C.H. Robinson to Buy Competitor

	Snapshot
	Gross revenue: $2.04 billion (1998) Employees: 2,205 Customers: 9,500 Freight shipments: 1.5 million Transportation providers: 17,000
	Gross revenue: $211.2 million (1999 nine months) Employees: 525 Customers: 5,700 Freight shipments: 400,000 Transportation providers: 5,700

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, the nation’s largest freight broker and a major non-asset-based transportation service provider, is buying one of its biggest competitors, American Backhaulers of Chicago.

Minneapolis-based C.H. Robinson will pay $100 million in cash and issue stock valued at $36 million to acquire the ongoing operations and selected assets of American Backhaulers.

Both companies specialize in finding loads for trucking companies and have expanded in recent years to offer a broader array of transportation management and logistics services to shippers.

C.H. Robinson handles about 1.5 million shipments a year, including about 1 million truckload shipments. The company is considered by industry observers to be the nation’s largest produce hauler.

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