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UPS expands healthcare reach with completion of Andlauer deal

Deal fits with plan to double revenue in healthcare logistics by end of 2026

Eric Kulisch
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UPS Healthcare provides many specialized services for pharmaceutical and life sciences customers. Among the cold-storage options are freezers for products that require ultra-cold storage. (Photo: UPS)
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Key Takeaways:

  • UPS has acquired Andlauer Healthcare Group for $1.6 billion, significantly bolstering its healthcare logistics and refrigerated transportation services in Canada.
  • This acquisition strengthens UPS's specialized cold chain network and global healthcare logistics capabilities, aligning with its strategic focus on the high-margin healthcare sector to double its revenue in this area by 2026.
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UPS has completed the acquisition of Andlauer Healthcare Group, a provider of logistics and refrigerated transportation services for the healthcare sector in Canada, for $1.6 billion in cash, the company announced Monday.

Andlauer’s customers include companies that make pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biologics, blood products, nutraceuticals, medical devices, consumer healthcare, animal health, and health and beauty products.

Michael Andlauer, founder and CEO of AHG, will lead UPS Canada Healthcare and AHG, UPS said. Publicly traded Andlauer will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

“The addition of Andlauer’s capabilities will further strengthen our solutions in global health care logistics, particularly in North America,” UPS CEO Carol Tomé said on the company’s earnings call last Tuesday.

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is focusing resources on the healthcare sector, where value-added services and customized solutions for highly sensitive products allow the company to charge premium rates, unlike the core domestic parcel business where yields are often low and volumes are softening. Global third-party logistics providers, including FedEx and DHL, are also aggressively expanding their healthcare logistics portfolios.

UPS last year said it plans to double revenue in health care logistics to $20 billion through organic growth and acquisitions by 2026.

With the addition of Andlauer’s’s specialized cold chain network and expertise, UPS Healthcare customers will benefit from reduced transit times, enhanced end-to-end visibility, and deeper global reach, UPS said. 

Nearly 60% of Andlauer’s revenue comes from temperature-controlled ground transportation, where it uses a blend of owner-operated and employee drivers for courier and less-than-truckload service under brands such as ATS Healthcare, Boyle Transportation and Skelton Truck Lines. Partner companies in warehousing and distribution include Accuristix and Logistics Support Unit, according to Andlauer’s website. The Canadian company also provides specialized packaging services and airfreight forwarding. 

In September, UPS had to abandon its planned purchase of Mexican courier Estafeta after the sides couldn’t meet closing conditions.

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Parcel and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com Eric is the Parcel and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com