A Century of ABF Freight: Double Returns from People Investment and M&A Strategy

If Seth Runser had hoped 2023 would be easier, giving ABF Freight a chance to calmly reflect on the company's century-long history, reality clearly had other plans.

As the ArcBest-owned carrier celebrated its centennial,the ratification of a new labor agreementshould have been the year's highlight, yet the year was overshadowed by freight diversion from Yellow Corp.'s bankruptcybrought on bywhile the entire industry was mired in aprolonged freight recession. Last month's cyberattack on Estes Express Lines alsobriefly intensified freight volume fluctuations during the dry season。

"Obviously, we've been through a lot this summer," Runser said. "Add in various macroeconomic conditions... it's been a pretty busy summer, to say the least."

The carrier takes great pride in its corporate culture, which the president describes as "industry-leading." This includes ensuring employees receive training and support, as well as regular management visits and operational briefings.

It is this culture, along with key acquisitions along the way, that has enabled this local transportation company, which started in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1923, to weather a century of challenges and grow into one of the nation's largest unionized less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers.

"We are truly committed to building partnerships with our customers, and at the end of the day, it all starts with our people," Runser said.

Arkansas carrier expands through acquisitions

Similar toOld Dominion Freight Line, ABF Freight's name reflects its origins, even though its trucks now traverse the nation.

The company was originally named OK Transfer, and according tocompany history records, it adopted the name Arkansas Motor Freight after acquiring that company in 1935. That same year, its trucks first ventured outside Arkansas through the acquisition of Motor Express.

In the 1940s, the company was a regional carrier operating in Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana, and was acquired by Robert A. Young Jr. in 1951. In 1956, after acquiring Best Motor Freight, the company gained the precursor to its modern abbreviated name—Arkansas Best Freight System, or ABF.

The 1978 acquisition of Navajo Freight Lines, along with a series of other acquisitions over the following years, paved the way for parent company ArcBest to grow into a freight and logistics giant.

In the 1980s, the company successfully fended off a hostile takeover through a leveraged buyout and remained private for four years. In subsequent years, ArcBest acquired Worldway, Albert Moving, and Panther Expedited, and expanded its business into logistics services.

The August 1988hostile takeover attemptwas not the last time outsiders coveted ArcBest: this year, rumors circulated that Canadian freight giant TFI International, after purchasing shares in the company,might acquire it。

As the longest-standing member company of the Arkansas Trucking Association, ABF Freight has evolved and thrived through deregulation, recessions, the pandemic, and other shocks, according to association President Shannon Newton.

"Its legacy lies in preserving proven good practices while adapting to the times, making the supply chain better, safer, and more efficient, and precisely serving communities across the state and the nation," Newton said in an email.

Leading by example, on the front lines

Maintaining a strong culture in any national company is no easy task, let alone for a business founded a century ago.

Runser hits the road roughly every other week to visit employees at ABF Freight's hundreds of service centers across the country. He said he has met with thousands of employees over the past few years.

"I firmly believe leaders should be on the front lines," the company president said. "There is so much change; you have to be present with your employees."

The company sends quarterly internal video updates to ensure drivers, dock workers, maintenance personnel, and other employees stay regularly informed about operations. Experts point out that, in addition to competitive pay and benefits, communicating with drivers and responding to their concerns iskey to retaining them。

"We do have a really good relationship with our employees," Runser said. "We offer industry-leading benefits. That's a big advantage for us because we have an experienced workforce that knows how to serve customers well, and that ultimately leads to growth."

"They'll be around for another hundred years"

When Tony Spero was hired by ABF Freight in the spring of 1989, he and his wife had no children yet.

But he knew he wanted a stable job, a place where he could stay for the long haul. He asked the hiring manager: "Can I work at this company until I retire?"

"He said, 'I guarantee it,'" Spero recalled in an interview with Trucking Dive. "He was one hundred percent right."

The 58-year-old member of America's Road Team (a group of veteran drivers with exemplary safety records) will retire at the end of this year after nearly 35 years of service. Driving trucks at ABF, Spero supported his family in Stratford, Connecticut—a family that now includes two children, a 4-year-old grandson, a 2-year-old granddaughter, and an 18-month-old granddaughter.

Spero said ABF Freight's wages are competitive, and the health benefits are particularly excellent, especially for union employees. The labor agreement covering ABF's 8,600 Teamsters union members includes provisions for wage increases and benefits, and prohibits inward-facing cameras, audio recorders, body or biometric sensors, and autonomous vehicles.

Spero said senior management demonstrates the company's values by keeping promises—and by being candid when they have to decline a driver's request.

"It's been good to me since day one, May 1, 1989," he said. "I believe they'll be around for another hundred years."