Pilot Freight Services (Pilot), a worldwide transportation and logistics services provider backed by ATL Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), has formed a strategic partnership by entering into an asset purchase agreement with American Linehaul Corporation, a non-asset based provider of expedited LTL (less than truckload) services in the United States.
The transaction occurred on 30 July, 2021.
This partnership provides enhanced service levels and offerings for time-definite shipments and the growing volumes of e-commerce products no longer handled by traditional expedited LTL networks. “Bringing the capabilities of these two companies together represents an excellent opportunity to expand capacity and provide a stabilising influence to counter the volatility in the linehaul and expedited LTL markets today,” said Zach Pollock, chief executive officer, Pilot Freight Services.
Operating as a separate entity under the American Linehaul name, ALC founders Enzo & Beth Vartuli will lead the partnership with their key management personnel. American Linehaul will continue to operate as a neutral linehaul provider for the freight forwarding community, like forwarder networks who have done so in the past. “Pilot’s investment and partnership will enable us to expand capacity in support of our freight forwarder customers, as we stay focused on achieving our long-standing goal of being the best-in-class US linehaul provider,” says Vartuli.
Pilot’s full mile solutions continue to benefit from the healthy e-commerce growth within the heavy, bulky product categories. Through this transaction, these segments can meet growing demand free of third-party LTL carrier capacity and other constraints. “Pilot serves as a key partner to many shippers who are experiencing the rapid growth and increasing transportation requirements associated with e-commerce,” says Pollock. “Our partnership with ALC is a natural fit and another successful step in Pilot’s e-commerce strategy.”
