Con-way, Inc.

was an American multinational

freight transportation Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been e ...

and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

company headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. With annual revenues of $5.5 billion, Con-way was the second largest less-than-truckload transport provider in North America, with additional operations for global contract logistics, managed transportation, truckload and freight brokerage. The company's services were sold through its primary operating companies of

Con-way Freight Con-way Freight was a less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier headquartered in Ann Arbor utilizing a network of freight service centers to provide regional, inter-regional and transcontinental less-than-truckload freight services throughout Nor ...

Con-way Truckload Contract Freighters, Inc. (CFI), a subsidiary of Heartland Express, is an American truckload freight carrier headquartered in Joplin, Missouri with operations in the continental US, Canada, and Mexico. Easily recognizable on the highway by thei ...

and

Menlo Worldwide Menlo Logistics was a global supply chain company operating in 20 countries on five continents. Its core business offerings included third-party logistics and supply chain management, and the company specialized in the integration of all functio ...

. These operating units provided less-than-truckload (LTL), full truckload and multimodal

, as well as logistics, warehousing and supply chain management services. Con-way, Inc. and its subsidiaries operated from more than 500 locations across North America and in 20 countries. The company was known as Consolidated Freightways, Inc. until 1996 when it spun off its long-haul trucking subsidiaries, CF MotorFreight and four others, into a separate, independent company which took the name

Consolidated Freightways Consolidated Freightways (CF) was an American multinational less-than-truckload (LTL) freight service and logistics company founded on April 1, 1929, in Portland, Oregon, and later relocated to Vancouver, Washington. Affectionately known as "Co ...

Corporation. The parent company was renamed CNF Transportation Inc. at the time of the split and retained a set of LTL subsidiaries which had been operating under the name Con-way as well as its other logistics and freight forwarding subsidiaries. The spinoff long-haul business, Consolidated Freightways Corporation, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 3, 2002, and ceased operations. In 2006, CNF rebranded itself Con-way, Inc. On September 9, 2015, it announced it was being acquired by

XPO Logistics XPO is an American transportation company that conducts less-than-truckload shipping. The company's headquarters are located in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. History The company was initially called ''Express-1 Expedited Solutions'' before b ...

. The sale was completed on October 30, 2015 and the Con-way brand had been retired by May 9, 2017.

History

Con-way's heritage dated from 1929, when industry pioneer Leland James founded an intercity trucking company in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. Initially named Consolidated Truck Lines, the company grew from a one-truck operation into one of the largest long-haul carriers in the United States by the early 1980s, and became one of the few freight transportation firms to originate in the West and successfully expand eastward. Consolidated headquarters were moved to the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

in the 1950s. In 1996, Consolidated's unionized long-haul trucking company, CF MotorFreight, was spun off as

, Inc., creating two separate publicly traded companies. Consolidated Freightways, Inc. was renamed CNF Transportation, Inc., reflecting the familiar stock ticker symbol of the company (CNF). Consolidated Freightways Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 3, 2002, and ceased operations. In 2006, the CNF Transportation changed its name to Con-way, Inc, and the company's NYSE stock ticker was changed from CNF to CNW. In 2007, Con-way acquired Contract Freighters, Inc. (CFI), a privately held North American truckload carrier based in

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jas ...

, in a transaction valued at $750 million. Founded in 1951, CFI operated more than 2,600 tractors and more than 7,000 trailers, with more than 3,000 employees including approximately 2,500 drivers that serve customers throughout North America. Con-way moved its headquarters from San Mateo, California to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2011. On September 9, 2015, Con-way announced it was being acquired by

, and the sale was completed on October 30, 2015. Con-Way Freight headquarters building Ann Arbor Michigan

Company structure

Con-way, Inc. was the parent company for five wholly owned subsidiaries:

Con-way Freight

Con-way freight provided less-than-truckload service across North America.

Con-way Truckload

Con-way Truckload, since acquired by

TFI International TFI International Inc. is a Canadian transport and logistics company based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, a borough of Montreal. It operates primarily in Canada, the United States, and Mexico through 4 business segments: less than truckload (LTL), p ...

in 2016 renamed

Contract Freighters, Inc. Contract Freighters, Inc. (CFI), a subsidiary of Heartland Express, is an American truckload freight carrier headquartered in Joplin, Missouri with operations in the continental US, Canada, and Mexico. Easily recognizable on the highway by their ...

(CFI), provided full truckload shipping across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Con-way Enterprise Services

Con-way Enterprise Services was the administrative and information technology division of Con-way, Inc., and was based in Portland, Oregon.

Menlo Worldwide Logistics

Menlo Worldwide Logistics designed and implemented logistics solutions across the globe.

Con-way Manufacturing

Con-way Manufacturing, formerly Road Systems, Inc., was a trailer refurbishing and manufacturing company that supplied trailing equipment to the company’s trucking fleets.

References

External links

Official website
{{Trucking industry in the United States Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Former components in the Dow Jones Transportation Average Trucking companies of the United States Companies based in Ann Arbor, Michigan 2015 mergers and acquisitions Transport companies established in 1929 1929 establishments in Oregon Transportation companies based in Oregon Transportation companies based in Michigan