Span Alaska Cites LTL Freight Forwarding in Purchase of Pacific Alaska Freightways

Freight forwarder Span Alaska Transportation has acquired transportation services provider Pacific Alaska Freightways, creating what Span Alaska termed the largest less-than-truckload freight forwarder serving Alaska.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Private equity company Evergreen Pacific Partners is the majority owner of Auburn, Washington-based Span Alaska.

Pacific Alaska Freightways, based in Fife, Washington, has been providing freight transportation services to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Kodiak and southeast Alaska for businesses and consumers since 1961. It has intermodal, LTL and truckload carrier services available in the lower 48 states.

“The combination will enable Span Alaska to invest more significantly in markets, technology and processes which will drive higher levels of service to its customers and create growth opportunities in both the Alaska and Hawaii markets,” said T.J. McGill, co-founder and managing partner of Seattle-based Evergreen Pacific Partners.



As a result of the acquisition, Span Alaska said it will ship more than 400 million pounds of freight annually to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico and will employ more than 220 people.

“We look forward to this next chapter in our company’s great history,” Span Alaska CEO Tom Souply said. “Customers now have more options, faster and more direct service, all while continuing their relationship with the same people that have served them for years.”

Span Alaska also offers overnight service from Anchorage to Fairbanks and the Kenai Peninsula, and provides less-than-container load service via barge from Seattle to southeast Alaska.