Canada Cartage to acquire GTI, expand into US market

Canada Cartage will acquire Montréal-based The GTI Group and expand into the U.S. for the first time in its 100-plus year history, the company announced Nov. 27.

GTI provides transportation, brokerage, logistics, warehousing and international services, and the company has a customer base and market presence in the U.S., with offices in Houston; Des Moines, Iowa; and Franklin, Tennessee.

Canada Cartage, which entered into a definitive agreement, said the addition of GTI will significantly boost its “scale in services such as freight management, freight brokerage, and specialized freight hauling.”

“This acquisition is primarily about bringing together complementary services that the two companies have to offer customers,” Canada Cartage Chief Administrative Officer Dave Zavitz said in an email to Trucking Dive. “We do not anticipate that there will be material efficiencies that will result from the transaction.”

The deal with GTI is slated to close by Dec. 31. The purchase price wasn’t shared.

With the addition of GTI’s 230 tractors, the new company will have 2,749 such units, including those of owner-operators, Zavitz said.
“We have been looking for an opportunity to enter the U.S. market for several years but have been waiting for the right acquisition to do so,” Canada Cartage President and CEO Jeff Lindsay said in a statement, noting GTI built a “service offering and platform that prioritizes the customer the same way we do at Canada Cartage.”

The goal with the U.S. expansion was to acquire an existing, successful operation to further build on, Zavitz said.
The deal will also put the carrier on track to generate over 1 billion Canadian dollars in revenue annually on a combined basis ($733 million).
GTI provides brokerage, transportation management, freight forwarding, drayage, intermodal, warehousing, and specialty trucking services for oversize and heavy haul freight, the announcement noted.

That will complement the 3,500-plus employees at Canada Cartage, which also has an additional 900 owner-operators. The carrier provides dedicated transportation, general freight services, home delivery and more.

That will complement the 3,500-plus employees at Canada Cartage, which also has an additional 900 owner-operators, which already provides dedicated transportation, general freight services, home delivery and more.

Last November, Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Capital acquired Canada Carthage. That ownership change has fit in with the carrier’s streak of M&A activity:

• Months before the shift, Canada Carthage expanded its final mile capabilities by acquiring Oshawa, Ontario-based Mackie Moving Systems.
• In October 2022, the carrier announced the addition of Cornwall, Ontario-based LTL and TL provider Seaway Express.
• And earlier this summer, the company bought Whitby, Ontario-based temperature-controlled freight provider Cam-Scott Transport.

The global private equity firm is helping leverage capital further, and the carrier is prepared for additional deals in the future.
“Canada Cartage will continue to pursue acquisitions that help to strengthen our solution offerings for customers and bolster our financial performance,” Zavitz said.

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