Central Freight Agrees to Buy Wilson Trucking
Less-than-truckload carrier Central Freight Lines has signed a letter of intent to acquire Wilson Trucking Corp., also an LTL carrier, in a move to expand Central’s service territory into the Southeast.
Central and Wilson announced their plan Feb. 20 on the Wilson website. Central, based in Waco, Texas, is the larger of the two carriers and ranks No. 94 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of for-hire carriers.
Wilson is not on the TT100, but the list also ranks Central as the 21st-largest LTL in the U.S. and Canada and Wilson at No. 26.
Wilson Chairman and CEO C.L. “Chuck” Wilson said in the release that “I'm confident Wilson's customers will be quite impressed with the many service offerings of Central Freight Lines.”
The companies said they expect the transaction to close by March 31.
"This is an important move for Central Freight Lines,” said Central CEO Don Orr. “It allows us to fulfill our strategy of being the premier coast-to-coast Sunbelt LTL provider in the industry. We look forward to adding Wilson's customers to Central's list of highly satisfied customers."
The Wilson website said the company was founded in 1926 by C.G. “Boss” Wilson with a Model T pickup to haul farm products to market.
Central is a year older and was founded in Waco in 1925 by W.W. “Woody” Callan Sr., who also used a Model T.
