Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Descartes acquires MacroPoint to expand role in truck visibility market

$107 million cash-stock deal, Descartes' largest in a decade, boosts presence in fast-growing segment.

Canadian logistics software provider Descartes Systems Group Inc. dramatically expanded its presence in the fast-growing truckload visibility market today by acquiring MacroPoint, LLC for $107 million in cash and stock, Descartes' 16th acquisition in less than four years and its most expensive purchase in 10 years.

Cleveland-based MacroPoint is considered the pioneer in business-to-business, location-based truck tracking services, where shippers, freight brokers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) track the locations of truck deliveries in real time. In addition, MacroPoint leverages its tracking data to predict freight capacity availability so users can improve their load-planning capabilities.


MacroPoint's North American network spans approximately 2 million truck assets and drivers and connects to vehicles through multiple pathways, such as on-board electronic logging devices (ELDs), GPS-enabled smartphones, mobile phones, and transportation management systems (TMSes). MacroPoint has about $12.5 million in annualized revenues, based on Descartes' calculations made at the time of the purchase, which closed last night. Descartes paid $87 million in cash for MacroPoint and $20 million more in stock.

While still the market leader, MacroPoint's dominance is being challenged by companies like Chicago-based project44, Boulder, Colo.-based 10-4 Systems Inc., and Chicago-based FourKites Inc. MacroPoint and Four Kites have been involved in a protracted legal dispute that centered on Four Kites' unsuccessful challenge to invalidate two of MacroPoint's patents.

Descartes, which is based in Waterloo, Ont., has been involved in the trucking visibility space through its "Global Logistics Network," which connects truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers to customers via electronic data interchange (EDI) and other messaging protocols. The MacroPoint acquisition strengthens Descartes' asset-tracking and predictive-capacity capabilities, as well as the size of the vehicle and driver universe it will be able to reach, according to Mavi Silveira, a Descartes spokeswoman. Truckload visibility platforms have become a hot ticket, with one estimate pegging growth as doubling every three years. By accurately knowing their shipment's location before it arrives, shippers and intermediaries can reduce lead times, enable efficient cross-docking operations, and provide consignees with real-time status updates. In the past, this level of information was available only in closed-loop transportation networks, not across the common carrier universe.

Descartes' multi-year acquisition spree has been aimed at bulking up its global connectivity so it becomes the gatekeeper of choice for shipment information flowing across multiple geographies and all transport modes. "Descartes has a successful history of electronically connecting transportation providers to transportation brokers, logistics intermediaries, and shippers to share data, automate processes, and run more efficiently," said Edward J. Ryan, the company's CEO, in a statement.

MacroPoint CEO Bennett Adelson added in the statement that the combination will help customers "research, plan, execute and monitor multi-modal shipments around the world." Silveira, the Descartes spokeswoman, said it was unclear whether Adelson would remain with the company post-acquisition.

The Latest

More Stories

warehouse workers with freight pallets

NMFTA prepares to change freight classification rules in 2025

The way that shippers and carriers classify loads of less than truckload (LTL) freight to determine delivery rates is set to change in 2025 for the first time in decades, introducing a new approach that is designed to support more standardized practices.

Those changes to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) are necessary because the current approach is “complex and outdated,” according to industry group the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA).

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

car dashboard lights

Forrester forecasts technology trends for 2025

Business leaders in the manufacturing and transportation sectors will increasingly turn to technology in 2025 to adapt to developments in a tricky economic environment, according to a report from Forrester.

That approach is needed because companies in asset-intensive industries like manufacturing and transportation quickly feel the pain when energy prices rise, raw materials are harder to access, or borrowing money for capital projects becomes more expensive, according to researcher Paul Miller, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester.

Keep ReadingShow less

Something new for you

Regular online readers of DC Velocity and Supply Chain Xchange have probably noticed something new during the past few weeks. Our team has been working for months to produce shiny new websites that allow you to find the supply chain news and stories you need more easily.

It is always good for a media brand to undergo a refresh every once in a while. We certainly are not alone in retooling our websites; most of you likely go through that rather complex process every few years. But this was more than just your average refresh. We did it to take advantage of the most recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

Keep ReadingShow less
FTR trucking conditions chart

In this chart, the red and green bars represent Trucking Conditions Index for 2024. The blue line represents the Trucking Conditions Index for 2023. The index shows that while business conditions for trucking companies improved in August of 2024 versus July of 2024, they are still overall negative.

Image courtesy of FTR

Trucking sector ticked up slightly in August, but still negative

Buoyed by a return to consistent decreases in fuel prices, business conditions in the trucking sector improved slightly in August but remain negative overall, according to a measure from transportation analysis group FTR.

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index improved in August to -1.39 from the reading of -5.59 in July. The Bloomington, Indiana-based firm forecasts that its TCI readings will remain mostly negative-to-neutral through the beginning of 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
trucks parked in big lot

OOIDA cheers federal funding for truck parking spots

A coalition of truckers is applauding the latest round of $30 million in federal funding to address what they call a “national truck parking crisis,” created when drivers face an imperative to pull over and stop when they cap out their hours of service, yet can seldom find a safe spot for their vehicle.

The Biden Administration yesterday took steps to address that problem by including parking funds in its $4.2 billion in money from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, both of which are funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Keep ReadingShow less