USA Truck acquires Georgia carrier Davis
USA Truck, based in Van Buren, said Thursday that it has purchased Davis Transfer Co., a regional carrier in Carnesville, Ga., for $53 million.
"One of the reasons we really liked this opportunity is because it provides us a presence in a market where we don't have that big of a presence today," Jason Bates, USA Truck's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said Thursday. "But above all, Davis is a company that's been around for a long time and has been profitable for many years. These guys really run a lot of trucks and do it very well."
The purchase involved $52.25 million in cash and $750,000 in equity, Bates said.
Founded in 1959, Davis had been family owned until its sale to USA Truck. Todd Davis, president of the company, will join USA Truck as a vice president, USA Truck said.
-- Stephen Steed
Sam's Club expands same-day delivery
Sam's Club, the membership warehouse division of Bentonville retailer Walmart Inc., said Thursday that it is expanding its same-day delivery of groceries and other merchandise to 90 new markets this month.
Customers without a Sam's Club membership can also use the delivery service to shop the warehouse, though they will pay higher prices than club members.
Sam's Club is working with e-commerce firm Instacart for the delivery service, which will be available by Oct. 31 from nearly 350 clubs -- more than half its locations nationwide, according to a news release. Shoppers may place their orders through Instacart's app or online at samsclub.com/instacart, and receive them as quickly as one hour after ordering.
The service has been tested since early this year through pilot programs in Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, Texas; St Louis; and, more recently, Los Angeles and San Diego. Positive customer feedback led the company to expand the service, said Sachin Padwal, Sam's Club's vice president of product management.
-- Serenah McKay
State index off 7.36; all but 2 stocks fall
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, tumbled 7.36 to 424.94 Thursday.
All but two stocks on the index lost ground.
"Weakness overnight in China spilled over into U.S. equity markets as investors reduced risky assets with the S&P 500 Index retreating back to the 200-day moving average and the consumer discretionary and information technology sectors underperforming the broader market," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 22.5 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 10/19/2018