There was a lot news on the Bankruptcy of Consolidated Freight, which rocked the transportation industry, but what most failed to realize is that CF was founded in 1929 and this nation lost a great company.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/85350_consolidated03.shtml
One of their largest customers was The Boeing Company. With Consolidated Freights help we were able to move logistics around the country so we could out produce and deliver our industrial might to the Germans in WWII. Despite the immense volume of logistics CF provided for America they had an incredible safety record un paralleled in the industry and could even hold a candle to the Wal-Mart logistics teams. One of the best safety records in the nation;
http://www.cfwy.com/about/news/2002/02July22.html .
Anyone in the Transportation Industry or who reads Commercial Carrier Journal or Transport topics understands that they too were leading edge on many issues, like B2B, Same day, expedited services and routing plans including trains, planes, ships and trucking and god only knows what else in the future had they still been in business? Leading the industry in high technology for logistics as well.
In business since 1929, 15,500 laid off effective immediately after their bankruptcy, a Delaware Corp. with HQ in Vancouver WA, which as of this year is the highest unemployment in the country. Think about it a company formed in 1929 after the depression made it through the war only to be caught up in this latest cycle of terror, high fuel prices and sluggish recession, this was a bad day for all of America. It is the heart of this country. But such a large company like CF has its tentacles in all sorts of other vendor operations, for instance they were the Third largest buyer of Freightliner Trucks in the World. JB Hunt recently passed them with a 1 billion dollar purchase in 1999.
http://www.freightliner.com/corporate/history.asp
The two companies have a long history. Consolidated Freightways Manufacturing Division eventually became Freightliner. This folks is the backbone of America. Freightliner eventually sold out to Daimler Chrysler. This is very serious as the region got hammered by steel, to make trucks, lumber and timber industries buying trucks, then the trucking lay offs in manufacturing sector, along with buy back leases all killing the prospects of getting out of dodge under German short term gain lookers pledged against America heart and sole and fiber. The massive consolidation of trucking manufacturers, dealers and the like were hurt. Also Pac Car Leasing was hurt with holdings connected to CF, more used trucks for sale again just a used truck prices were starting to rebound. Pac Car bought into Rush Peterbuilt who was also consolidating sales offices and now a new glut of 18,000 used trucks on the market. This is not all, which plagued the CF Companies. High Fuel Costs in summer of 2001 hurt Consolidated Freight and in August 1, 2001 they had to raise prices, meanwhile competitors such as Fed Ex Ground waited until way after 9-11. UPS followed and so did JB HUNT, Swift, Covenant and Schneider. Many independents went out of business. In 2000 CF Consolidated Freightways with $2.2 billion in annual revenues, consolidated was going strong. The Company’s 18,000 skilled professionals specialize in freight transportation. Raised prices again in May 2002.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2002/05/27/daily19.html .
They nearly made it out of the recession whole, now it is all over for the great men and women who mad up the CF Team. America will miss you and the Trucking Industry will never be the same.
“Lance Winslow” – If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs