DCLI to acquire TRAC Intermodal’s domestic chassis fleet

Earlier this week, DCLI Chassis Link, a Charlotte, NC-based provider of marine chassis and asset management services to the U.S. intermodal industry, said it has inked a definitive agreement to acquire TRAC Intermodal’s fleet of roughly 72,000 53-foot domestic chassis and related customer and hosting contracts with major Class I railroads and intermodal shipping companies throughout the United States.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. DCLI officials said the deal is expected to close in January 2018.

Upon completion of this deal, DCLI said it will own, lease or manage approximately 136,000 marine chassis, as well as approximately 80,000 domestic chassis, for a total chassis fleet of over 216,000.

And through its REZ-1 asset management platform, DCLI manages more than 86,000 domestic intermodal containers for third parties. DCLI said it is also entering into a Transition Services Agreement with TRAC for certain back-office functions until a complete system migration is accomplished, which it said will ensure a seamless transition and uninterrupted service for customers.

When the integration is complete, DCLI said its customers will benefit from a new single source for intermodal marine and domestic chassis leasing services over an expanded national footprint encompassing all major ports and railway terminals.  These services will be powered by the REZ-1 asset management platform, which already trades in both the domestic and marine markets.

“The acquisition of TRAC's domestic business accelerates our vision to create the leading intermodal asset leasing, management, and services platform for the transportation and logistics industries,” said Bill Shea, CEO of DCLI, in a statement. “New customers will benefit from enhanced technology-enabled service offerings and an expanded national footprint across the marine and domestic intermodal industries, while our existing customers will continue to receive the same high degree of customer service they have come to expect. We look forward to closing the deal and beginning the integration process.”

Larry Gross, president of Gross Transportation Consulting, said that this purchase will vault DCLI from the number 3 to the number 1 position in terms of the size of their lease fleet, now ahead of TRAC and Flexi-Van

“It represents a big diversification move for DCLI because the domestic chassis business is quite different from the marine chassis sector in many respects, including geography, customer base, and market dynamics,” he said.