Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2013 -- Business continues to excel for The Dependable Companies. The Los Angeles-based transportation management and logistics management (3PL) company recently acquired two trucking-related businesses in Southern California, and is shopping around for more.

Dependable purchased C.A.N. Transport, a drayage company in Carson, Calif., and Atlant USA, a Compton, Calif.-based distribution firm. The acquisitions are Dependable’s most recent buys since the purchase of Matheson Fast Freight in 2010.

Due to the increasingly stringent California Air Resources Board regulations, the costs associated with maintaining equipment and purchasing new trucks has become more and more prohibitive. Dependable CEO Ron Massman sees this as an opportunity to grow and believes there is more opportunity to continue adding assets to his business in the future.

“There are a lot of marginal companies that have suffered a long time, and they’re ready to throw in the towel,” Massman said. “There are going to be [carriers] that either have to close or sell.”

Dependable, founded by Ron’s father Harry Massman in 1950 with a single truck, has been growing by acquisition since it branched into warehousing with the purchase of Freight Transport in 1968. It now has six divisions covering trucking, air and ocean freight forwarding, warehousing, distribution and logistics.

According to Massman, volumes have been up in the early months of 2013, and Dependable has picked up some additional business in addition to their two recent acquisitions.

The company expects about $270 million in revenue in 2013, Massman said — “and it could be more than that” if Dependable acquires more businesses. Dependable Highway Express LTL Division ranked 49 among the top 50 less-than-truckload carriers in 2011, according to SJ Consulting Group, with about $68 million in LTL revenue and 9.7 percent annualized growth.

That trucking operation grew by about 4 percent in 2012, Massman said.

Dependable’s return to acquisitions signals increased economic confidence. “We’re looking at a couple” of potential purchases, Massman said. “We slowed [acquisitions] a little bit in recent years, and I’m ready to get back in that mode.”

C.A.N. will boost Dependable’s heavy-container drayage business, he said. The drayage company hauls overweight containers from the docks to a facility where they can be transloaded. “They’re very close to the Port of Los Angeles harbor and within the heavyweight (container corridor) zone,” Massman said.

The C.A.N. acquisition brings over $10 million in annual sales to Dependable, according to Massman.

Atlant’s business is more specific. The company’s main warehousing and distribution client, Massman said, is The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a privately owned coffee and tea company with hundreds of locations in the U.S. and overseas. They will deliver to all the company-owned stores in California.

The Dependable Companies provide solutions for every aspect of your supply chain logistics needs. Our services include West Coast regional LTL and FTL, harbor drayage, warehousing & distribution, and 3PL (third-party logistics).