Maersk Acquires US Customs Broker Vandegrift

Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk has acquired Vandegrift, a US-based customs house broker, representing the first acquisition of the year in the fast-growing logistics sector.

The price and terms of the transaction, which closed on February 8, were not disclosed.

The acquisition is expected to enhance Maersk’s commercial solutions pipeline and strengthen the logistics presence in the North America market.

As explained, customs house brokerage is a key component in Maersk’s strategy to become an integrated container logistics company, providing end-to-end solutions to customers.

“Customers have been asking us to simplify the complexity of their global supply chains and reduce their risk so we analyzed the North America market to see who had the best reputation in the brokerage/trade compliance industry and deliver immediate results to all vertical segments of our account base,” Klaus Rud Sejling, Head of Global Logistics and Services at Maersk, said, adding that the company selected Vandegrift based on its findings.

“Transportation costs and trade compliance risk management are a strategic issue for our customers. We believe we have an opportunity to better design a more holistic customs brokerage and trade compliance plan and overarching strategy for customers. This will set them up for long term success, improve their cost and risk structures and use our combined team expertise, digital tools and process improvement thanks to this acquisition,” Sejling added.

Based in Clark, New Jersey USA, Vandegrift is a customs brokerage business established in 1951. The company also specializes in Trade Compliance with a team of former US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials as well as individuals with backgrounds in customs brokerage, retail and law.