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

If Seth Runser had hoped 2023 would offer a slightly easier pace, allowing ABF Freight to calmly reflect on its centennial history, reality clearly had other plans.

As the ArcBest-owned carrier marked its centennial,the ratification of a new labor agreementwas a highlight of the year, but the year was more overshadowed by Yellow Corp.'s bankruptcyand the freight diversion it causedas well asa prolonged freight recession. The cyberattack on Estes Express Lines last month alsotemporarily intensified freight volume fluctuations amid the drought。

"We were clearly very busy this summer," Runser said. "Add in various macroeconomic conditions... it was, to say the least, a fairly busy summer."

The carrier prides itself on a corporate culture that 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 it all ultimately starts with our people," Runser said.

Arkansas carrier grew through acquisitions

Similar toOld Dominion Freight Line, ABF Freight's name also reflects its origins, although its trucks now span the nation.

The company was originally named OK Transfer and acquired Arkansas Motor Freight in 1935, adopting the latter's name, according tocompany historical records. That same year, its trucks first traveled outside Arkansas through the acquisition of Motor Express.

In the 1940s, the company was still a regional carrier covering 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 initials of its modern name—Arkansas Best Freight System, or ABF.

The 1978 acquisition of Navajo Freight Lines, along with numerous other deals in subsequent years, paved the way for parent company ArcBest to become a freight and logistics giant.

In the 1980s, the company successfully fended off a hostile takeover through a leveraged buyout and was consequently privatized for four years. Subsequently, ArcBest acquired Worldway, Albert Moving, and Panther Expedited, and expanded into logistics services.

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

As the longest-tenured member of the Arkansas Trucking Association, ABF Freight has evolved and thrived through deregulation, recessions, the pandemic, and other disruptions, said association president Shannon Newton.

"Its legacy lies in retaining what has proven effective and good, while keeping pace with the times to make the supply chain better, safer, and more efficient, and precisely serving communities across the state and nation," Newton wrote in an email.

Leading by being "on the road"

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

Runser travels roughly every other week, visiting ABF Freight's hundreds of terminals across the nation to meet with employees. He said he has spoken with thousands of employees over the past few years.

"I firmly believe leaders should be 'present,'" the president said. "There is so much change; you have to be in front of your people."

The company sends quarterly internal video updates to keep drivers, dockworkers, maintenance personnel, and others regularly informed of operational developments. Experts point out that, in addition to competitive pay and benefits, communicating with drivers and responding to their concerns iskey to retaining them。

"We have a really good relationship with our employees," Runser said. "We offer industry-leading benefits. This is truly our advantage because we have an experienced workforce that knows how to serve customers well and ultimately drive growth."

"They'll be around for another hundred years"

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

But he knew he wanted a stable job he could stick with long-term. He asked the hiring manager: "Can I work at this company until retirement?"

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

The 58-year-old "America's Road Team Captain" (composed of veteran drivers with outstanding safety records) will retire at the end of the year, ending a nearly 35-year career with the company. Driving for ABF, Spero supported his family in Stratford, Connecticut, which 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 its health benefits are particularly excellent, especially for union employees. The labor agreement covering ABF's 8,600 Teamsters employees includes increased wages and benefits and prohibits the use of inward-facing cameras, recording devices, body or biometric sensors, and autonomous self-driving 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 from day one: May 1, 1989," he said. "I believe they'll be around for another hundred years."