Posted on June 25, 2025
Canal Barge Co., one of New Orleans’ oldest family-owned businesses, will be purchased by Maryland-based Redwood Holdings, the companies announced Tuesday, marking the end of local ownership of the nearly century-old barge and transport firm.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Canal Barge will retain its local headquarters in New Orleans’ Central Business District, and longtime President, CEO and board chair H. Merritt Lane, III will remain in the city and serve as CEO of a newly created holding company that will be controlled by Redwood.
The new holding company will include Canal Barge and its subsidiaries, as well as Marquette Transportation Co., a marine transport company that Redwood acquired last year.
“We are extremely excited to partner with Redwood and Marquette to grow our businesses together,” Lane said in a prepared statement. “Redwood is the ideal long-term home to continue the legacy of the CBC family and provide opportunities to our mariners and shore-based employees.”
Reached by phone Tuesday, Lane declined to comment beyond his written remarks.
Canal Barge keeps a relatively low profile locally, but the 92-year-old company, founded by Lane’s grandfather, is one of the largest barge operators in the U.S. In 2024, it had 900 employees in 27 states and nearly $500 million in revenues.
Though it will remain in New Orleans, the sale of Canal Barge is the latest instance of a locally owned maritime firm seeing ownership or control shifting outside of the city. Among the companies that have sold, closed or moved out of state since the 1990s are Lykes Bros. Steamship Company, International Shipholding Corp. and Tidewater. The Canal Barge announcement comes a day after another locally owned company, Gallo Mechanical, announced it had sold a majority of its company to a Dallas private equity firm.
GNO Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht said that the acquisition of local firms is “a part of a natural, healthy business lifecycle” though it highlights the need to diversify and strengthen the local economy.
“This underscores the importance of having a productive entrepreneurial ecosystem that is constantly working to create the Canal Barge for the next 100 years,” Hecht said.
‘Sterling reputation’
Canal Barge Co. was founded by Joseph Merrick Jones and his partners in 1933, with one barge and an initial investment of $10,000. Their vision was to form long-term partnerships with companies to move goods along rivers and other inland waterways, according to the company’s website.
In the decades that followed, Canal Barge grew to a fleet of more than 800 tank, hopper and deck barges, 43 towboats, a liquid bulk terminal, and the largest independent towing and fleeting service on the Illinois River. It has subsidiaries that include Illinois Marine Towing and the IMT-Lemont Shipyard, Canal Terminal Company, Canal Analytical & Environmental Services and Pelican Marine Services in Houston.
The company has developed a global reputation for excellence, according to Gregory Rusovich, a business and civic leader and CEO of Transoceanic Development.
“Canal Barge has a sterling reputation nationally and internationally,” Rusovich said. “They are best in class, first rate in every way – ownership, management, employees and equipment.”
The new holding company Redwood is creating will couple Canal Barge with services from Marquette Transportation, which is based in Paducah, Kentucky and has operations in south Louisiana, according to the news release. Both companies service inland waterways, but they specialized in different parts of the market.
“With complementary services and shared values, this partnership strengthens our ability to expand the breadth and depth of our services across the diverse range of markets that we each serve,” said Damon Judd, President of Marquette.
Under the terms of the deal, Lane will serve as CEO of the holding company and run Canal Barge, while Judd will serve as president of the holding company and continue to oversee operations at Marquette.
David Lane will continue in a senior leadership role with Canal Barge, overseeing company operations. John Eckstein, Marquette’s executive chairman, will serve as executive chairman of the holding company.
“We believe that both Canal Barge and Marquette are unique companies with common commitments to safety, exceptional talent, deep customer partnerships, strong people-oriented cultures, and outstanding prospects for growth,” said Ryan Mostrom, Partner at Redwood Holdings.
Civic commitment
Though Canal Barge will continue to be based in New Orleans, out-of-state ownership could eventually shift some decisionmaking to other areas. Having the headquarters of large companies in a city or region can help boost growth by bringing in talented executives and providing a source of leadership in civic institutions and philantrhopy. For instance, Lane has chaired or served on the boards of several philanthropic and charitable organizations, as have other family members.
In the short-term that is not expected to change. The fact that Lane will lead the new holding company is good news, according to Hecht, who said he is “thrilled Lane will stay in the leadership position.”
In 2023, Lane said Canal Barge could be located anywhere in the country but that the company chose to remain in its Union Street headquarters because of its commitment to New Orleans.
“Even though we are an international business, we are very much a New Orleans-based company and New Orleans is at the center of our ethos,” he said.
The deal must still be approved by federal regulators. It is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of 2025, the statement said.
