the urge to merge

It's not just regional LTL carriers that have apparently decided there's strength in numbers. It seems that the urge to merge (or to acquire or even be acquired) has taken hold throughout the supply chain sector. A recent survey by IWLA—The Association for Logistics Outsourcing—found that more than half of its members would consider a merger opportunity.

That evidently includes the folks at Jacobson Companies and Bekins Logistics, who last month merged their two companies into a single entity to be called Jacobson Distribution. Erik Torgerson, a partner at Jacobson's parent company (Norwest Equity Partners) and a Jacobson board member, says more acquisitions are on the horizon for what he calls a "fragmented third-party logistics industry."

Torgerson went on to say that he considered Bekins Logistics to be a perfect fit for the Jacobson business. Bekins Logistics is a national company that provides supply chain services and third-party logistics services, which include distribution/fulfillment services, warehousing and warehouse-based value-added services, and dedicated transportation. The company currently has 350 employees and operates out of nine locations. Like Jacobson's, its warehouse business is a combination of dedicated, single customer contract facilities and multi-customer warehouses.