Dive Brief:
- Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings is unifying its LTL subsidiaries Midwest Motor Express and DHE Transportation under its AAA Cooper Transportation brand, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
- The LTL carriers have already integrated their systems to better provide regional and national service, combining administrative and financial systems, the company said in a letter to customers.
- Existing pricing, data exchanges and the Standard Carrier Alpha Code for the three carriers, AACT, will all remain unchanged.
Dive Insight:
The MME and DHE brands have been integrating with AAA Cooper Transportation, also known as ACT, as part of a push to develop a national network this year.
While trucking companies frequently keep the same names of brands the same, which can save costs, re-decaling trucks and trailers can also bring unity.
The acquisition of DHE Transportation in 2024 previously helped unlock lanes to and from California and neighboring markets, catching the attention of existing and new customers, the company has noted.
Since then, the company has opened new sites to add to its LTL network. That’s included Southwest and West Coast openings in places like Albuquerque, New Mexico, and San Jose and Santa Rosa, California. Additions have also come in MME and ACT territory, such as Yakima, Washington, and Enid, Oklahoma.
The Northeast is a remaining section for Knight-Swift to build out a cross-country LTL service. In recent earnings calls, the company said it continues to look for organic and inorganic opportunities to expand its business.
"They're saying we have a great name in AAA Cooper," Craig Decker, a managing director with Brown Gibbons Lang & Co., said Friday.
He noted that while the LTL carriers don't have physical assets in the Northeast, which can be a tough area to enter for new LTL carriers, interlining with other carriers can still meet those service needs.
"You can serve the nation even if you have just two touch points" like New York and California, he said. "But then you're sharing some of the margin."
