DHL sold 91-year-old Midwest LTL carrier Standard Forwarding to Sakaem Holdings and a newly formed subsidiary, according to an announcement last week.
The new owner rebranded the carrier to Standard Forwarding Freight and filled its leadership with Jack Cooper and Yellow Corp. alumni.
The deal was signed Dec. 26 and effective as of Jan. 1, Standard Forwarding Freight Chief Commercial Officer Tim Haitz told Trucking Dive in an email. He declined to disclose the terms of the acquisition.
The asset-based, regional carrier offers next-day and second-day shipping with a network of 14 terminals across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Standard Forwarding Freight also took ownership of a cross-dock facility in Chicago and merged with Sakaem-owned truckload and LTL brokerage Sakaem Logistics in the deal, according to the release.
“Speed and reliability are table stakes in the Midwest regional footprint,” said Tim McKinstry, Standard Forwarding Freight president, in the announcement. “Our goal is to make shipping easy for our customers – through every step of the customer experience.”
DHL’s sale of the nearly century-old carrier is the latest in a string of logistics giants divesting their LTL operations as investors increasingly spurn conglomerates in favor of pure-play companies in trucking and other industries.
UPS sold its LTL division, UPS Freight, to TFI International for $800 million in 2021. TFI rebranded the former Overnite Transportation Co. to TForce Freight following the acquisition.
FedEx similarly announced plans in December to spin off FedEx Freight, the country’s largest LTL carrier, as a separate company within 18 months.
