St. Charles, MO (June 6, 2018) – In a continued effort to expand its offering of personalized solutions for customers, Milestone Trailer Leasing has acquired leases for 1,575 dry vans from Heartland Express of North Liberty, Iowa. This move will add additional trailers – manufactured between 2014 and 2017 – equipped with tracking, tire inflation systems and lift pads to Milestone’s already expansive fleet spanning 25 markets.
“Milestone’s depth of industry experience, flexible deal structuring, lender relationships and nationwide branch network uniquely positions the company to craft and execute on this type of transaction,” says Don Clayton, Milestone President and CEO.
New Equipment, More Opportunity
The Milestone – Heartland deal provides Heartland the opportunity to move out of the leased late model fleet that was part of its July 2017 purchase of Interstate Distributor Company (IDC) while providing for a quick and orderly return of all 1,575 trailers to locations throughout Milestone’s nationwide branch network. Additionally, the structure of the transaction allows Heartland to focus on the replacement of the IDC fleet with trailers made more to its specifications.
“This transaction allows Heartland to execute our financial and fleet strategies effectively and efficiently,” says Michael Gerdin, Heartland President and CEO. “Milestone’s extensive experience in large multi-location trailer fleet programs gave us confidence in working with the Milestone team.”
This announcement comes on the heels of Milestone’s expansive growth in the last three years – including the addition of $400 million of equipment. Inventory comprises of approximately 85,000 trailers, chassis, and containers provided to customers under flexible operating lease and rental structures. “The company continues to respond to customer and market demand,” says Clayton. “We are dedicated to driving results for our partners.”
About Milestone Equipment Holdings, LLC
Milestone is one of the largest and fastest growing transportation equipment leasing companies in the US, operating a diversified fleet of over 84,000 pieces of equipment including Domestic Chassis, Domestic Containers, Marine Chassis, Highway Trailers, Intermodal Trailers, Storage and Convention Trailers, Flatbed Trailers, Refrigerated Containers and Trailers, and other specialty equipment.
Headquartered in St. Charles, MO with an operational center in Chicago and 60+ commercial locations across the country, Milestone has acquired intermodal and highway fleets for our operations since 1995, while managing and leasing equipment on behalf of institutional and private investors. Our customers include trucking companies (over-the-road and LTL), third-party logistics (3PL) companies, package carriers, private shippers, railroads, steamship operators, beneficial cargo owners (BCOs), retailers, manufacturers and other companies throughout the transportation sector. The Milestone fleet allows all of these industry segments to maximize equipment utilization and transportation efficiency without the burden of owning their own equipment.
Our management services include committed peak and surge capacity programs, complex consulting and structured deals (including sale-leaseback transactions and fleet refresh programs), maintenance and telematics consulting and services, comprehensive management of third party transportation equipment assets, and equipment acquisitions and remarketing.
For more information, please visit: https://www.milecorp.com/
