DSV announces acquisitions of S&M Moving Systems West and Global Diversity Logistics

Earlier today, Hedehusene, Denmark-based global 3PL DSV said it has acquired two United States-based freight transportation and logistics services providers—S&M Moving Systems West and Global Diversity Logistics.

Financial terms of these transactions were not disclosed.

DSV said that the objective of these acquisitions are three-fold: to augment its position within the semiconductor industry; align with its new Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport operations; and support its growing cross-border services into Latin America. It added that these acquisitions are expected to be made official next month.

S&M Moving Systems West and Global Diversity Logistics are owned by the same family, with headquarters in Phoenix and Chandler, Arizona, DSV said, with the companies having a collective 130 employees, across 11 sites in Oregon and Arizona, providing various services, including: domestic road freight, international air and sea freight, warehousing, tradeshow logistics, and specialist solutions to support the semiconductor industry.

“We have a strong presence in the US, and these acquisitions underline our continuous commitment to strengthening our US position, competencies and service offerings,” said says Niels Larsen, President DSV Air & Sea US, in a statement. “They also provide access to a strong heritage and a wealth of knowledge and experience in the semiconductor industry.” 

What’s more, DSV said there is “a strong match” between DSV, S&M Moving Systems West and Global Diversity Logistics' respective businesses and operating structures, explaining that bringing these companies into the fold will help to expand DSV's existing US footprint, particularly in Arizona, and bring together its air and sea, road and warehousing divisions with the new acquisitions.

And it added that these acquisitions match up well with DSV’s new Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport operations and air charter expansion in Arizona, citing how customer demand for services to Latin America continues to grow and offer customers a “reliable and efficient gateway to Latin America.” DSV also stated that with Arizona making inroads as an electric vehicle sales and manufacturing hub, the infrastructure and workforce of these acquisitions will enable DSV to provide additional solutions for its customers.

“We have recently expanded our cross-border operations to facilitate the growing trade between the US and Mexico,” said Robert Greene, Executive Vice President, DSV Road US. “We are currently supporting a range of customers across various industries and can now provide a reliable alternative to Miami. With two official gateways into Latin America, we are better placed to support customer needs, particularly during busy periods and congestion.”

Evan Armstrong, president of Milwaukee-based supply chain consultancy Armstrong & Associates, told LM that DSV has been very acquisitive for some time now.

“These two small acquisitions will help support DSV’s cross-border Mexico business and add to its North American network,” he said. “Mexico is the U.S. leading trading partner and it has been a key beneficially of the reshoring movement of manufacturing from Asia. In 2016, DSV acquired global supply chain manager and freight forwarder, UTi Worldwide, for $1.35 billion. In 2019, it and Panalpina, another global supply chain manager and freight forwarder, merged. Then in August of 2021, DSV completed the acquisition of Kuwait based 3PL, Agility's, Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business. DSV is now the third largest 3PL in the world with $29 billion in total revenues. North America represents just under 30% of its global business. DSV has 65 North American warehouses totaling 16.4 million square feet.”

Ben Gordon, founder and managing partner of Palm Beach, Florida-based Cambridge Capital, and managing partner of Ben Gordon Strategic Advisors, told LM that these acquisitions give DSV leadership positions on various fronts—including the semiconductor sector; growing strength between the U.S. and Mexico, and, more broadly, the U.S. and Latin America—both themes that are expected to gain more traction over the course of 2023.

“These deals are really examples of supply chain convergence,” said Gordon. “DSV is really known as a powerhouse in multiple areas of supply chain. This gives them other capabilities and more strength in a sector for them in semiconductors, and also gives them geographic expansion. Its service scope was already pretty broad, with air and sea, road, and warehousing. These acquisitions give them more of all of the above. This is probably more about geographic expansion than service expansion, but it is a little bit of both. The expansion of service capabilities is alive and well…because customers want it, and they want supply chain partners that can do more for them. Acquisitions that allow supply chain companies to do that make all the sense in the world.”