ABF Freight System, Inc

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ABF Freight System, Inc was established in 1923 and is headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Its core business is less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping, consolidating freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload. Led by President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Davidson ^[1], ABF employs 13,000 people, including 7,000 drivers, and is the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation^[2] (NASDAQ: ABFS), listed by Forbes ^[3] as one of the “400 Best Big Companies in America.”

ABF has earned recognition from the American Trucking Associations' Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council 30 times since 1971. ABF is the only major carrier to have won both the Excellence in Security Award and the Excellence in Claims/Loss Prevention Award in the same year, which ABF accomplished both in 2005 and 2001. Also in 2001, Network World named ABF the "E-Comm Innovator of the Year." CIO ^[4], InformationWeek ^[5], InfoWorld ^[6], and BtoB magazines have cited ABF’s strategic use of information technology as exemplary. In 2006, ABF gained its fifth consecutive listing on Selling Power magazine’s annual ranking of the best companies to sell for ^[7].

In 2002, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta met with ABF executives to discuss transportation safety. “ABF is a proven transportation leader, winning numerous awards for safety, security and customer service,” stated Secretary Mineta. “They are a role model for our entire industry. Through this meeting, I expect to get a better understanding of the key elements of ABF’s success, particularly the training and procedural components that keep ABF at the top of the industry.” ^[8]

1 Operations and equipment
2 U-Pack Moving
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Operations and equipment

ABF operates 1,600 road tractors, 2,700 city tractors, and more than 17,000 trailers. The carrier has a three-year road tractor replacement cycle, which provides a relatively young tractor fleet. The ABF network serves all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The carrier offers intermodal service to 250 ports in more than 130 countries worldwide

Primarily a long-haul (transcontinental) carrier, ABF also handles regional shipments via its RPM Network ^[9], providing next-day and second-day shipping. ABF also offers volume shipping, flatbed delivery, and ReloCube container service for shipping and in-transit storage.

The carrier’s product portfolio includes TimeKeeper ^[10], a guaranteed expedited service for time-critical and time-definite shipments; TurnKey^[11], a customized delivery, unpacking, and set-up service; Reverse Logistics ^[12], a service for planning, implementing, and controlling the flow of materials and related information back through the supply chain; FreightValue ^[13], a brokerage service for shipments requiring special equipment or handling; Supply Chain Services ^[14], a network for warehousing, order fulfillment, packaging/light assembly, labeling, product inspection, and testing; U-Pack Moving, a self-load household goods moving service; and Trade Show ^[15], a special service for transporting exhibit materials.

Since 2004, ABF has provided shipping and logistical support for the producers of the ABC Television reality series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ^[16].

[edit] U-Pack Moving

ABF is a business-to-business transporter of general commodities [1]. In 1997, the carrier began offering its shipping services directly to consumers via U-Pack Moving. In doing so, ABF introduced an alternative means of moving residential and business belongings cross country in combination with commercial freight [2].

Traditionally, consumers have moved their household goods either by renting a truck, which they loaded and drove themselves, or hiring a household goods carrier. The later method is known as a full-service moving since the carrier not only packs the goods, but also loads the goods and drives the truck.

For a typical U-Pack move [3], ABF delivers an empty 28-foot trailer or a shipping container (called a ReloCube) at the consumer’s home. The empty trailer comes with a cargo divider called a bulkhead. After loading the trailer, the consumer installs the bulkhead to isolate his or her goods from the rest of the trailer. ABF then uses the remaining space on the trailer to transport commercial freight.

Thus, U-Pack combines elements of traditional moving. As a with a rental truck, consumers do their own loading. As with a household goods carrier, the goods are transported by a professional driver(s).

The commercial trailers used by ABF are 28 feet long, eight feet wide, and nine feet tall. ReloCubes are six feet long, seven feet wide, and eight feet high. ReloCubes are designed to hold a room’s worth of furnishings and to fit into a typical parking space.

The Web Marketing Association awarded ABF U-Pack Moving a 2005 WebAward, naming upack.com the Best Institutional Services Web Site [4]. The web site is a resource for consumers to obtain quotes and schedule and track their moves. It is also a source for moving supplies, information, and referrals for labor, auto transport, and moving insurance.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

United States moving companies	Edit
UniGroup: Mayflower - United Sirva: Allied - Global - North American Independents: Atlas - ABF Freight - Bekins - Interstate - Red Ball PODS Moving and Storage