CON-WAY TO BUY CFI FOR $750 MILLION
Con-way Inc. has announced its intent to acquire Contract Freighters Inc. for $750 million.
The privately held Joplin, Mo.-based CFI controls 2,600 tractors and 7,000 trailers and has 3,000 employees, 2,500 of them drivers. In 2006, its revenue totaled $427 million, 40 percent of which came from Mexico-related business. The company is debt-free and has been solidly profitable.
CFI will join the Con-way Truckload division, which has 470 drivers, to create a truckload unit with more than $500 million in annual revenue, the companies say. The new unit will account for 20 percent of Con-way’s linehaul movements.
The boards of directors of both companies approved the transaction, expected to close no later than September.
DRIVERS AWARDED FOR REFERRALS, SAFETY
Trans-System awarded a 2007 Ford pickup truck to owner-operator Michael Haas of St. Regis, Mont., as part of its referral program.
National Carriers awarded a 61-inch Panasonic high-definition television to driver Ed Edens of Daleville, Ala., in the company’s referral contest.
Driver Luis Uribe of Penn-sauken, N.J., won a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as part of the Evans Network of Companies’ annual safety program.
PACER OPENS L.A. DISTRIBUTION SITE
Pacer Distribution Services opened a 52-door distribution center in Carson, Calif., to support increased demand for international freight. The facility is next to the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. The company is a subsidiary of Pacer International.
CON-WAY INCREASES BENEFIT PACKAGE
Con-way Truckload now offers team drivers a $3,000 sign-on bonus, practical-mile pay, incentive awards and installed inverters and in-cab refrigerators. The program includes wellness coaches who can help with smoking, weight and other health issues.
SCHNEIDER DEBUTS PERCENTAGE OPTION
Schneider National now offers a percent of revenue lease option that pays 65 percent of line-haul revenue and 100 percent fuel surcharge with no trailer rental fees. The program is available to owner-operators in all states east of the Mississippi River, as well as those in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
CONTRACT FREIGHTERS INC. announced May Drivers of the Month: Jim Cory, Contractor Driver; John and Sherry Hufford, Contractor Team; Brian Courtney, Company Driver; and Deverne Hunt and Carole Smith, Company Team.
TMC TRANSPORTATION named Dan Erickson as its top driver for the 2007 first quarter.
DECKER TRUCK LINE named its May Drivers of the Month: Warren Erxleben, flatbed division; Todd Wulf, reefer/van division.
AVERITT EXPRESS honored four drivers for 20 years of service: Clarence Brooks, Randy Harris, Danny Howell and Jerry Merrell.
MAVERICK TRANSPORTATION honored driver Phil Nibeck for 20 years of service.
TRANSPORT AMERICA announced March Drivers of the Month: Ray Anderson, George Baird, Todd Buck, James Gardner, Timothy Taylor and Ervin Van Beck.
