DC Velocity - October 2015

newsworthy

relatively stable, has not attained the stellar operating ratios—the ratio of revenues to expenses that is a benchmark of efficiency and profitability—that some of its better-run peers have achieved in recent years. Con-way Truckload, which operated as Contract Freighters Inc. (CFI) before it was acquired by Con-way in 2007 for $750 million, has generally been viewed as a disastrous acquisition. Kevin Sterling, transport analyst for BB&T Capital Markets, an investment firm, pegged Con-way Truckload’s 2015 market value at $540 million, which includes $108 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and $425 million in debt, roughly the same amount of debt Con-way assumed when it bought the old CFI.

Although Con-way Truckload is smaller and is less of a
core business than Con-way Freight, its strong U.S.-Mexico
presence would appear to mesh effectively with the former
Pacer International, an intermodal marketing company
bought by XPO in January 2014 that at the time generated
about 40 percent of its revenue in the U.S.-Mexico inter-
modal corridor.

Once it closes, the Con-way deal will increase XPO’s third-party logistics revenues (not including the Con-way trucking operations) to approximately $10 billion, making it the sixth-largest global 3PL, according to data from Armstrong & Associates, a consultancy. The deal would make 2015 the largest year for 3PL deals of more than $100 million in value since Armstrong began tracking activity in 1999, it said.

Menlo may end up being the jewel in the crown—a term Jacobs has used. It had 2014 gross revenues of $1.7 billion and net revenue (revenue minus costs) of $748 million. Menlo manages 138 warehouses totaling 21 million square feet, Armstrong said. The combination will expand XPO’s global contract logistics platform to 151 million square feet, XPO said.

—Mark B. Solomon with Toby Gooley

Automation solution provider Swisslog has announced several leadership changes: Christian Baur is now division president, warehouse and distribution solutions;

Volker Jungbluth is the head of strategic research and development; and Nicholas Tripptree has been appointed vice president of customer service, Americas. …

FedEx Trade Networks, the freight for-
warding and customs brokerage arm
of global shipping giant FedEx Corp.,
has appointed Udo Lange executive vice
president and COO. … Echo Global Logistics Inc., a pro-
vider of transportation and supply chain management
services, has named Christopher N. Clemmensen senior
vice president of marketing. … Alliance Shippers Inc. has
chosen Rick Plieninger as its Ohio Valley regional vice
president. … Paragon
Software Systems
has added four peo-
ple to its Dallas-based
team: Jason McCourt
and Daniel Greenberg
as senior support con-
sultants, Jeff Kjosa as
sales executive for the fleXipod proof of delivery and
fulfillment solution, and Robert Ramirez as senior sales
executive. … Menasha Corp., a packaging company,
has appointed two new independent directors to its
board: Derrick Samuel, former president Greater Asia,
Colgate-Palmolive Co., and David White, former senior
vice president, global supply chain, Campbell Soup Co.

… Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. has promoted Jeff Hershey to senior vice president of sales. … Transplace, a provider of transportation management services and logistics technology, has appointed Brian Kenney senior vice president of Transplace Capacity Services. … Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has hired a three-person Dallas-based industrial investment sales team consisting of Randy Baird, Jud Clements, and Robby Rieke. …

Beachbody, a provider of at-home and gym-based fitness programs, has added David Lainchbury as executive vice president of operations and supply chain. … Seko Logistics has appointed Randy Sinker to the newly created post of chief client solutions officer. … Tim Debus will serve as the Reusable Packaging Association’s new president and CEO. … Jonathan Oliva has joined Applied Energy Solutions, a manufacturer of battery chargers, as vice president of sales and marketing. … The American Association of Exporters and Importers, an organization representing U.S. companies engaged in global trade, has appointed Cora Di Pietro, vice president and general manager, consulting, for Livingston International, to its newly elected board of governors. … Sparrows Point Terminal, a privately owned logistics and manufacturing multimodal site in Baltimore, has named Michael Moore as its new CEO. ... Business development specialist Jesse Micak has joined Lidd Supply Chain Intelligence’s management team as a director and will be heading up the firm’s new Toronto office.