The Rise and Fall of Consolidated Freightways: A Fascinating Journey
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 сер 2023
- Consolidated Freightways (referred to by truckers as "Corn Flakes")was the biggest bankruptcy in the trucking industry until Yellow Corporation filed. This is the story from the beginning. The company that helped to invent the cabover, helped establish Freightliner as a company and helped to change the way trucking in America is done. They are gone now. Or are they?
- Авто та транспорт
My Dad worked as a Teamster with them from 1985 - 2002 in Oregon. He won many awards and was a great worker. Still remember sitting on his lap in the older cabover that he let me steer around the yard when I was 3 years old. Also remember going camping and fishing with many of the CF families from Oregon growing up in the 1990s. Great people and memories
As an employee, if you didn't see the CF bankruptcy coming, you were living in a bubble. Here are a few examples. CF closed down their terminal in Bloomington, Illinois in the 90's, it wasn't three months later when they changed the signs on the building, and it reopened as a Conway Central Express terminal. CF formed a company named, Conway Intermodal, every time CF railed a load of freight it travelled on a Conway Intermodal bill of Lading. Conway Intermodal didn't have very many employees at all however they raked in mega millions of dollars in revenue. Cf would bring trailers into their shops to completely service them, new tires, new brakes, new rollers in the doors and whatever else it took to put them in tip-top shape. It wouldn't be just a short time after CF did all the work to a trailer when you would see the same trailer rebranded as a Conway Central Express trailer. All they would do is, change the sign on the trailer and renumber it by placing the number "4" in front of the CF trailer number, what was CF trailer number 15-2567 became Conway trailer number 415-2567.
My dad worked for Consolidated from 1950 until his retirement in the mid 1980s. My uncle was driving for them when they folded. Seeing those pictures of triples pop up on the screen was nostalgia for me. Dad drove those combos from Salt Lake City to Winnemucca NV for a while.
Everything I ever heard about their bankruptcy was that it was a strategic decision to escape from the unions.
It was a shame to see them go, they were a cool company. I enjoyed seeing them on the road.
You heard right unfortunately that was why they closed doors to boot out the union. A few other trucking companies did the same thing. And I suspect yellow did the same thing recently. Union's don't have the strength they used to and now if you even talk about bringing the union to where you work they fire you.
I worked at CF for 15 years (1987-2002). They deliberately put us out of business. We were busy right up til the end - busy hauling freight at discounted prices while they gave out high paying accounts to Conway. It always pissed me off when they would refer to CNF as our “parent company” Bullshit ! CF WAS the parent company. I’m getting pissed just thinking about it so I’ll end my comment by thanking Trucking Resources for another great video. Keep ‘em coming !
I have heard a lot of this. I made the assumption in my video but I wasn't sure until I started getting a lot of comments just like this one. Such a shame. Thank you for your kind words!! Theres lots of videos to come!!
By the time CCX came out my Teamster run ended with a blown out disc. I was surviving local with an O/O . I asked a CF driver who CCX was. He said little sister big cu^+. I nodded and instantly got it!
Nobody saw it coming, sad day, 2002 Labor Day
@@mtvjackass74 were you and your dad both T/Os out of Emigsville & Carlisle ?
You are 100 percent correct. The investment board said to ax C.F. Up Until his passing 5 years ago, i heard my uncle say how shamed and angry he was. He was the main accountant at C.F.. i remember as he explained how he knew cf was making profit. But it would show up in the Conway company. Everything profitable was pushed and then shown on conway freight. It was a complete setup.
Thank You for educating us about the old companies that are gone now, the Fruehauf story is another good one to tell, fingers crossed we will all hear about that companies story in the future
CF never left.. They just changed names.
Great! I was Security at Emery,
Dayton Airport. Weird how it all fits together! After they shutdown , off to security at Delfi then gm plant Dayton.
2009 Was Defistateing to Dayton.
Thanks! Good video and Good info!
I seen a lot of these old trucking companies that no longer exist when I started driving years ago. I remember P.I.E. Consulates Freight, Campbell trucking humping to please slogan, Merchants and a bunch more. Great memories from years ago.
There was a lot of great companies. I will slowly try to cover them all
I remember the Camel express sprint cars which Campbell owned.
@@bobwhitebread1887 Campbell is actually on my list to do soon!!
Before I started driving in 80, one of my friends his father drove for little Audrey, then IML remember them,? Then he went to C.F., there are a lot of companies long since disappeared since I started driving.
One of the old "trucking songs" that I was raised on and, still listen to sometimes while on the road is "There Ain't No Easy Runs". I know that Johnny Cash sang it but, I believe it was actually a Dave Dudley song. It names many of these fallen carriers and, if you find the right video on UA-cam, it shows many of the old trucks that they ran.
Started CCX 2002...21 yrs later...XPO...pm linehaul the whole time. Great vid.
CF was a transportation company that did a lot of work for Danaher Motion in Rockford Illinois during the time I worked in their warehouse and shipping department. 1978-2008.
My uncle drove those old green Cabovers for Consolidated Frieghtways out of Minneapolis for many years, I still have CF toy semi trucks he gave me over 60 years ago. A note about Heartland Express, they also bought Millis Transfer which started as a small beer hauler out of Black River Falls. Wisconsin just north of here. Millis has grown over the years and has terminals around the country. Just a bit of history !
Years ago I used to work for Consolidated Freightways when I was in highchool. I typed Freight bills on a billing machine this was before computers it was like a giant typewriter that typed 10 copies of Freight bills. I worked at Milwaukee dispatch office
Thank you for your video ,it was great.
I drove like you for landstar and now I make much more profit driving at Voyager Nation . 35 percent is too much. For your sacrifice and hard work
Thanks! My Dad career CF Teamster Portland. Remembers Mr. James in a suit and tie helping on dock. Uncle and Cousins Longshore Men in Portland so lots of stories. Love the history and especially truck museums.
I actually think in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter signed The Federal Motor Carrier Act, deregulating the trucking industry that's probably the moment Union companies, including Consolidated Freightways saw the handwriting on the wall. Not saying that I agree with it at all, but CF seems as if they were out in front of it starting up Conway and slowly migrating their customer freight there so they could get away clean from Organized Labor.. I work and have worked with guy's at ABF Freight System Inc. who have basically explained that process to me and what it was like to go to the terminal on Labor Day weekend after seeing on the news their company announced going shutting down operations. Getting there to see the gates closed, chained, and locked up. It was really sad. It was eerily similar in many ways to what just occurred with Yellow Freight. In Yellow's case that was their own doing over a 20 year period due to incompetence and extremely poor business practices leading to a massively crushing debt never able to be paid.
Exactly what my Dad told. CF lifer in Portland and my Dad was interviewed by the Oregonian on CF demise.
Thanks so much for the great video on Consolidated Freightways. My dad drove line for CF for many years before retiring. Prior to that shortly after being discharged from the navy after World War 2 he drove for Sargent Transportation, Lamb Transportation who I believe was bought out by CF and then onto CF for many years before retiring. In between Lamb and CF dad managed Pacific Molasses Trucking on Terminal Island near Long Beach California where he also helped them expand to San Diego where they opened another terminal. This great video brought back a lot of memories of talking with dad about the trucking industry. My brother also drove for Transcon after returning home from Vietnam where he was in the Army in the transportation pool hauling jet fuel. Thanks again for the great video!
These Fallen Flag carrier histories are interesting. I remember CF, P•I•E, Little Audrey, Overnite, Viking, Mason-Dixon, Carolina, Navajo, TC•Transcon, there are so many.
Overnight and Motor Cargo were purchased by UPS freight, now T-force.
Viking was purchased by FedEx and is now FedEx freight.
overnight and navajo are still around.
Brings back memories. I remember seeing those trucks and those LTL companies when I was a kid and then started driving trucks in 1977 before deregulation became law. The first casualty that I remember in my area was Red Ball Motor Freight which shut it's doors in 1982 and others soon followed.
Overnite used Canada Cartage as their Toronto, Ont hub. I did some US Customs manifesting there for their A-trains running to Harrisburg, PA, Holland, Mich and Chicago in the summer of 2008. They were acquired by UPS that time and switched their name and logos to UPS freight. Trans Force Inc of Montreal acquired them in February 2021 and rebranded them as T Force Freight.
The original Navajo Freight was bought by ABF in the early 80s
I was at a truck stop laying over that night when someone said over the CB that CF was shutting down. I thought it was idle CB chatter but two CF drivers came in to the store and spilled the beans. Unbelievable as the company had been in business since 1929 and also survived the 1980 deregulation for 22 years.
From time to time I see one of their trailers usually at a storage yard or even on private property and I've see at least one former CF linehaul truck at truck shows.
I remember when it happened. I was actually at home and it was on the news, I couldn't believe it!!
@@truckingresources4240 So sudden. Other cases leaked out to the press before they shut their doors but I guess CF was bleeding cash without it being known.
Menlo was a forwarding company acquired by UPS in 2004. I enjoy your presentations. I’ve been in the logistics industry for fifty one years with twenty one years as a PLog. Professional Logistician certified in Canada. Retired now. Cheers! Trucking company’s success depends on so many factors other than being unionized or not. Management mostly is the primary reason, customer’s financial success (shipments / sales), government regulations including HoS regs, the economy, technological advancements, the competition, and many more reasons nothing to do with union or non-union. That’s just a scapegoat usually, as much bigger issues are at play but the low hanging fruit is blame it on unions.
Thank you so much for the information!!
Well said @ZAPTOR. Retired UNION IRONWORKER, HERE.
To do a story on Saint Johnsbury trucking out of New England and New England Freightways. Also Conway did turn into Viking for a little while if I remember correctly just like a lot of people don’t remember independent Freightways they started Landstar systems and shorten their name to Inway.
Conway as a company was charging tires and fuel on to CF. Conway got the better freight while CF got the junk freight.
Case in point- the Albany, NY CF terminal had 35 doors and a dock almost 10 times as large as the (CEX) Conway
terminal. The CEX terminal only had 15 doors and a yard of 2 acres compared to a 13 acres at CF. The management
swapped the two for ten dollars each. Not even close to fair. This is just one example of busting the union.
Thank you for the history lesson. I had just started with Viking Freight (now FedEx Freight) when CF went under. I actually collect old trucking memorabilia and have a CF hat and jackets along with PIE, Garrett, Milne, etc. Keep doing what you’re doing.👍
Ive still have the die cast trucks that Holland gave us over the years for different milestones the company had
The Vanguard Group Inc owned a large part of CF. They were the largest shareholder of Yellow, they also are the largest shareholder of UPS. They also own many of the creditors of these companies. So you can only guess who will be next to fall. These large investment companies control so many lives around the world without any concern of them.
Menlo was a brokerage. I occasionally hauled for them out of the slim fast plant above Memphis, they had their own office in the plant and on the occasion some of the load would get rejected they would have you drop it at a C-F terminal.
Thank you so much for the info!
It wasn’t so much that con-way was able to outperform CF but CF diverted the most profitable freight and lanes/routes over to con-way giving them a huge advantage and yes it was a very planned out effort to go non-union this was a well known fact that got very little official attention from the government oversight authorities with the responsibility to protect the CF stock purchasers
That is exactly what I am hearing from a lot of people. It sure seems like that is exactly what happened. Thank you for the input!!
Bingo
Do a story on Heartland Express. Before they merged with Gordon Trucking they were a cash only company. They paid cash for their trucks outright. Imagine being able to do that now. Great content
It is a company that is on my list. I've also heard that for a lot of years Werner was a cash company. I'm looking into that also. Thank you for the info!!
Cool
oh yea Heartland Express, I remember their ads trying to get drivers.......
Don't forget interstate Distribution company out of Tacoma,WA which the owners also own Marine Tote container port in Jacksonville,FL Man I miss working for them before Heartland brought us
@@truckingwithtruckerg3443 Thank you for reminding me about Interstate. I actually owned one of their old trucks for about 3 years.!!
Glad I stumbled on your channel. I’m not a trucker but have always loved it all. My dad used to load/unload a lot of these companies when I was a little kid. I remember seeing them, it’s burned in to my head. Thanks for bringing them back out so to speak!
I'm glad you're enjoying it!! I have a lot more great videos to come!!
I remember back in the 70s I believe, CF was testing turbine-powered trucks. I was fortunate to see and hear one in person. A very distinctive sound they made. They were innovative at least.
I knew drivers that had tested them. They said at a stop light. people would be looking all over the place for the jet near-by.
They said they had problems keeping the bearings for the input of the transmission from burning up.
I used to live in Washington state and worked with a guy whose last name is Gordon. His grandfather started Gordon Trucking. Gordon was big on the West coast. Heartland bought out Gordon Trucking, which in turn gave them access to the West Coast routes that Gordon had. Haven't really seen much of Heartland lately. Of course, I haven't really paid attention.
Trucking, shipping, sea cargo, etc, transportation, cargo; interesting, important and well behind the scenes. There is a video out there "when trucking stops, america stops." good vid.
I remember C F just closed the doors locked the gates and shut down
Okc??
Just like Yellow freight did
CF shut down with 5 days of freight in their system- took some customers a year to get their freight
Union busters 101!
I do also! I'd,just retired from Roadway, and got the news from my friend at Chicken Feathers!!! SLC
I filled out an application once for Conway, but after the terminal manager told me I would have to turn Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Minneapolis, MN every night I told him no thanks. It was about 550 miles round trip and then the time at the MN terminal. It was too tight of a schedule. It was doable IF everything clicked like a Swiss watch but you know that in trucking that seldom happens. Glad I passed on that one.
And pretty much impossible during the winter with all those snowy days.
O-H-I-O Porter greetings 🇺🇸 I really liked the CF trucks. I had a friend who bought a Freightliner CF truck at an auction. It had an air starter. It was a bare bones truck, but had lots of power. I kept trying to buy it, but wasn’t there at the right time when it went. Interesting info. I was expecting some comments from the recent YELLOW situation…it sure was unexpected, in my opinion. I can only say that I would love to get my hands on some of those rigs & trailers! I will keep my eyes open. I come from a trucking family & have heard many things throughout my life on the changes…Unions, Crossing picket lines, Strikes, Shootings, Deregulation, etc. I miss some of those old companies…Cook Motor Freight, McLean, etc. Thanks for sharing. Be safe out on those roads. As I normally say,”Make the trip & enjoy the ride!” Blessings my friend. 🤩🥰✌️
I worked for CF (Canadian Freightways) from 1991 until 2010 when I retired. they are still in operation today (2023) When Consolidated went bankrupt, Canadian Freightways was purchased by TFI. Transforce International, based out of Montreal, Quebec. CF is among many, many companies under the TFI banner. The largest transport company holdings in Canada.
They are now called TST-CF Express after TFI merged them with TST Overland Express
TFI Logistics also purchased UPS Freight from UPS about 2 years ago. It's called T Force Freight now. UPS sold it to them for about 1/2 of what they paid for it 20 plus years ago when they bought out Overnite Trucking.
You are right. I am going to be doing an Overnite/TFI/T Force story in the future. Thanks for watching!!
I started out as a 5-6 year old, riding the dog house of an International Emeryville and Pete, both COE, in Los Angeles. My step-dad was a truck driver and that got me bit. I used to hook my red wagon up to my tricycle and use hand-over-hand to turn while riding around in my yard. Never did come up with a name for my company.
Years later, in 1995, the bug bit me to buy a truck and haul mobile homes - become a shack shaker. So two years into having my CDL, I bought a 1984 Mack COE, 300 cumapart, with a 10-speed Fuller. The truck was a lemon and I was a sucker, but hey, I’m living the dream.
A year later that cumapart blew up under my butt, bobtailing across OK.
The lessons we learn.
I’m going into my 12th year, with over a million miles with a great local company and still “living the dream.”
I’ll put my 5.00 dollars in here. I worked at the Freightliner truck plant on Swan Island and the CF maintenance shop off of NW 21 St and Pettygrove ST. The building is still their. We used to park on the roof of the building because it was constructed totally out of concrete like a parking garage. Both times it was through the machinist union local 1005. We did everything thing there in the CF shop. The east side was the tractor shop and on the west side was the trailer repair shop where I worked. It was not a easy place to work, it was hard work. I remember working on the trailers installing the signage on the sides. I also worked at freightliner truck plant at midline . Mr James with a Salt Lake City connection I think was one of or not the first to design and build the Cabover and A-train trailer combination. He also was I think the first to incorporate the use of aluminum in his trucks and trailers to reduce dead weight to haul more freight. A lot of this was do to running to Salt Lake and back. They started building tractors in a shop 2 blocks away from now the Swan Island Plant. When I was working at freightliner truck plant there where a couple of old timers and I think the plant manager Ken Self that ran the Plant became President of Freightliner and was their basically from the beginning. And in his spare time with the help of some of the guys from the plant floor built a 2/3 thirds scale freightliner Cabover in his garage where he lived in Lake Oswego Oregon, by the way I was able to go over to his house and see the truck. I believe the truck now is on permanent display at the Northwest Truck museum in brooks Oregon. that started in the old shop that they stall built the trucks. I don’t know when but at some point CF reorganized when they went public in that at the top was a holding company then below in 2 divisions was CF Freight and then freightliner as sub division. I used to build those Cf Cabovers and I have a few stories about that , but not now. As freightliner grew they didn’t have a dealer network so the signed a contract with White Trucks to sell freightliners through their dealership network that’s how they became White / Freightliner. Then freightliner to grow they needed to build their own dealership network and at this point they sold off CF and focused on Freightliner truck company and cut ties with White Trucks to be known as Freightliner Trucks. Then with the up’s and downs I think somewhere in the 80’s Daimler-Benz came in and purchased them. Theirs more correct information about the 2/3 scale Cabover online and through northwest truck museum about Mr James and consolidated manufacturing in the beginning.
My father worked for cf. Back in the late 90s. He told me that cf. Was funneling all of their money into Conway to show a loss. It was merely a way to break the Union. Cf., it had labor issues all through the 80s and 90s.
It sure seems like that's what was happening. Just the way everything happened in a few short years seemed a little fishy.
If you had a job with big CF in the 60s and 70s You had the best job you could get.
My dad retired just a year before CF shut-down, the heads of CF should've been prosecuted for busting CF, but we all know how prosecuting rich people go's here in America huh,😖, I'm so disgusted with this country right now.
I have to agree with you on all of that!!
I work for CF but had moved on before they went out of business. CF spun the other companies off and kept the debt. I believe it was all orchestrated years before to dump the the teamsters and the debt. What are your thoughts?
It sure seems that way and also seems like the general consensus among the drivers that I have heard from that worked for them. Thank you for your input!
Yes, CF was leveraged then spun out of the corporation and left with the debts.
Thanks for this video I learned a lot about consolidated freight ways somethings I knew but you filled in some blanks on what I didn't know I appreciate it 👍🏾
You are welcome!! I have a lot more videos coming about other companies!!
Miss seeing those old Corn Flake cabovers.
I drove them for years at CF, I will not drive another cabover again unless if it's a parade at about 5 mph! Rough riding, noisy, loud inside the cab, entry/exit etc. Cabovers are gone for a good reason.
CF was an anti union move. CEX strike made way to close CEX and put Conway Central in to fill the teritory. Cf had already sold most of their real estate to Conway at a low ball price and had CF renting the formaly own terminals. Lots of other moves to eliminate CF were managed by Melo Lagistics to seal the deal. I worked for CFMF for 10 years and was there for most of the crash.
Northern California.
I lived in Mendocino County for a while. I drove trucks I used to haul a shavings out of the Mills back to our yard. 87. There was quite a few Mills back then.
It was a sub hauler. Who would loaded the yard and delivered a horse stables turkey barns.
He had a red truck Freightliner cabover Consolidated freight truck. It was old. I didn't really have a home there so I slept in the truck at the yard. And so did he. But when he started that thing it woke up a dead it had a starter. Sound like a jet trying to take off. I think he parked next to me on purpose. Good old Fred .👍🏽🙏🏽👏🏽😊😎🙋🏽♂️🛣.
Enjoy the stories good stuff , do you plan on adding maybe some driving footage also ?
I might do some. I do have some shorts and reels on Facebook when I come into interesting places. I'm glad you are enjoying the stories. There is a lot more to come!!
I remember cabovers were common here in the USA🇺🇸 back in the 1980s & down. Nowadays the only cabovers you see on the roads are fire trucks, garbage trucks, yard spotters, crane trucks, concrete pumper trucks, & a few other kinds.
In 1970-73. I was a paperboy in Lima, Ohio, and on my route was Eugene Duff of Duff Truck Lines... "Eugene" Mr. DUFF was a very respectful, nice man who always took time to chat with me, this 13 year old boy... !!
Well done video and very educational, so thank you very much. Keep up what you are doing an be safe out there.
During the early 70s I worked for freightliner in Chino Ca. We had a two year back log on new trucks. They had a plant in pomona ca built a new plant in Chino . Then the fuel shortage hit , the back log disappeared gave everyone a week off went back for two weeks and then closed they were owed by C.F.
Thankyou for the History lesson CF was trailblazer in Classic Trucking..1970'80' I like drive 🚗 passed their depot in Edmonton..Watch the units Comeing & going..What stories they could tell..The Short Cabovers..I thought it was neet how all Freighters Conventional had 4 headlights 🔅🔅🔅🔅 CF trucks had 2 headlights🔆🔆 Didn't know that trucks could be specified to costomer..Still Miss the Big 🇨🇦 Canadian Freightways Trucks with Short Cabovers..Now we don't have Canadian Greyhound Bus Lines.😢{Lost a lot of old School Drivers..GodBless the drivers on the roads & Their Family + Employees That keeping our Goods and services on time safely 🙏
I'm glad you are enjoying the videos!!
I really enjoy these videos- great tempo and great to listen to rolling down the road - thanks
One time shortly after I began trucking non-union in '96 I stopped at the old Stoney Ridge Travel Center in Millbury, Ohio to have lunch. There was a CF driver in there eating his lunch and I asked if I could sit with him and ask him some questions about union trucking. After we had eaten we left together and were both heading east on the turnpike and so we ran together and continued chatting on the radio as we drove. Another trucker came on the radio and told the CF driver to get that slow piece of junk out of his way. The old CF driver replied to him with "Son, you can't drive your truck fast enough to earn what I earn.". It was hilarious. I kept driving non-union for about 6 more years and then finally got on with Roadway and then I too made the big money.
I went to work for USF Reddaway Trucking in 1994 and we shared a dock with CF I later drove for CF as a part time driver, the equipment was crap and my thought was because of union dealings. I got that robocall saying don’t go to work on Tuesday the day after Labor Day. Yellow or YRC bought us (Reddaway) I do believe in 2005 we had to take a 30% pay cut and lost one weeks vacation. Reddaway terminals started going union and in 2011 I transferred to another terminal well during the transfer I was told I was a new hire lost all benefits, 4 weeks vacation and pay cut to new hire even though I was night dock manager. I quit in 2012 along with a bunch of other drivers because equipment was not being maintained and we saw the writing on the wall with YRC running things. I went to work for FedEx Freight for a huge pay raise nice trucks terminals bennies and retired from them. I have friends who stayed and most after 30 plus years at Reddaway are done, I am heart broken for them and sad about Reddaway. At one time they were the best LTL carrier on the west coast
Trucking companies in recent years show how little the companies care about drivers. I remember all those old companies years ago even though I never drove for them. I hung it up in 2017 as the driver facing cameras were becoming a thing by then and that was the last straw. I don't need to be watched and heard in every move I do.
We share the same story, except I use to work for USF Dugan.
We were very big on the east coast, when yellow bought out USF they closed us down because we were non union.
Fascinating subject matter-subscribed!
my dad glen Strosky was the first drive to drive CF 1 out of Portland
Wow, that's amazing!! Is there any old pics. I'd love to see that!!
I had a friend that worked for CF and according to him they went to the company picnic and they got BBQ, sides, drinks, and a pink slip terminating their employment. UPS acquired Menlo and Emery I believe and became UPS Freight Fowarders. They were union, I worked for non union mobile mechanic shop and we serviced their yard goats and trailers. Those trailers were the worst, they had walking floors and half the time they never worked.
The story of Emery Worldwide flight 17 and the related Fine Air flight 101, pretty much led to the FedEx/UPS Duopoly we have today in air freight.
Thank you for the info.
Love your videos you should do some more like on PIE or ICX thanks the videos
Another company sucked down.
They are both being added to my list. Thank you so much for the input!!
Didn’t CF have Air starters on some of there Trucks …..scare The living daylights out of me in the truck stops 😮😮 Thanks for sharing
I'm sure they did. From what I've heard they are the most reliable starters but the problem is that you have to have enough air lol!!
Great Research, you took me back to when I was a rookie just starting out!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have a lot more and even more to come!!
I had two uncles that got their start in trucking with CF back in the 60s. Nice video. Thanks
Thank you for the compliment, I really appreciate it!!
Great content!!
Really enjoyed your video and a better understanding of the old days trucking
Thank you so much, I have a lot more videos coming of other companies and the different decades of trucking!!
I remember when they went out of business I had been doing LTL for 5 years at that point I ended up driving for Bestway which was absorbed by Reddaway after being bought by Yellow in 2006 and the rest is history…
The left lane was called the Monfort Lane across I-80. I used to work at Midwestern Dist. Ft Scott Ks. Circa 1985 Do a story on them. Dollar down.
I remember as a kid early 60s through the 70s I remember CF trucks all the time I grew up in Southern California how times have changed
They sure have, Thanks for watching!!
Cool can't wait to see your abf video
I had a friend who had an older brother who was Colorado Springs terminal manager for CF in the 80's. Came from 3 generations of truckers, the family used to own a small trucking company until the 40s, when the grandfather ended up drowned in a fishing "accident", and the partner took the company.
My grandfather called CF "corn flakes" and I thought he was silly, but now I know more people have used that nickname. April 1 is a bad day to start your business on, since Conrail also start on that day.
Man... you sure got that laundry done QUICK!! .. done within twooooo SECONDS!! 🤯
Great channel! I'm an ol hand that learned to drive on a quadreplex , 5+4 in the Everglades in 1976 🐊🌴 Thanks for your videos. Good job! Safe travels to ya! Mark (P.S.. subscribed!)
LMAO, yes I am very fast with laundry!! Thank you for the kind words. We have a lot more videos to come!!
Interesting video
I remember watching CF video showing the money and expenses the company had on an actual trip . I think it was from Seattle to LA. Anyway, one statement summed up I think, as to their collapse. The CF official said that after all cost, pensions, fees, cost , government regulations, fees and fines, etc. On an average year, they run at a loss and only break even between all cost and income by the second week of December. So only the LAST 2 WEEKS of a year could CF actually make ANY profit for the entire year.
Makes one wonder about some of the other big carriers as to what week it is for the year before they make their profit for the year.
That is crazy. I can't even imagine a company being run that way. Thank you for the input!!
Yeah I sent my friend a link to this video. He is a retired teamsters from CF in 1996. He said actually the biggest reason was deregulation under Reagan. The reason is by that deregulation they dropped the minimum pricing requirements for booking freight set by the ICC. By not having a minimum price, anyone could start a trucking company and charge as little as possible to haul. As a result, the union companies lost their ground floor, and like China underbidding American workers, New trucking companies were underbidding the old prices and tossing them to the unemployment line. So unless companies cut drivers pay or fired them for cheaper ones, they would go out of business as prices began to race to the bottom.
Funny, in a communist economy, they set the lowest and highest price and lock it in while supply and demand be damned.
When controls were lifted like at the USSR, the national economy collapsed.
On one hand, Reagan did not want government control on the free market , it seemed a good idea for deregulation. However, it only seemed to set the bottom end for cost to be lower. So, as inflation and taxes grew, wages dropped. When the prices kept going up for the businesses, they substituted NAFTA and China in place of the American worker.
In round 2, of collapsing America, China's largest real estate firm just filed chapter 15 bankruptcy in America yesterday (over 300 billion in debt) it will be Interesting to see what happens to our countries economy and banks (recently downgraded) as it crashes in China and likely Europe next 2 weeks and then to America in about a month. Just in time for the UN global government 7 year agreement SDG Conference to kick in After BRICS gets formalized this August 22nd.
@@stevek4449 Thank you for this!! I am actually working on a video about ABF to be released hopefully tomorrow. In this, I am going to talk a bit about deregulation and it's affect on these companies.
I remember this video........last 2 weeks of December they made a profit.
Deregulation was signed by Carter and went into effect under Reagan
When I was younger. I used to deliver truck parts to Yellow, CF, UPS, and Guilford Railway for the Maintenance of Way trucks. Now Yellow which I used to see all the time is now gone. Just like Penn Central, Conrail. Boston and Maine. Keep Ultra Magnus in beautiful condition. Stay safe and Autobots roll out!!!!
Time-DC, Jack Cole, Mason Dixon, Yankee, Hennis, Huber and Huber, Bowman, TCT, Budig Western, DOX, Terminal Transport, and many more.
I had a few of them on the list but I will put the rest on. Thank you for the recommendations!!
Love your videos, you are such a intelligent guy. I don't know where you find all this stuff.
If you are really after the full CF story, get your hands on a book called “NEVER STAND STILL” by Kenneth D. Durr and Philip L. Cantelon. Printed in 1999 by Montrose Press, Rockville, Maryland. It covers everything from start to finish. Don’t be intimidated by it’s size, it is about 1 1/2” to 2” thick. Very engrossing read, I was able to read it from cover to cover. Last time I looked for a copy it was going for around $300.00. Good luck!
Thank you. A lot of it I just know from growing up in a trucking family. A lot of it is research online. Thank you for the comliments. I will have a lot more coming!!
I wounder what ever happened to the CF truck that the employees paid for set of doubles and tractor with aluminum budds and chrome on it
Have you done anything with Jack Cooper Transit? My Grandpa retired from them in the mid 70's. I'm enjoying the videos.
CF had special trucks for Pennsylvania, before Pennsylvania allowed doubles
I didn't know that
Thanks for the info. I didn't know that and I am from PA.
The old CF terminal south of York pa is now fed x. I go by that every nite.
Hail the commonwealth of keystone😅
Was told from a yellow driver that all this was done to get the teamsters out and start over as non union . Look how good it worked for the con way / xpo company .
I think that is totally right!!
I remember Great Costal trucking company around the time I got into trucking in the early 90s.
I remember my grandfather talking about 'cornflakes' and their wobble wagons. He didn't care for them he drove for AAA trucking. He came home from ww2 and started driving for AAAs and left them in 1978 and drove for Miller trucking out of Cross keys around Hanover Pennsylvania and went back to AAAs in 82 for a couple years then retired and drove for Miller again. I used to ride with him in the good Ole days. Keep the greasy side down and speed up, keep on trucking.
Thank you so much for the story!!
@@truckingresources4240 I'd really appreciate if you could possibly do a video on AAAs if at all possible if not believe me I understand
That was a good place, to drive in the day.
Ahhhhh that’s my truck!! That’s my Blue KW T680 next to that freight liner 🤣🤣🤣 i thought this timeline added up to when I was there!
Wow, that's crazy lol. If we're ever at the same place again I have a t-shirt for you!!
Interesting 👍
I was a weighmaster in oregon for 31 years...(portland dist).. course now they are called Motor Carrier Enforcement... i retired years ago. I remember those CF drivers as some of the most friendly and courteous on the hwy. I worked the I-84 eastbound ( I-80N) Wyeth scales from mid to 2am sometimes.... seems every CF set of doubles headin east left portland at the same time ! Triples too !
That's an awesome story, Thank you so much for sharing with us!!
I've been an OTR driver sinse September of '03, and every time i pass an XPO Logistics set of doubles or triples i always think, now there's what is rekindled from the ashes of Consolidated Freightways. They paved the way for LTL freight. I remember CF doubles and triples all over riding with Dad as a kid. I believe when former CF drivers say they were busy til the ax fell, they're right. There was never a lack of CF trucks on the road. Ever. They certainly weren't on a joy ride with empty trailers. Just like when Celadon ceased operations, due to criminal activity, but same goes, the poor drivers. Sorry, but you're pention, retirement, benifits and your job as a whole is gone. Good luck! So sad.
Worked 22 years at yellow and 2 years at Preston heartbreaking these companies are gone
You are right it's heartbreaking. I have the old 151 Line on my list to do a story on soon!
I use to work for all of them. CF, Yellow and Roadway
My step brothers dad was a CF driver and got that call not to come in. My wife and I actually team drive for CFI. I don’t understand the buyout with heartland express one bit. Millis transportation and smith transportation were also bought out by heartland. As of right now CFI is still operating under the CFI name. I haven’t heard anything about CFI trucks becoming heartland express trucks. So far we aren’t hooking up to heartland , Millis or Smith trailers. If we have been bought out then we h are we hooking up to their trailers.
Usually I hear about acquisitions in trucking right away but I didn't know about this one until I started doing the videos. Thanks for the info!!
Regarding Union operations. My father got seriously screwed by the Hoffa situation back in the day. 🤬 SERIOUS binness!! Unions 'appear' to give the workers some power.. but look into which party they support through lobbying. IMO they're un-American in their practices.
Very Un-American
Interesting stuff.
I got out of driving when the IRS shut down the little outfit I was working for, when one of the owners got nailed doing some shady business deals.
A lot of companies come and gone, changed, bought or merged since I started, or at least you dont see them like you used to. Cannon Express, Harold Ives, MS Carriers, Glen Moore, Dixie Land, New Century, old green and yellow Builders Transport, American Freightways, Vernon Sawyer, Star Transport (Red logo star), Aqua Glass had their trucks, BUSKE, Sky Way, Continental Express (old green and white), Southern Cal Transport, McClendon (green white) OX Overnite, Sitton Motor lines, etc etc
Burlington motor carriers Celadon
I do so remember CF - always thought it was a Canadian firm. Being that I grew up in soithern Alberta and travelled through British Columbia perhaps that helps to.explain it. We definitely see way more Canadian based firms up here and not many of the large American firms
There may be some out there that would like to hear the story of Garrett Freight lines, they were also a union company and became ANR freight before they closed their doors.
I work at abf and when they shut down cf about 7 guys wanted to get in at abf and they didnt want them.sad but they just hired on 4 yellow ones this week
Good old Bullfrog!! They are on my list to do a story on in the future. They are the company that doesn't get a lot of press but yet they keep chugging along. Most ABF drivers I have talked to, both current and retired, have a lot of good things to say about them!!
Maybe you could do some research maybe ABf the last Union LTL carrier and triforce
That's definitely the plan. I was just thinking it would be a great story of success after all of the bad press the union companies are getting these days!
@@toddstockton67 I am working on an ABF story right now. Hopefully it will be out tomorrow 8/19.
You should do a story about the big company buyouts. You mentioned TFI. Them and another Canadian concern ( Bison Transportation ) have been each buying up a lit of American trucking companies.
That's a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion!!
I pulled doubles for cf back in the day, dam good 💰💰
Great bit of history. Now Gillig and DiSalvo
I remember when I was a kid I used to shake the back fence to work the docks at night for cash 😬✌️
Eck miller. Would be a good company of the past id like to see you do a video on.. keep up the good work. Its really interesting.
Thank you for the input. I have never heard of them but I will put it on the list. This is exactly the recommendations I love!!