American Freightways Corp.
FormerlyArkansas Freightways (1982-1993)
Company typePublic
IndustryTransportation
Founded1982; 42 years ago (1982)
FounderSheridan Garrison
DefunctFebruary 9, 2001 (2001-02-09)
FateAcquired by FedEx Freight
SuccessorFedEx Freight East
Headquarters
Harrison, Arkansas
,
United States
Areas served
  • Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern United States
  • Mexico
  • Canada
  • Caribbean
  • South America
Key people
Tom Garrison (president and CEO)
Number of employees
17,000 (2001)
Footnotes / references
[1]

American Freightways Corp. (AF) was an American regional less than truckload (LTL) carrier based in Harrison, Arkansas. It was acquired by FedEx in 2001,[2] renamed FedEx Freight East in 2002,[3] and its operations were merged with FedEx's other LTL subsidiaries in 2010 to form FedEx Freight Inc.[4]

History

Sheridan Garrison founded The company Arkansas Freightways' on October 25, 1982. At its inception, it provided service to seven states from 20 terminals. Garrison had former experience in trucking, having bought a small Arkansas trucking company, Harp Line Trucks, which they renamed Garrison Motor Freight, in 1955 with his brother and father.[5] By 1987 the company still served seven states but had grown to 58 terminals and had a combined 1,700 tractors and trailers and almost 1,000 employees.[6]

Arkansas Freightways became a publicly held corporation in March 1989 with an over-the-counter stock offering. At the time, it served nine states with 1,200 employees and reported previous year profits of US$3.46 million on US$73 million in revenue.[7] The company continued expansion in November announcing 13 new terminals in Texas bringing the network-wide total to 89.[8]

In January 1993, Arkansas Freightways, which now served 12 states, changed its name to American Freightways Corp..[9]

FedEx acquisition

American Freightways was acquired by FedEx Corporation in 2001 for US$1.2 billion.[1] FedEx created a new subsidiary, FedEx Freight to serve as the parent of both AF and FedEx's existing LTL subsidiary, Viking Freight, a western US regional carrier.[2] The combination created the third largest LTL carrier in the United States after Con-way Freight and USFreightways.[10]

In June 2002, FedEx rebranded AF as FedEx Freight East and Viking as FedEx Freight West, both still operated as independent subsidiaries of FedEx Freight. This marked the end of the American Freightways brand.[3] FedEx expanded its LTL operations by buying Lakeland, Florida-based LTL carrier Watkins Motor Lines in 2006. Watkins was renamed FedEx National LTL and initially operated as a separate subsidiary of FedEx alongside FedEx Freight, both part of FedEx's FedEx Freight division.[11]

In January 2010, FedEx merged its regional and national operations into a single entity, FedEx Freight Inc. marking the end of independent operations of the former American Freightways.[4] The DOT number, 239039, which was initially assigned to American Freightways, remains in use by FedEx Freight, Inc.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b "FEDEX ACQUIRES AMERICAN FREIGHTWAYS". The Journal of Commerce. Memphis, Tennessee. 12 November 2000. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b FedEx (12 February 2001). "FedEx Completes Acquisition of American Freightways and Announces Formation of FedEx Freight" (Press release). Memphis, Tennessee: FedEx. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  3. ^ a b Parry, Tim (7 February 2002). "American Freightways and Viking Freight become FedEx Freight". Fleet Owner. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b Malone, Scott (17 September 2010). "Market falls as FedEx fails to deliver". The Ottawa Citizen. p. E2. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Schulz, John D. "Sheridan Garrison Dead". The Journal of Commerce. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. ^ Mahnken, Don (5 June 1987). "On the road: Arkansas firm opens terminal in Springfield". The Springfield News-Leader. p. 8B. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Stock in Harrison trucking company sells out in hours on debut offering". Baxter Bulletin. Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press. 31 March 1989. p. 3A. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Arkansas Freightways plans 13 additional Texas terminals". Baxter Bulletin. 15 November 1989. p. 6A. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Arkansas Freightways to change name to American Freightways". Clarion-Ledger. Harrison, Arkansas. 23 December 1992. p. 5B. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Reiskin, Jonathan S. (22 November 2000). "FedEx to Pay $1.2 Billion For American Freightways". Transport Topics. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  11. ^ American Shipper (29 May 2006). "FedEx buys Watkins Motor Lines". FreightWaves. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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