Celadon Acquires Furniture Row Express Assets

Celadon Group’s trucking unit has acquired approximately 100 tractors and 200 refrigerated trailers from Furniture Row Express to further expand the buyer’s temperature-controlled freight business, a company official said.

Celadon spokesman Joe Weigel confirmed to Transport Topics that the buyer also hopes to add drivers from the Denver-area based carrier. Terms for the transaction completed last week were not disclosed.

Celadon, of Indianapolis, has been making a series of acquisitions, totaling more than a dozen over past several years, seeking to retain drivers by offering them newer equipment to replace older models. The carrier also gradually has been expanding its service offerings beyond dry van into the temperature-controlled market.

“This is a strategic opportunity that gives us immediate access to tractors, refrigerated trailers and hopefully a pool of new Celadon drivers,” Weigel said. “With respect to drivers, we hope they choose to join Celadon and will be making every effort to make this happen.”

Weigel said the purchase was solely tractors and trailers and that no buildings, land or other equipment was part of the sale.

Efforts to reach Furniture Row Express for comment were unsuccessful.

Celadon Group ranks No. 44 on the list of Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers in the U.S. and Canada. (Click here for downloadable PDF.)