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December 21, 2000 10:55 AM, EST

The merger of Swift Transportation Co. () and M.S. Carriers, Inc. () has triggered a power shift in Transplace.com, but the overall effect on the online logistics firm will be negligible, according to company officials and analysts.

The two companies now combine to own 30% of the Transplace.com. The new Swift-owned entity supplants J.B. Hunt () as the largest shareholder in Transplace.

Jerry Moyes, president of Phoenix-based Swift, said he did not believe there would be any changes to Transplace as a result of the merger. Transplace is headquartered in Plano, Texas. Jun-Sheng Li, who had been a J.B. Hunt official, is its president.

Besides M.S. Carriers, Swift and J.B. Hunt, Transplace consists of the logistics operations of Covenant Transport (), U.S. Xpress () and Werner Enterprises ().

Transplace’s Li said he was excited about the merger because it “accelerates the industry trend toward consolidation.” Consolidation provides Transplace greater economies of scale and more efficient asset utilization, Li said. It also shows that “Transplace members are thinking outside the box and that they are open to new ideas — and that’s where the concept of Transplace can really thrive.”

For the full story, see the Dec. 18 print edition of Transport Topics. .