TForce Freight

Last updated
TForce Freight, Inc.
Formerly
  • Overnite Transportation (1935–2006)
  • UPS Freight (2006–2021)
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry Transportation
Founded1935;89 years ago (1935) in Richmond, Virginia
Founder J. Harwood Cochrane
Headquarters
Richmond, Virginia
,
United States
Area served
  • United States
  • Mexico
  • Canada
Parent
Website www.tforcefreight.com

TForce Freight, a subsidiary of TFI International, is an American less than truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Richmond, Virginia. [1] The company was founded in 1935 as Overnite Transportation, [2] the name it used until 2006 when it was rebranded UPS Freight by new owner UPS. Its name changed to TForce Freight in 2021 when UPS sold the company to TFI. [3]

Contents

History

Logo of Overnite Transportation Company Overnite Transportation Logo.jpg
Logo of Overnite Transportation Company

Foundation as Overnite Transportation

TForce Freight traces its history back to 1935 when J. Harwood Cochrane founded the Overnite Transportation Company. Initially, the Overnite fleet consisted of one tractor, one trailer, and one straight truck. [2] Overnite saw steady growth in its early years fueled in part by contracts with Philip Morris and R. J. Reynolds. During World War II, Overnite provided transportation for the U.S. Marine Corps. [4] The company went public in 1957 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1962. [2]

Cochrane and Overnite became known for a strong anti-union stance despite a 1959 Teamsters picketing of a number of companies in North Carolina, including Overnite. Over 1,400 employees picketed terminals in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

The Teamsters later organized a boycott of Overnite's freight by a number of other carriers prompting the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to grant Overnite temporary authorization to deliver freight outside its own routes. The boycott led Overnite to sue the Teamsters for lost business eventually winning a $900,000 judgement. [4]

Through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s Overnite grew through acquisition of smaller carriers or the assets of bankrupt competitors. In 1982, Overnite received authorization to operate in all 48 states of the contiguous US allowing it to grow outside its home market in Virginia. [4] By the mid-1980s, Overnite operated in 33 states plus Washington, D.C. primarily in the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Southeast but already had four terminals in California. [5] [6]

Union Pacific ownership

In 1986, Cochrane sold Overnite to the Union Pacific Corporation (parent company of the Union Pacific Railroad) for $1.2 billion. [7] Cochrane remained with the company as chairman until 1990. [4]

The company had historically focused on LTL services but following the UP acquisition it began to haul truckloads as well. Specifically, on an ad hoc basis as part of final mile services for UP loads of auto parts to GM and Ford. This led to Overnite officially starting a truckload “special services” division in 1993. [8]

Overnite expanded west in 2001 with its $80 million purchase of Salt Lake City-based western regional LTL carrier, Motor Cargo Industries. [9] This gave Overnite the ability to offer national linehaul services by interlining with Motor Cargo. [10]

In 2003, Union Pacific spun Overnite off via an IPO. By this time, Overnite was a nationwide LTL carrier employing over 14,400 mostly non-union employees and operating more than 6,000 tractors and 21,000 trailers. According to Union Pacific, Overnite was profitable on revenue of $1.33 billion in 2002 having benefited from the bankruptcy of Consolidated Freightways. [11]

Independent operation

From 2003 to 2005, Overnite Transportation operated as an independent, publicly traded company through an initial public offering of $475 million under the ticker symbol OVNT. [11] [12] [13]

UPS ownership as UPS Freight

UPSIntl4000.jpg
Overnight UPS Freight Truck (8998200073).jpg
Motor Cargo, UPS Freight box truck, Denver.jpg
UPS Freight truck, Motor Cargo & Overnite trailers.jpg
UPS Freight branding proceeded slowly. Clockwise from upper left: Box truck in UPS Freight livery in 2009, tractor in Overnite livery pulling UPS Freight-branded trailer in 2013, UPS Freight truck with Motor Cargo and Overnite trailers in 2016, Motor Cargo branded box truck in 2016.

UPS acquired Overnite and its subsidiary, Motor Cargo, on August 8, 2005 for $1.25 billion. [14] [15] Overnite offered LTL and truckload services nationwide and Motor Cargo operated regionally in the western US. UPS intended to integrate the two to form a single network with three services: UPS Freight LTL, UPS Freight Truckload, and Specialty Solutions (offering services like trade show, temperature-controlled freight, etc.). On April 28, 2006, Overnite Transportation officially became UPS Ground Freight Inc. [16] [17]

The acquisition of Overnite was partially a way for UPS to remain competitive against its largest rival, FedEx. [18] FedEx had acquired Viking Freight, a west coast LTL carrier, as part of its 1998 purchase of Caliber System [19] and in 2001 acquired American Freightways, an east coast LTL carrier. [20] The two had been combined to create FedEx Freight in a bid to expand into the growing LTL market. This pressured UPS to respond. [18] Immediately after acquisition, the logos on the doors of the Overnite and Motor Cargo tractors were covered with signs showing the operator as UPS Freight.

In March 2006, UPS announced the rebranding of both companies' services to UPS Freight. Starting in April, some drivers started wearing UPS-branded uniforms. UPS began repainting existing tractors and purchasing new vehicles with the UPS trademark Pullman brown on the bottom, a gold line near the center of the tractor, and a gray ("reminiscent of the Overnite gray" according to UPS) for the upper color. At the time, UPS expected the rebranding to take "several years" given the fleet's size, particularly its 22,000 trailers. [16] [21] New tractors for the truckload division (former Overnite Transportation – Special Services Division) were solid white with the UPS shield on the roof fairing.[ citation needed ]

TFI ownership as TForce Freight

In January 2021, UPS agreed to sell their freight business to Canadian rival TFI International for $800 million. [22] UPS cited as rationale its plans to move the company's focus away from the domestic trucking market towards small package delivery, which had become more profitable due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [23] [24] The deal was completed in April 2021. [3] Under the purchase agreement, UPS Freight LTL operations would be independent with existing management remaining in place [25] and would be rebranded "TForce Freight." Truckload operations would be merged into TFI's existing truckload group which included Joplin, Missouri-based CFI. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FedEx</span> American freight and package delivery company

FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company specializing in transportation, e-commerce, and business services. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of its original air division, Federal Express, which operated under this name from 1973 until 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Parcel Service</span> American package delivery company

United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has expanded to become a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's largest shipping couriers. UPS today is primarily known for its ground shipping services as well as the UPS Store, a retail chain which assists UPS shipments and provides tools for small businesses. UPS offers air shipping on an overnight or two-day basis and delivers to post office boxes through UPS Mail Innovations and UPS SurePost, two services that pass on packages to the United States Postal Service for last-mile delivery.

Caliber System Inc., known until 1996 as Roadway Services Inc., was a transportation holding company based in Akron, Ohio, United States. During its history, Caliber owned a number of logistics companies including Roadway Express, Viking Freight and Roadway Package System (RPS) among others. Roadway Express was spun off in 1995 and Caliber was acquired by FedEx in 1998 with subsidiaries becoming FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Custom Critical and FedEx Global Logistics.

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

Con-way, Inc. was an American multinational freight transportation and logistics company headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. With annual revenues of $5.5 billion, Con-way was the second largest less-than-truckload transport provider in North America, with additional operations for global contract logistics, managed transportation, truckload and freight brokerage. The company's services were sold through its primary operating companies of Con-way Freight, Con-way Truckload and Menlo Worldwide. These operating units provided less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload and multimodal freight transportation, as well as logistics, warehousing and supply chain management services. Con-way, Inc. and its subsidiaries operated from more than 500 locations across North America and in 20 countries.

Consolidated Freightways (CF) was an American multinational less-than-truckload (LTL) freight service and logistics company founded on April 1, 1929, in Portland, Oregon, and later relocated to Vancouver, Washington. Affectionately known as "CornFlakes", Consolidated Freightways was also the founder of the Freightliner line of heavy trucks, now owned by Daimler Trucks. At its height, the company possessed over 350 terminals, employing more than 15,000 truck drivers, dock workers, dispatchers and management. Consolidated Freightways was once the nation's number one long-haul trucking company and the 3rd largest-ever US bankruptcy filing, ceasing business in 2002.

Estes Express Lines is a privately owned American freight transportation provider based in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1931 by W. W. Estes, the company is still owned and operated by the Estes family. Robey W. Estes, Jr., became the company’s president in 1990, then chairman and CEO in 2001. He was succeeded by his son Webb Estes as COO and President in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow Corporation</span> American transportation holding company (1929–2023)

Yellow Corporation was an American transportation holding company headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. Its subsidiaries included national less than truckload (LTL) carrier YRC Freight; regional LTL carriers New Penn, Holland, and Reddaway; and freight brokerage HNRY Logistics. From 2006 to February 2021, Yellow was known as YRC Worldwide.

Roadway Express, Inc. was an American less than truckload (LTL) trucking company. Roadway Express and its holding company, Roadway Corporation, were acquired by logistics holding company Yellow Corporation in 2003, and the parent companies were merged to form Yellow Roadway Corporation, later renamed YRC Worldwide. In 2009, Roadway Express was merged with YRC's other national LTL carrier, Yellow Freight, to form YRC, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight-Swift</span> American truckload transportation company

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is a publicly traded, American motor carrier holding company based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the fourth largest trucking company in the United States. The company's primary subsidiaries are truckload carriers Knight Transportation, Swift Transportation, Midnite Express and, since July 2021, less than truckload (LTL) carrier AAA Cooper. In January 2022, the company expanded its LTL footprint with the acquisition of Midwest Motor Express. In July, 2023 Knight-Swift acquired truckload carrier US Xpress.

New England Motor Freight, Inc. (NEMF) was a unionized less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload freight carrier, based in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It was one of the largest LTL carriers in the US Northeast when it entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 and subsequently shut down all operations in 2020.

Pitt Ohio Express, LLC, stylized PITT OHIO, is a privately owned transportation and supply chain management company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that serves the Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern US. Pitt Ohio ranked 48th on Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire list and 14th on its Top Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Carriers list of US and Canadian freight carriers by revenue for 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Con-way Freight</span> Logistics company

Con-way Freight was a less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, utilizing a network of freight service centers to provide regional, inter-regional and transcontinental less-than-truckload freight services throughout North America. The business unit provided day-definite delivery service to manufacturing, industrial and retail customers. Con-way Freight was the largest division of Con-way, Inc. with 16,600 employees, more than 365 operating locations, 16,000 dock doors and 32,750 tractors and trailers. The company was founded by Consolidated Freightways (CF) of Portland, Oregon, as a non-union spinoff, for LTL hauling. In 2009, Con-way Freight reported revenues of over $2.6 billion. In 2015, Con-way Inc., including Con-way Freight and sibling company Con-way Truckload, was acquired by XPO, Inc., a primarily non-asset logistics company from Greenwich, Connecticut, in a deal worth $3.5 billion.

TFI International Inc. is a Canadian transport and logistics company based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, a borough of Montreal. It operates primarily in Canada, the United States, and Mexico through 4 business segments: less than truckload (LTL), package and courier, logistics, and truckload. It has Canada's largest LTL business, largest trucking fleet, and in 2021 was ranked 6th in terms of revenue among both LTL and truckload North American carriers. Its trucking fleet consists of over 14,000 company-owned power units, nearly 10,000 owner-operator tractors, nearly 50,000 trailers and over 200 straight trucks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AAA Cooper</span> American less than truckload freight trucking company

AAA Cooper Transportation (ACT) is an American, non-union less than truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Dothan, Alabama. The company also provides dedicated, port, and international freight transportation. The company was founded in 1955 by John H. Dove after he purchased an interest in P.C. White Truck Lines. It was owned and operated by the Dove family for most of its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Dominion Freight Line</span> American transportation company

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL) is an American regional, inter-regional and national less than truckload shipping (LTL) company. In addition to its core LTL services, the company offers expedited, logistics and household moving services.

James Harwood Cochrane was an American businessman and philanthropist, as well as inductee into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTI Transport</span>

WTI Transport, Inc. is a for-hire carrier based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with terminals in Birmingham, Mobile and Whites Creek, TN. A flatbed company of approximately 370 tractors, WTI hauls freight throughout the Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and East Coast. WTI’s fleet is a mixture of company drivers and owner-operators. Shipments consist mainly of roofing, building materials, and all types of aluminum, iron and steel products. Currently, WTI was a subsidiary of Daseke, which is now owned by TFI International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Freight Lines</span> Former American LTL freight trucking company

Central Freight Lines Inc. (CFL) was an American regional less-than-truckload (LTL) company headquartered in Waco, Texas and serving the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. For much of its history it was the largest and longest tenured freight carrier in Texas and in 2021 ranked 21st on Transport Topics top LTL carriers in the US as of 2021 with estimated revenues of US$256 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArcBest</span> American transportation holding company

ArcBest Corporation is an American holding company for truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) freight, freight brokerage, household good moving, and transportation management companies. Historically, the company also owned furniture, banking, and other diverse subsidiaries. The company ranked fifteenth among for-hire carriers in the US for 2020 according to industry journal Transport Topics.

References

  1. ↑ "UPS 3Q profit up 1 percent as US revenue increases". www.usnews.com. October 27, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Reiskin, Jonathan S. (26 July 2016). "Overnite Transportation Founder J. Harwood Cochrane Dies at 103". Transport Topics. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 "TFI International Completes Previously Announced UPS Freight Acquisition". Bloomberg. 2021-04-30.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mall, Scott (10 March 2021). "Overnite Transportation Co. was an LTL leader". FreightWaves. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Yoshihara, Nancy (19 September 1986). "Union Pacific Will Acquire Overnite for $1.2 Billion". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Aelia, Raora. "Moving company Zurich" . Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Reiskin, Jonathan S. (13 September 2010). "Overnite Transportation Founder Cochrane, 97, Still Consulted Frequently for His Sage Advice". Transport Topics. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  8. ↑ Watson, Rip (11 March 1993). "OVERNITE TRANSPORTATION CO. LAUNCHES NEW TRUCKLOAD UNIT". JOC. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  9. ↑ "Union Pacific Unit to Buy Motor Cargo". The New York Times. 2001-10-16. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  10. ↑ Kilcarr, Sean (1 April 2006). "For Suggs, Overnite Success Ends with UPS Freight". Fleet Owner. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  11. 1 2 Machalaba, Daniel (5 August 2003). "Union Pacific to Spin Off Overnite Trucking Unit". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Wines, Leslie; Cole, August. "Overnite leaps on $1.25B UPS buy". MarketWatch. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  13. ↑ Solomon, Mark (2021-01-25). "UPS closes curtain on tough 15-year-old LTL run". FreightWaves. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  14. ↑ Trunick, Perry A (June 1, 2005). "The incredible shrinking LTL industry".
  15. ↑ "UPS acquisition of Overnite adds ground-freight operations". www.bizjournals.com. 2005-05-16. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  16. 1 2 "Overnite is rebranded as UPS Freight". Material Handling & Logistics. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  17. ↑ "Cargo.Pk: News: UPS has acquired Overnite Transportation Co". 28 May 2006.
  18. 1 2 Nguyen, Terrence (2005-05-16). "UPS to buy Overnite". Fleetowner.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  19. ↑ NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE (7 October 1997). "FedEx to acquire Caliber for $2.4 billion Move aims to increase competition with UPS; Shipping". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  20. ↑ "FedEx $950M takeover bid". CNN Money. 13 November 2000. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  21. ↑ Carlozo, Lou (March 28, 2016). "The Ups and Downs of UPS". money.usnews.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  22. ↑ Ziobro, Jennifer Smith and Paul (2021-01-25). "UPS to Sell Freight Trucking Business to TFI for $800 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  23. ↑ Ziobro, Jennifer Smith and Paul (2021-01-25). "UPS to Sell Freight Trucking Business to TFI for $800 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  24. ↑ Ziobro, Paul (2020-07-29). "Coronavirus Shifts Pricing Power to UPS and FedEx, and They Are Using It". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  25. ↑ Cannon, Jason; Jaillet, James; Cole, Matt (4 February 2021). "After 15 years and lackluster returns, UPS turns LTL venture over to another keeper". Commercial Carrier Journal. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  26. ↑ Schultz, John D. (25 January 2021). "TFI International buys UPS Freight for $800 million, rebranding as "TForce Freight"". Logistics Management. Retrieved 12 August 2021.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.