UPS acquires U.K.-based truck broker

The parcel giant and third-party logistics provider’s purchase of Freightex, an asset-light truckload, less-than-truckload, specialized and refrigerated trucking services firm, aims to expand its U.K. and European truckload brokerage business.    United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) has acquired United Kingdom-based truck broker Freightex, according to a statement from the company.
   With the purchase of the asset-light truckload (TL), less-than-truckload (LTL), specialized and refrigerated trucking services firm, UPS aims to expand its U.K. and European truckload brokerage business by establishing an immediate presence in the third-party truck market with an established base of customers and carriers, the company said.
   Freightex CEO Tim Phillips will continue to lead the business, which will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of UPS. A member of the British International Freight Association (Bifa) and the Chartered Institute of Logistics (CILT), the company has eight locations across the U.K. and Europe.
   Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
   The transaction follows UPS’s August 2015 acquisition of North American non-asset-based TL broker Coyote Logistics for $1.8 billion, and the company said it expects both units to benefit from cross-pollination of technologies and best business practices, as well as sharing of customers and carriers.
   According to UPS, the tie-up will give Freightex customers access to the UPS global network, while providing UPS customers with a “turn-key U.K. and European solution where brokered freight movements provide the most competitive option.”
   “The U.K. and Europe are strategic 3PL freight brokerage growth markets for UPS and there is significant cross border opportunity,” Alan Gershenhorn, UPS chief commercial officer, said of the deal. “This acquisition provides UPS customers an immediate, knowledgeable and competitive U.K. and European presence. We intend to align Freightex with Coyote for greater efficiency and continue to invest for further growth.”
   “UPS and Coyote have industry-leading technology, a no-excuses customer service culture, and a proven record of success,” added Phillips. “We will improve our efficiency through Coyote’s technology and use of the UPS network, while continuing to out-service the competition and provide results that customers count on us to deliver.”
   UPS arch-rival FedEx last year went on an acquisition spree designed to put it on par with UPS in terms of its complete supply chain service offerings worldwide. In January, it closed on the $1.4 billion purchase of GENCO, a large U.S. third-party logistics provider that specializes in warehousing, packaging, e-commerce fulfillment and reverse logistics, following its acquisition of Bongo International, a small company that helps retailers with technology to enable online international sales and manage cross-border shipments, the previous December.
   This culminated in May 2016 with the completion of its $4.9 billion purchase of Netherlands-based global express carrier TNT Express, a company UPS attempted to buy just a few years prior but was blocked by regulatory authorities.