Swift Transportation Co. Invests in Mexican TL Carrier

Swift Transportation Co. Inc., Phoenix, has executed a stock-purchase agreement for a 49 percent interest in Mexican truckload carrier Trans-Mex Inc. S.A. de C. V.

Swift expects to finish the acquisition before the end of March. Swift has agreed to purchase part of the remaining interest in the carrier in February 2002 and the remainder in February 2004.

"For the past five years, we have been transporting our customers' freight to the US/Mexico border and utilizing various Mexican truckload carriers to transport the freight within Mexico," Swift chairman and chief executive officer Jerry Moyes said. "Through this arrangement, we will now have a single-source solution for transporting freight between the U.S. border and points within Mexico, which will allow us to better service our existing customers who ship into and out of Mexico and broaden our service offerings to those shippers who require a single source
provider."

Moyes said that Swift's traffic between the United States and Mexico is increasing faster than the company's overall 21 percent growth rate.

Swift is the third-largest publicly held national truckload carrier in the United States.