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XPO Logistics, Incorporated Adds East Coast Air Charter

Bradley Jacobs, CEO and chairman of XPO Logistics is no stranger to the transportation industry having gotten his start in waste management, building United Waste Management, a multi-state waste operation then moved on to developing United Rental Inc., a nationwide equipment rental concern.   His experience and dedication since taking the reins at XPO Logistics has grown XPO Logistics into one of the premier expediting concerns with XPO’s company Express 1 being the third largest expedite trucking company in the US.  

XPO Logistics is a non-asset based company and includes several companies working in the expedite logistics field, freight brokerage (XPO Logistics, Turbo Logistics), expedited transportation (Express-1, Turbo Logistics), and freight forwarding (Concert Group Logistics).   XPO was named a Top 25 Freight Brokerage Firm for 2012 in the Transport Topics annual survey of logistics companies for the United States and Canada.  XPO Logistics was also ranked as the seventeenth largest freight brokerage firm based on net revenue.  

With so much of expedite freight being international, Jacobs and his companies had worked with East Coast Air Charter to provide air charter services for XPO’s various customers for several years.   Taking the opportunity to acquire air charter services for XPO Logistics by purchasing East Coast Air Charter, on February 12, 2013, East Coast Air Charter joined XPO Logistic’s family of companies.   William McBane of Statesville, North Carolina established East Coast Air Charter in 1997 to serve the on-demand, dedicated air charter market.   The company had revenues of approximately $43 million in 2012.  The cash purchase price paid by XPO was $9.25 million.

Jacobs likes to acquire a compatible business as well as cold starting a new one.  In acquisition of an established business, he can use the monies usually going to start up costs to grow the existing business.   Heavily investing in new technology, XPO provides the latest IT solutions to their customer’s needs and quickly incorporates the technology into any new company XPO Logistics acquires or starts.  

Jacobs does not stop with technology though, he has a unique philosophy in this day of cutbacks in personnel to maintain the bottom line.   Jacobs says, “At XPO Logistics, we are job creators, not job destroyers.”   Jacobs back this up with deeds; his companies have hired over 700 new employees in the last two years.   To highlight this philosophy, William McBane, former owner of East Coast Air Charter, will stay on, as operation leader of East Coast Air Charter, not be let go, as is the usual case in company acquisitions.   East Coast Air Charter’s operating offices will remain in North Carolina.

Jacobs is positive about the acquisition, he says, ““We’ve acquired a company that we know very well as a long-time partner to our expedite division.  East Coast Air Charter has valuable synergies with XPO, including innovative proprietary technology and air carrier relationships that complement our over-the-road expertise.  We are now in a much stronger position to capture just-in-time freight and cross-border Mexico movements.  All of our XPO offices will sell air charter, giving us another competitive advantage as we build scale.  Our acquisition pipeline is robust, with numerous prospects that fit our strategy for growth.”