UPS Sells Trucking Unit Under CEO’s ‘Better-Not-Bigger’ Vow (1)

United Parcel Service Inc. agreed to sell its short-haul trucking business for $800 million, the first substantial move in the “better-not-bigger” strategy that Carol Tome developed since taking over as chief executive officer in June.

Canada’s TFI International Inc. will acquire the unit, one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the U.S., UPS said in a statement Monday. The eight-decades-old operation, separate from the package deliveries for which UPS is known, is primarily a business-to-business enterprise hauling large industrial cargo in big trucks.

Tome’s plan to get lean is a change from 2005, when UPS paid about $1.25 billion for ...