DSV Seeks Buyer for USA Truck After DB Schenker Deal
Danish Logistics Giant Moves to Shed Asset-Heavy US Carrier
Key Takeaways:
- DSV said Oct. 23 it is seeking a buyer for truckload carrier USA Truck, which it acquired through its $15.9 billion purchase of DB Schenker in 2024.
- The Danish logistics group classified USA Truck as a discontinued operation, citing a $14 million accounting charge and its shift toward an asset-light U.S. road business model.
- DSV provided no timeline for the sale as it continues integrating Schenker’s operations, cutting costs and narrowing its 2025 profit forecast amid weaker market conditions.
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DSV is actively working to sell off truckload carrier USA Truck, the logistics behemoth revealed when releasing its third-quarter 2025 earnings Oct. 23.
USA Truck is now classified as a discontinued business in accounting terms as DSV seeks a buyer, Chief Financial Officer Michael Ebbe said during an earnings call with investors and analysts.
DSV acquired USA Truck in September 2024 when it bought DB Schenker for $15.9 billion. The DB Schenker deal closed in April.
USA Truck ranks No. 76 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. It ranks No. 23 among truckload/dedicated carriers.
Van Buren, Ark.-based USA Truck operates more than 2,000 tractors and 6,500 trailers while owning nine service centers and five regional logistics centers, according to a fact sheet on its website.
USA Truck’s business model does not fit DSV’s vision for asset-light North American on-road operations, the company said in a report accompanying the most recent quarter’s results.
DSV, which ranks No. 11 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America and No. 14 among global freight carriers, said it took a 90 million Danish kroner ($14 million) accounting hit on USA Truck in Q3. DSV reports in Danish Kroner, and conversion rates were correct as of Oct. 23.
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“With the acquisition of Schenker, DSV assumed control over Schenker’s road activities in the U.S. Part of the activities were acquired with the intention of future resale, resulting in a portion of Schenker U.S. road operations being classified as a disposal group held for sale and designated as discontinued operations,” DSV said in the report.
“As part of the Schenker integration, we are consolidating DSV’s and Schenker’s infrastructure, especially in groupage, to create a dense road network while maintaining our asset-light business model. In addition, we are optimizing our distribution and linehaul capabilities and reducing the number of terminals,” the company added. Groupage is a combination of multiple less-than-truckload shipments.
A timeline for the disposal was not provided.
Schenker ranks No. 26 on the logistics TT Top 100. Acquiring Schenker made DSV the globe’s largest freight forwarder.
Schenker bought USA Truck for $435 million in June 2022. USA Truck’s activities are focused east of the Mississippi.
The first DSV earnings report after the acquisition of Schenker gave a hint of what was to come.
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“Schenker has an operation in the U.S. that is delivering significant losses,” CEO Jens Lund said during DSV’s second-quarter 2025 earnings call July 31. “Actually, ever since it’s been acquired, it’s been delivering what can I say, a financial outcome that was a deficit. So, it’s something that we are now establishing a plan [for] and dealing with.”
DSV posted a Q3 profit from continuing operations of 2.16 billion kroner, a 24.1% decrease compared with 2.85 billion kroner in the year-ago period.
That was despite revenue jumping 63.2% to 71.98 billion kroner from 44.1 billion kroner in Q3 2024.
Meanwhile, DSV trimmed the top end of its full-year profit forecast range, citing the impact of tariffs and the macroeconomic outlook.
The Danish company cut its 2025 expectations for earnings before interest, tax and special items to a new range of 19.5 billion kroner to 20.5 billion kroner from 19.5 billion to 21.5 billion kroner previously.
DSV also said it may have to take further cost-cutting measures. The company has laid off more than 3,000 white-collar employees since the Schenker deal closed, but no overall number on layoffs is available as the two logistics giants are melded.
