, Mich., said Thursday that it acquired three transportation companies in December:
   ' D. Kratt International Inc., a Chicago-based international freight forwarding and customs house brokerage firm.
   * Cavalry Transportation LLC and Cavalry Logistics LLC, a Nashville-based logistics company offering intermodal, truckload, and less-than-truckload services.
   * TSD Transportation L.P., based in Texarkana, Texas, which provides for-hire freight services including van, flatbed, step deck, heavy haul, hot shots, and intermodal services throughout the United States.
   “We believe these acquisitions will nicely complement our current service offerings and add additional strength in our truckload operations,” said Don Cochran, Universal’s president and chief executive officer. “These were strategic acquisitions for us. Collectively, they should add about $35 million in annual revenue in 2010; however, we do not expect their impact to be accretive to earnings until the second half of the year.”