C.H. Robinson Acquires RXO, Truckload's Mixed Signals, & NMFTA Cybersecurity Portal | The Morning Minute

FreightWaves (0:00)

We kick things off with a major consolidation move that's reshaping the third-party logistics landscape. CH. Robinson, the country's biggest 3PL, announced this morning that it is acquiring RXO in a transaction that will significantly expand its already massive footprint. Under the terms of the deal, RXO shareholders will receive $17.25 per share in cash and 0.85 shares of CH. Robinson stock for each RXO share they hold. Based on CH. Robinson's Friday closing price of $157.72 per share, that values each RXO share at $30.25.

According to CH. Robinson, the acquisition brings together two complementary networks and will diversify and strengthen the combined company's multimodal platform, combining both companies' robust trucking brokerage and managed transportation businesses, along with CH. Robinson's global forwarding and RXO's strengths in expedited and last mile.

Over in the truckload sector, the market is sending some genuinely confusing signals that are puzzling analysts. Spot rates are rising quickly, but the actual freight volume that carriers are moving is not. The National Truckload Index, which measures dry van spot rates, including fuel, has climbed back to $3.53 per mile. That's more than 10% above its late August low and roughly 50% higher than at this time last year. Meanwhile, the accepted sonar truckload volume index, which measures the volume of contracted loads that carriers accept, has fallen nearly 3% over the past week to 9,574, below its 12-month average of 9,872.

Sharply rising diesel costs are likely a major reason for the disconnect, as fuel prices climbed sharply through September, straining carriers' cash flow because expenses rise before revenue catches up. Finally, the freight industry now has a powerful new weapon in the ongoing battle against cyberattacks. The National Motor Freight Traffic Association has launched its Threat Report Portal, where companies that are either victims of a cybersecurity breach or who saw one coming and fought it off can share their experiences anonymously. The Portal, which Soft launched in May and is now fully operational, allows freight companies to share what Nmfta calls Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures, or TTP, and Indicators of Compromise. Ben Wilkins, Nmfta's Director of Cybersecurity, explained that bad actors use a technique on one carrier, and if it doesn't work, they just move to the next carrier and use the exact same playbook. By early June, the Portal had already attracted 100 registrants, including some of the biggest shippers and three PLs, both domestically and internationally.