ABF Freight System, the LTL subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corp., reports it is benefiting from the bankruptcy of LTL rival Consolidated Freightways (CF).
According to ABF, its daily LTL tonnage jumped 11% after CF closed its doors September 2. That compares to a 2.4% drop in daily tonnage before CF's bankruptcy.
However, president & CEO Robert A. Young III said it has been more difficult to measure additional new business since CF closed because of the labor dispute that closed 29 West Coast ports for 11 days.
Young is unsure how long ABF can benefit from picking up former CF freight.
“We believe that some of the CF business taken by other carriers is being handled for a 60- or 90-day trial period,” he said in the company's third-quarter report. “As a result, much of this freight has not found a permanent home and may not do so until next spring.”
Young also said the carrier will attempt to buy former CF terminals if they come up for sale to help win it former CF customers on a permanent basis.
