CSX announced that is set to acquire Quality Carriers, a North American provider of bulk liquid chemical transportation by road. Quality Carriers provides transportation services to many chemical producers and shippers in North America through a network of over 100 company-owned and affiliate terminals and facilities, located throughout the USA, Canada and Mexico.
CSX’s network currently links many of the metropolitan areas of the east of the US and has ties to more than 230 short-line railroads as well as over 70 ocean, river and lake ports near major population centres. The company provides intermodal and rail-to-truck services for transport of energy, industrial, construction, agricultural and consumer products.
James Foote, President and CEO of CSX, said the following, “The acquisition of Quality Carriers further demonstrates our commitment to the strategic growth of our business and deepening our relationships with customers. Our new partnership will provide chemical producers and shippers with a first-of-its-kind multimodal solution that capitalizes on the powerful synergies between Quality Carriers’ truck transportation fleet and our cost-advantaged rail network.”
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. CSX has stated that Quality Carriers’ management team, led by President Randy Strutz, will continue to lead the business as part of CSX.
This takeover comes after a mixed first-quarter financial report from CSX. Both revenue and income were lower in Q1-21 than Q1-20, revenue dropping 1% from $2.85bn to $2.81bn and net income falling 8% from $770m in 2020 to $706m in 2021.
Despite this, Foote was optimistic, saying, “Any way you look at the data, we have dramatically transformed how CSX operates, which has created the capacity to absorb significant growth for years to come. The opportunities identified during the early stages of the pandemic last year continued to drive sustained efficiency improvements and the more streamlined network is well-positioned for growth.”
Source: CSX/Transport Topics
