TFI Chassis Buys Mickey Truck Bodies Land in North Carolina
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A portfolio of 41 Mickey Truck Bodies Inc. property tracts in High Point, N.C., has been flipped for $35.52 million to TFI Chassis Portfolio, an affiliate of J.P. Morgan Asset Management linked to its real estate leasing division.
Mickey, a fourth-generation, privately held trucking company, has about 500 employees, of which about 400 work at North Carolina facilities.
The company makes aluminum truck bodies that include side loaders used in dry freight, refrigeration, vending and emergency vehicles. It also owns and operates a national network of free-standing fleet services centers nationally.
The purchase closed Dec. 31, according to Guilford County Register of Deeds filings posted Jan. 17.
TFI Chassis was formed on Dec. 4, according to a North Carolina Secretary of State corporation filing. Justin Heller, a portfolio manager of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s real-estate leasing unit, is listed as authorized official for TFI Chassis.
TFI Chassis acquired 39 tracts located on Bethel and Green drives and on Progress, Rowan and Trinity avenues for a combined $30.66 million. It also obtained 1133 and 1135 Foust Ave. for a combined $4.86 million.
The seller of the portfolio is Mickey Truck Bodies Inc., an affiliate of Institutional Opportunity Partners of Evanston, Ill.
The Institutional Opportunity Partners affiliate bought from a group of Mickey Truck Bodies affiliates 34 tracts in High Point and four in Thomasville in a deal worth a combined $18 million. That deal also closed Dec. 31, but those sales were posted Jan. 16 in Davidson and Guilford Register of Deeds filings.
The Thomasville property transactions involved: $1.24 million for a 2.41-acre tract on 298 W. Triad Blvd. that contains a 14,400-square-foot building; $220,000 for 1472 Hasty School Road; and $200,000 for 704 N. Albertson Road and 1440 Hasty School Road.
Matt Sink, Mickey’s president and chief executive, could not be reached for comment on the sale of the properties. Institutional Opportunity said it does not comment on business dealings unless it puts out a news release.
Business North Carolina reported Jan. 8 that Sink said the company had brought in an unnamed “institutional investor” to help it grow.
Sink declined to provide details to Business NC about the investment, including the name of the company, amount of investment or the stake the investor now owns.
Sink
“The family still maintains an ownership position in the company,” Sink said.
He described the family’s ownership stake as “substantial,” but would not say if it was a majority position.
Given the TFI Chassis corporate name, one possible leaser of the acquired Mickey Truck Bodies properties is Canadian company TFI International Inc., based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec.
TFI International could not be immediately reached for comment on the potential acquisitions.
TFI ranks No. 4 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
TFI International has been a serial purchaser of North American trucking companies over the past 10 years. As of Sept. 30, it had more than 100 operating companies and 683 facilities under its umbrella with a combined 28,230 employees, of which 14,751 are drivers.
TFI International’s three main divisions are less-than-truckload, truckload and logistics. The U.S. less-than-truckload market represented 30% of its fiscal 2024 revenue through three quarters, while the U.S. overall was 70% of revenue.
TFI International operates in nearly 80 North American markets with its Hercules, Hot-Line Freight Systems and TForce Freight brands.
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Among its less-than-truckload competitors is Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. of Thomasville, which ranks No. 10 on the TT100.
Food and beverage is a key customer sector for TFI International. Other customers include automotive, building materials, chemical and explosives, engine, forest, manufacturer goods, maritime containers, metals and mining, retail and waste management
“We strive to consistently identify strategic acquisitions to grow our network of wholly owned operating companies and increase shareholder returns,” TFI said.
“Each acquisition is chosen for its strong management team, cultural fit and earnings potential. We ensure our companies get the financial and operational resources to grow their businesses.”
In its third-quarter earnings call with analysts on Oct. 22, TFI International chairman, president and chief executive Alain Bédard said “we’re trying to invest in logistics sectors in the U.S. and less-than-truckload” that could range between $200 million and $300 million.
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“We’re a small player in LTL in the U.S., so we will probably never be the dominant player in the U.S., but we have to be more of No. 3, No. 4, and not No. 6, No. 7.”
Bédard said one key element for TFI is that “in terms of mergers and acquisitions, we’ve always been very patient. Our pipeline is sold. We have lots of opportunities. We have a saying with TFI — ‘you make your money on the buying, never on the selling.’
“We could look to do a $4 billion to $5 billion deal in the U.S. If we could find the right target in the U.S. that makes sense for U.S., we’ll jump on it in 2025.”
