BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a leading private investment firm focused on defensible businesses in growing markets with tangible performance improvement opportunities, today announced that an affiliate has completed the acquisition of Total Transportation Services, a leading provider of drayage transportation services with a strong presence at strategically important marine terminals and rail yards across the United States. Drayage—a key link in moving goods along the supply chain—refers to the trucking of cargo containers between ports/rail terminals and inland distribution points.
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Long Beach, California, TTSI is one of the leading port and rail drayage businesses in North America and is the only drayage provider with a container yard strategically located within the Port of Los Angeles, the largest port of entry by container volume in North America. The Company also has a growing presence in other significant markets, including New York/New Jersey, Chicago, Seattle/Tacoma, Norfolk, and Savannah. In addition to drayage, TTSI offers regional trucking with dedicated fleets, warehousing, and brokerage primarily serving the retail, freight logistics, apparel, and automotive markets.
“Port drayage is a mission-critical, time-sensitive service that shippers rely on, and we are very excited to announce this transaction, which is right in our sweet spot of defensible businesses in growing markets with tangible performance improvement,” said Marc Leder, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Sun Capital. “Moreover, as one of the few drayage providers of scale with its own dedicated fleet of drivers, carbon-emission compliant trucks, and strategically located yards, we see an opportunity to execute on M&A in a highly fragmented industry.”
“We look forward to working with the team at Sun Capital to accelerate our growth plan and put in place an operational framework to build on our leadership position at a very exciting time for the industry,” said Vic La Rosa, CEO, Total Transportation Services. “With the resources and experience that Sun Capital has in this industry, we are poised to capitalize on the increasing focus on transportation and distribution, with customers increasingly viewing the relationship with their drayage provider as mission-critical. We were also attracted to Sun Capital’s successful history of working with founder-owned businesses.”
As the boom in ecommerce continues to impact supply chains, port volumes are at record highs and the demand for drayage services is outpacing the current supply of labor and trucks, with high switching costs due to the importance of high-quality execution. The industry in the U.S. is also ripe for consolidation, with over 2,800 drayage companies serving port and rail terminals, including over 100 in each of the top markets.
“Given its strong presence in the nation’s busiest ports and most active distribution points, as well its strong customer loyalty, clean energy focus, and record of reliability, TTSI is well-positioned to consolidate its leadership position,” added Jordan Wadsworth, Managing Director, Sun Capital. “We look forward to helping the Company build on those advantages by accelerating growth, professionalizing business operations, providing the management team with additional resources, and improving integration.”
TTSI is the second investment in the supply chain space by a Sun Capital affiliate in 2021 following the June 2021 closing of Century Distribution Systems, a Virginia-based global digital logistics provider offering supply chain management and freight forwarding services.
About Sun Capital Partners, Inc.
Sun Capital Partners, Inc. is a global private equity firm focused on partnering with outstanding management teams to accelerate value creation. Since 1995, Sun Capital has invested in more than 425 companies worldwide with revenues in excess of $50 billion across a broad range of industries and transaction structures. The firm has built a reputation as a trusted partner, recognized for its operational experience. Sun Capital focuses on defensible businesses in growing markets with tangible performance improvement opportunities in the Business Services, Consumer, Healthcare, Industrial, and Technology sectors. The firm has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, and New York, and an affiliate with offices in London. For more information, please visit www.suncappart.com.