Canadian cross-border trucking and logistics company XTL Group has purchased Quebec carrier Transport Savoie — the first acquisition in its 36-year history — in a deal that expands its refrigerated transport service.
Toronto-based XTL announced the acquisition on Friday. It adds nearly 40 power units based near Quebec City, with cross-border service that serves throughout the eastern U.S.
“We’re very proud of the acquisition,” XTL Chief Operating Officer Craig Germain told FreightWaves. “It’s a small start, but it’s a good play for us.”
XTL plans to scale Transport Savoie with its existing 400-truck fleet and asset-light logistics business. It complements an existing business, which has strong exposure to consumer packaged goods.
“Essential goods make up a good part of business,” Germain said. “This allows us to further develop and grow the refrigerated/temperature-controlled segment.”
It builds on an existing presence in Quebec, in the Montreal area, but pushes the carrier deeper into Canada’s second-largest province.
The carrier also doesn’t plan to stop with Transport Savoie. XTL is looking for other acquisitions across Canada — and would consider doing a deal in the U.S., Germain said.
Mergers and acquisitions activity in Canadian trucking and logistics seems to have already reached a fever pitch in 2021.
A week ago, Titanium Transportation Group announced it had acquired International Truckload Services, nearly doubling its size. In January, TFI International (NYSE: TFII) announced that it will acquire UPS Freight — which came two weeks after industrial and agricultural conglomerate James Richardson & Sons acquired trucking giant Bison Transport.
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