Jack Cooper LTL caper concludes

Standard Forwarding Freight, a newly formed subsidiary of Sakaem Holdings, announced Tuesday that it has acquired regional less-than-truckload carrier Standard Forwarding from DHL.

Rumblings of a deal again surfaced around Thanksgiving. An internal document to Standard Forwarding employees, many of whom are Teamsters, said Sakaem, not Jack Cooper, would be the buyer. The document said Sakaem was also owned by the same family that owns car hauler Jack Cooper.

Sakaem appears to have closed on the transaction at the beginning of the year.

Sarah Riggs Amico, executive chairperson and CEO at Jack Cooper, led unsuccessful efforts to buy a portion of bankrupt Yellow Corp. (OTC: YELLQ) in 2023 and again in 2024. Jack Cooper stood up an LTL unit (Jack Cooper Freight) composed of a few former Yellow executives and switched focus to acquiring Standard Forwarding last fall. That deal didn’t happen, but Riggs-owned Sakaem ended up with the assets.

Separately, Jack Cooper recently announced it would be shutting down after losing contracts with its two largest customers: Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM).

Standard Forwarding Freight is a Midwest carrier with 14 terminals in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, specializing in next-day and second-day LTL transportation.

A Tuesday news release touted service enhancements and better technology with improved integration and connectivity with customers. New ownership also said it would be making investments in infrastructure and capacity across the network.

“We know that customers want simplicity. Speed and reliability are table stakes in the Midwest regional footprint. Our goal is to make shipping easy for our customers – through every step of the customer experience,” said Standard Forwarding Freight President Tim McKinstry in the news release.

McKinstry was previously a senior vice president at Yellow and head of operations at Yellow operating company YRC Freight prior to that.

The news release said the transaction included the acquisition of Sakaem Logistics, a truckload and LTL broker, and a cross-dock terminal in Chicago. Sakaem Logistics provides car transportation and relocation services to individuals, auto dealers and car rental companies through a network of third-party carriers.

“Standard Forwarding Freight is the new name in dependable and innovative freight solutions,” McKinstry said.

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