Rand Logistics to Acquire American Steamship Company

On Feb 13, 2020

Jersey City-based Rand Logistics, Inc. has entered an agreement to acquire American Steamship Company from GATX Corporation. Rand is an affiliate of American Industrial Partners (AIP) and provides dry bulk shipping services throughout the Great Lakes region.

ASC operates the largest fleet of U.S. flagged vessels on the Great Lakes, providing waterborne transportation of over 27 million tons annually of dry bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal and limestone on vessels ranging in size from 634 feet to over 1000 feet.  The strategic combination of Rand and ASC will create the largest and most diverse fleet on the Great Lakes, serving different and highly complementary markets with multiple self-unloading vessel classes.

“We are excited about this transformative combination of two leading vessel operators on the Great Lakes.  This strategic union will create significant additional shipping capacity through network efficiencies and repositioning of the respective fleets.  All of which will allow the resulting company to further improve its customer service and offer additional flexibility and shipping capacity to its customer base,” said Peter Coxon, Chief Executive Officer of Rand.

“ASC is an iconic American company with a rich 113-year history and an important role in moving the materials that built, sustain and drive the vast industrial capacity of the Great Lakes region.  We are thrilled to partner with management and further increase our investment in the Great Lakes shipping and logistics ecosystem,” said Jason Perri, Partner of AIP and Chairman of Rand’s Board of Directors. “ASC’s asset quality and track record of reliability, safety and service in moving raw materials for its customers is world class and we look forward to integrating these two great companies into a new and larger platform for growth under our ownership.”

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