CF Struggles to Reshape Itself

Consolidated Freightways Corp. is in the midst of a“painfully slow” realignment campaign it hopes will land it in the thick of a hot less-than-truckload market.

The first half of 2000 was more than kind to most of the large, publicly traded companies in the LTL sector. Most of them enjoyed growth in both revenue and net income ("Truckload Profits Fall, LTLs Rise in 2nd Quarter," 8-7, p. 3).

For Consolidated, however, revenue was flat, profits were all but nonexistent and investors have given its stock the cold shoulder. This is what newly installed Chief Executive Patrick H. Blake was brought in to change.

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“They bit off more than they could chew,” said analyst James J. Valentine, who follows the company for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in New York. “They had too much business that was not ideal for their network.”



For the full story, see the Aug. 14 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.