Transcendental: KAG Logistics expands multimodal solutions

American PetroLog’s founder said the time was right when he sold the third-party bulk logistics company in 2022. Bailey Bobbitt, American PetroLog vice president, now is certain KAG Logistics (KAGL) was the right place, too. “KAGL was the best fit for us culturally,” he said. “We already did a lot of the same things, but we each brought something different to the equation in terms of transloading, private-fleet reliability, and specialized services.

“That’s really what brought us together.”

The American PetroLog (APL) acquisition enhanced KAGL’s rail expertise while APL’s secured access to KAGL’s newest technology, name-brand backing, vast tank truck fleet, and of course expansive carrier network. Now, their combination is giving bulk shippers access to elite rail-to-truck services, including new and expanded transload facilities in California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida—and holistic supply chain solutions. “When we execute an acquisition, we always look to implement best practices to make sure we capture the strengths of the successful organizations we acquire,” said Mark Lloyd, KAG Logistics executive vice president.

The KAGL/APL advantage

APL was founded in 2015 with the goal of providing safe and dependable capacity to the petrochemical industry. Initial customers included producers of wastewater treatment chemicals and biofuels, and the U.S. military, which hired APL to coordinate deliveries of jet fuel. The asset-light company established its first transload facility in late 2017 in Venus, Texas, outside the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and in 2019 secured its first major transloading contract.

At the time of its sale to KAGL, the growing company had 15 employees, six transload locations, and an office in Lafayette, Louisiana. They now boast 17 locations and an extended team of nearly 200 logistics professionals. “Our team at APL is aggressive, solutions-oriented and extremely focused on growth,” Lloyd said.

See also: APL founder: It was the ‘right time’ to sell

KAGL, one of four divisions within North America’s largest tank truck transporter, Kenan Advantage Group (KAG), primarily moved fuels early on, transitioned to handling all bulk liquids in 2018, and then diversified into other transportation segments. KAGL is now a significant player in dry van and flatbed, multimodal bulk services, including transloading, rail management, and cross-docking, with help from APL and Connectrans Logistics, a Toronto, Ontario-based company, also acquired in 2022. KAGL grew at a rate of about 17.0% from 2015 to 2023, Lloyd shared. It now manages approximately $500 million in freight and boasts 10,000-plus carriers, including 1,500 liquid, dry bulk, and drayage specialists.

Together, APL and KAG entered 2025 with synergistic momentum.

With the combined strengths of these acquisitions, KAGL has been able to further enhance service offerings to its customers such as optimizing lanes and services with its transloading equipment,  expertise, and extensive network of railcar operators. This allows clients to outsource the time-consuming task of securing tank cars with the appropriate liners. KAGL also supports a safety program that promotes carriers’ efforts to meet chemical and energy producers’ compliance, safety, and accountability (CSA) thresholds.

“Through positive relationships with shared customers, and the location of our combined transloading sites we have unlocked more business opportunities,” Bobbitt said.

Growing transload network

KAGL’s strategic acquisitions are a slam dunk for multimodal bulk operators, too.

The unified network features new and brownfield sites, previously underutilized rail connections at existing KAGL terminals, and expanding cross-dock and warehouse services. The newest transload operations are in West Texas, just outside Odessa, where APL began developing a facility last year; and a location west of Reno, Nevada, where APL is working with a new ISO tank depot partner.

See also: APL solves problems with multimodal approach

The 40-acre West Texas site, which is anchored by a blending facility, boasts water access, and a rail siding served by Union Pacific, by way of short-line railroad operator Watco, that’s long enough to simultaneously load multiple tank cars. “We have aspirations to build that into a larger, multi-customer blending facility for specialty chemicals,” said Harry Coyne, vice president of APL. “We can hold 100-plus cars on site, we have yard equipment—soon we’ll have our own rail-car pusher, and we’ll have opportunities to expand with a laydown yard or other operations.”

The company plans to accelerate marketing efforts for the facility when the blending operation is fully functional. “We couldn’t have gotten this far without the strength of both organizations coming together as one to get this operation off the ground,” Bobbitt said.

APL already managed tank container fleets for the Department of Defense in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, so the Nevada facility—which has 30 rail-car spots and a booming fuels business—extends the service to meet growing demand in the contiguous United Sates. “It seems like everybody wants ISO tanks these days, and they want them in strange locations that are hard to support,” Coyne confirmed.

The South Gate facility near downtown Los Angeles is served by KAGL drayage trucks and features APL-managed warehousing and cross-docking services for growing export markets in Korea, Japan, and South America. KAGL’s preexisting Eagle Lake terminal, east of Tampa, Florida, serves lumber, steel, and petroleum manufacturers supplying one of the fastest-growing areas of the country.

KAGL’s initial transloading operations primarily facilitated ethanol delivery. With APL’s diverse contribution of bulk commodities, it’s now transferring everything from plastic pellets and dry cement to waxes, lubricants, and even grease.

Expansive expectations

As a newly assembled unit, they’re anticipating further transload-fueled growth.

“It’s a key component, because I believe rail is going to be a bigger part of  supply chains,” Lloyd said. “And we’ll continue to go more upstream with our customers, whether it’s building a transload facility or helping them manage railcars. We have significant growth plans for the future.”

With built-to-spec, rail-to-truck transfers as the lynchpin, KAGL plans to increase annual load counts over the next several years. KAGL’s relationships are unlocking new opportunities for multimodal growth as shippers attempt to reduce carbon counts and navigate the ongoing driver shortage.

See also: KAG acquires MC Tank Transport

“Before, customers might have seen us as just a broker, or dedicated operation, mostly for trucking,” Coyne said.

“Now, with our combined team, the sky’s the limit on what we can do.”

The company is well-positioned to take advantage of improving conditions. “The big oil-and-gas customers we work with have been holding back investments for the last four or five years,” Bobbitt said. “Now that the money’s there, it will be actively invested in growing business.” And oil-rich regions like the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico are expected to benefit from changes in Washington. “We’ll be able to service a wide array of customers, and really plant our flag in West Texas, which we expect to see a resurgence in the next couple years, with exploration and other oilfield activities,” Lloyd said.

Technology is the latest KAGL-enabled advantage in its business-boosting arsenal. With “game-changing” new TMS software, which is in the final stages of implementation within the APL systems,  APL will be able to better serve customers’ entire books of business, into the thousands of loads, with fully integrated rail management, carrier protection and compliance software, supply-chain tracking, and a client-facing load board. “The big challenge with transloading is forecasting,” Lloyd said. “If it’s on rail today, how long do I need to hold on to the inventory, when will it show up, and can I keep my operations running effectively?”

“We’re making great strides in that department, which allows customers to utilize transloading to a higher degree.”

The KAGL team also continue to improve their efforts to sell transload services by scouting locations for future facilities.

Lloyd’s expectations are lofty. But, for him, the only measure is customer satisfaction.

“We will always put our customers first. If we can continue to capitalize on the skill of our talented team to put the right solutions in place, then I’ll consider that a success,” he said.