Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022:

Forward Air acquires intermodal carrier

Forward Air Corporation (CCJ Top 250, No. 57) is set to acquire the assets of Chickasaw Container Services (CCS), a privately held intermodal drayage carrier. The transaction will be funded from cash on hand and is expected to close in November 2022.

CCS, which boasts 67 power units, has been in business for more than 30 years with operating terminals in Mobile, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to drayage services, CCS also provides container storage and sales at both of its locations.

The acquisition of CCS allows Forward to expand intermodal drayage operations in the Mobile market while bolstering an already strong presence in the Memphis market.

“Our intermodal business has been a key growth area for Forward over the past few years,” said Tom Schmitt, Forward Air President, Chairman and CEO. “Chickasaw Container Services boasts an experienced team and shares our commitment to precision execution. We are excited about this acquisition, as it gives us a second base of operations in Memphis and allows us to expand in the high-value Mobile market simultaneously – making Forward Intermodal a formidable player in that region.”

There have been 27 deals among CCJ‘s Top 250 for-hire carriers since the beginning of June, and 32 Top 250 fleets have struck 36 deals this year. 

Rhode Island appeals court’s ruling on truck-only toll plan

The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority and Peter Alviti Jr., director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, filed a notice of appeal Oct. 19 to challenge a District Court’s decision to rule the state’s truck-only toll plan unconstitutional.

The notice was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston. Rhode Island had 30 days from the district court’s decision on Sept. 21 to file an appeal. Now, the state has until Dec. 12 to file a brief on the appeal.

In ruling the tolls unconstitutional, U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith said the tolls violated the Constitution’s Commerce Clause by discriminating against out-of-state economic interests in order to favor in-state interests, and by designing the tolls in a way that “does not fairly approximate” in-state motorists’ “use of the facilities under any relevant measurement.”

The state has been collecting the tolls, which ranged from $2.25 to $9.50, since 2018 at 12 locations along I-95 with a 13th in the works.