Universal Expands Drayage Business With Purchase of Specialized Rail Service
Universal Logistics Holdings expanded its intermodal drayage business in the western United States with the purchase of Specialized Rail Service Inc. for $12.3 million.
The purchase is the second this year by Universal, a Warren, Mich.-based company that provides dry van and flatbed truckload hauling and logistics services and ranks No. 31 on Transport Topics’ Top 100 list of largest for-hire carriers in North America.
“Specialized Rail Service fits nicely in our acquisition strategy,” Universal CEO Jeff Rogers said, “and provides us an excellent platform for further expansion.”
In August, Universal paid $65 million to acquire Southern Counties Express, a drayage firm that primarily served the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with about 250 independent contractors and generated revenue of $54.4 million in 2017.
SRS runs a fleet of about 140 tractors with a combination of company drivers and owner-operators and generated revenue of $25 million in 2017.
Universal did not disclose the seller of SRS, which provides intermodal drayage for Union Pacific Railroad in Utah and Nevada. In addition, SRS provides regional dry van and flatbed hauling, transloading and crossdock services, warehousing and distribution and intermodal facility management.
The company was started in 1992, according to the SRS website, and has operating facilities in Clearfield, Utah, and Las Vegas, Nev.
