Hub Group Inc. acquired privately held Exel Transportation Services for $83 million, in a deal that combines intermodal transportation companies with complementary services.
Hub Group offers intermodal, highway and logisitics transportation services as well as short-distance service. Exel offers intermodal, truckload and less-than-truckload services.
Exel will operate as a Hub Group subsidiary under the name Mode Transportation, with key leadership, including President Jim Damman, staying on in their current roles. The company’s revenue last year was $717 million. Hub reported revenue of $1.83 billion for 2010.
Hub in January reported that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 26 percent as revenue climbed 18 percent and margins strengthened.
Freight transportation companies of all kinds benefited last year as manufacturing rebounded and the economy strengthened.
Hub shares were up more than 7 percent, to $38.83, in midmorning trading. The stock is up 28 percent in the past year.
