Operations

TFI buying cross-border specialist Hercules Forwarding

March 12, 2024

By acquiring the U.S.-Canada cross-border transportation specialist, TFI looks to expand its less-than-truckload segment with 31 more terminals and 200+ trucks. The FleetOwner 500 Top 10 carrier earned nearly half its revenue through LTL in Q4.

Geert De Lombaerde

TFI International Inc. is growing its less-than-truckload segment by acquiring Hercules Forwarding Inc., which specializes in U.S.-Canada cross-border transportation.

Founded in 1985, Hercules runs a 31-terminal network—six in Canada’s largest metro areas—and generates more than $100 million in revenue. The company has more than 210 trucks, roughly 600 trailers, and about 75 containers and works with clients in the retail, food/beverage, construction, and automotive industries, among others. It is led by President Marty Burnham and CFO Melanie Burnham.

TFI, No. 7 on the 2024 FleetOwner 500: For-Hire, did not immediately release the terms of the deal. The transaction will bolster LTL within TFI, which earned 44% of its revenue from LTL customers in the fourth quarter.

“Hercules’ impressively low claims ratio and skill at serving multiple premium freight markets moving high-value cargo across the U.S. and Canada aligns well with our focus and operating philosophy,” Alain Bédard, TFI’s chairman, president, and CEO said in a statement.

Bédard and his team have been active acquirers in recent years, closing on at least 10 deals every year since 2020, including the $309 million purchase last year of asset-light logistics player JHT Holdings Inc., which ranked 102nd on the 2023 FleetOwner 500. They also are working to complete the acquisition of flatbed and specialized transportation provider Daseke Inc., which has an enterprise value of about $1.1 billion. TFI now comprises more than 90 operating companies spanning nearly 600 facilities and employing more than 25,000 people.

Shares of TFI (Ticker: TFII) rose about 1% to $150 in after-hours trading March 11, when the Hercules purchase was announced. They have risen nearly 15% over the past six months, growing TFI’s market capitalization to about $12.5 billion.

About the Author

Geert De Lombaerde | Senior Editor

A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of business journalism experience and writes about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications FleetOwner, Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, Oil & Gas Journal and T&D World. With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati and later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector as well as many of its publicly traded companies.