ArcBest Corporation is an American holding company for

truckload Truckload shipping is the movement of large amounts of homogeneous cargo, generally the amount necessary to fill an entire semi-trailer or intermodal container. A truckload carrier is a trucking company that generally contracts an entire trailer-l ...

and

less-than-truckload Less-than-truckload shipping or less than load (LTL) is the transportation of an amount of freight sized between individual parcels and full truckloads. Parcel carriers handle small packages and freight that can be broken down into units less t ...

(LTL) freight, freight brokerage, household good moving, and transportation management companies. Historically, the company also owned furniture, banking, and other diverse subsidiaries. The company ranked fifteenth among for-hire carriers in the US for 2020 according to industry journal Transport Topics.

History

The company was formed in 1966 as Arkansas Best Corporation by Robert A. Young, owner of LTL carrier Arkansas-Best Freight System (now

ABF Freight System ABF Freight System, Inc., a subsidiary of ArcBest Corporation, is an American national less-than-truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. History The company was founded Fort Smith, Arkansas in 1923 as OK Transfer, the ...

), to be that carrier's holding company as a way to facilitate diversification. Young remained the company's chairman until his death in 1973. In the 1960s, the company acquired Healzer Cartage Company, Delta Motor Line and others. Arkansas Best Corp. went public on the

NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the List of stock exchanges, world's largest s ...

as "ABZ" in 1972. At the time, in addition to Arkansas-Best Freight System, it also owned Riverside Furniture Corporation, the National Bank of Commerce of Dallas, Texas, Data-Tronic Corporation, and Arkansas Bandag Corporation. In 1978, the company acquired Navajo Freight Lines. In 1988, the company was the subject of a

hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...

which resulted in a leveraged buyout to take the company private. It went public again, this time on the

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

, in 1992. ABF acquired financially troubled Worldway Corp. and its subsidiaries Carolina Freight Carriers Corp., G.I. Trucking Co., Red Arrow Freight Lines Inc., Cardinal Freight Carriers Inc., Innovative Logistics Inc., and CaroTrans International Inc. in 1995 for . G.I. Trucking was subsequently sold in 2001 into joint ownership of a group of G.I. senior management and LTL carrier

Estes Express Lines Estes Express Lines is a privately owned American freight transportation provider based in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1931 by W.W. Estes, the company is owned and operated by the Estes family. Robey W. Estes, Jr., became the company’s pre ...

and was fully acquired by Estes in 2005. Further acquisitions by ABF in the 2010s included Albert Moving in 2011 and Panther Expedited for in 2012. In 2013, it created ABF Logistics. In 2014, Arkansas Best was renamed ArcBest Corporation. This was followed in 2015 by the acquisition of Smart Lines Transportation Group and Bear Transportation Services and in 2016 by the acquisition of Logistics & Distribution Services. Also in 2016, the company reorganized rebanding many of its services under the name ArcBest. In 2021, ArcBest acquired MoLo Solutions, a

brokerage company based in

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. The deal was priced at upfront and up to an additional if MoLo hits certain revenue benchmarks by 2025. ArcBest intended to merge MoLo's operations and its existing brokerage operations onto a single platform.

Operations

, ArcBest and its subsidiaries operated over 240 facilities in North America. The company ranked fifteenth on Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire carriers list for 2020 with over 4,000 company-owned tractors, over 22,000 trailers, and 83 straight trucks in its fleet. The company reports its revenue in two segments: asset-based (which consists of ABF Freight) and asset-light (all other operations).

Subsidiaries

ABF Freight

ABF Freight is a

unionized A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

truckload and LTL freight company based in Fort Smith and is ArcBest's largest subsidiary representing about of ArcBest's approximately revenue in 2019.

ABF Logistics

ABF Logistics provides brokerage and transportation management services. ''ABF Moving/U-Pack'' U-Pack is a household goods moving brand of ABF created in 1997. Since 2014, it has operated as a part of ABF Moving which itself is part of ABF Logistics.

Panther Premium Logistics

Panther is a non-asset carrier based in

Seville, Ohio Seville is a village in Medina County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,296 at the 2010 census. History Seville was platted in 1828. It was named after Seville, in Spain. A post office was established in Seville in 1830. Geography Sev ...

, founded in 1992 which was acquired by ArcBest in 2012. At the time of acquisition, Panther Expedited Services was the second-largest US expedited carrier behind FedEx Custom Critical. The company was renamed Panther Premium Logistics in 2014.

FleetNet America

FleetNet America provides repair and maintenance services. The company is based in

Cherryville, North Carolina Cherryville is a small city in northwestern Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,760 at the 2010 census. The New Year's Shooters celebrate the area's German heritage by beginning each year with a customary chant and ...

ArcBest Technologies

Originally Data-Tronics Corp., the company was renamed ArcBest Technologies in 2014.

MoLo Solutions

MoLo is a Chicago-based truckload freight brokerage company acquired by ArcBest in 2021.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Moving companies of the United States Trucking companies of the United States 1923 establishments in Arkansas Transportation companies based in Arkansas Fort Smith, Arkansas