UPS announced a new business unit that combines a number of recent acquisitions into a global customs brokerage and freight forwarding business, making it a major player in that market.

The new unit will include the Fritz Companies, a leading freight forwarding, custom brokerage and logistics concern headquartered in San Francisco, which UPS bought in a transaction that closed Thursday. It also will include seven brokerage and forwarding operations acquired over the past 18 months, plus UPS's existing freight forwarding interests.
This yet-to-be-named division has net revenues exceeding $750 million. It will be headed by David Abney, a 27-year UPS veteran and former president of SonicAir, which is now part of UPS Logistics Group. The new business unit is not expected to have a material impact on UPS's earnings this year.
"Long before the purchase of Fritz, UPS developed a strategic plan that called for a dramatic expansion of the company's ability to serve customers shipping not only packages, but also large items and heavy freight across international borders," said Abney. "That plan also called for the company to offer full service customs clearance services to shippers of all goods, not just those shipping small packages."