Knight-Swift Transportation, the largest truckload carrier in the U.S., is buying rival U.S. Xpress. The Wall Street Journal reports the $808 million deal adds thousands of trucks and some $2.2 billion in annual operating revenue, and brings with it the task of repairing a business that lagged behind many of its peers during the pandemic-driven boom in freight demand.

Knight-Swift will pay $6.15 a share for the operator, a fourfold premium on the closing share price on March 20. But the price is only 13% ahead of the 52-week high reached in April 2022. 

Like other trucking companies, U.S. Xpress has seen demand stumble since the second half of last year. That has opened a door for Knight-Swift to extend an aggressive acquisition strategy that had been focused on diversifying its business. The diversification effort is taking a back seat for now while Knight-Swift’s core truckload business simply gets bigger.