3PL News: C.H. Robinson Worldwide acquires Transera

Deal helps 3PL increase freight forwarding capabilities and services

Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 8/4/2008

MINNEAPOLIS—Non-asset based third party logistics (3PL) services provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said today it has acquired certain operating subsidiaries of Transera International Holdings (Transera), a Calgary, Alberta-based freight forwarder.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Transera has 107 employees and annual gross revenues of approximately $125 million, according to a C.H. Robinson Worldwide statement. It was established in 1985 and is a non-asset based global project forwarder, providing North American and global transportation of over-dimensional and heavy-lift shipments, with customers in the oil, gas, mining, and wind power industries, the statement added.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Vice President of International Forwarding Jeff Scovill told LM that the company has a growing number of customers requesting it to handle their project cargoes. This, he said, was a major driver in the company’s decision to acquired Transera.

“This is especially important in the global environment, with the movement of manufacturing facilities and continued expansion of C.H. Robinson into industries that are well aligned with over-dimensional cargoes,” said Scovill. “This acquisition adds substantial expertise to the organization for these cargoes and will allow us to expand our service offerings to clients requesting project related services.”   

Scovill also commented that Transera’s brand recognition, a well aligned customer base with long-term relationships, employee expertise, and its strong history of growth and track record of success made them stand out amongst their competition, when C.H. Robinson was looking at potential acquisition targets.

From a shipper-service perspective, Scovill explained that this acquisition makes sense, because C.H. Robinson's growing customer base is requesting services of over-dimensional, overweight cargoes, and the company is receiving requests within the industry to provide services similar to what Transera already does.

“The addition of Transera to the C.H. Robinson network allows us to continue to more fully integrate into the supply chain with these accounts, providing a broader range of services,” he said. “In addition, it also opens up opportunities to provide a similar breadth of services to existing Transera accounts, adding value to their customer community.” 

Two well-known industry experts said this deal makes sense from a strategic perspective for C.H. Robinson.

“This purchase is a logical add-on for CHR, which has been very successful expanding its Canadian & International operations,” said Richard Armstrong, president of Armstrong & Associates, a supply chain consultancy. “Adding project logistics is a natural expansion for [the company].”

And JP Morgan analyst Tom Wadewitz wrote in a research note that this acquisition is a strategic positive for C.H. Robinson, because it adds new capabilities and further broadens its footprint in the freight forwarding arena.