Contract Freighters, Inc.

Contract Freighters, Inc (CFI) was founded in 1951 in Joplin, Missouri by Roy Reed and Ursull Lewellan. The company began with one tractor and two trailers, and generated revenues of $12,000 during its first year.

CFI expanded services into Mexico providing through-trailer service since 1985. The first international office opened in 1987 in Monterrey, Mexico. One year later, the first Canadian office opened in Toronto. There are now 37 sales offices and four terminal locations in addition to the headquarters in Joplin.

Continued and consistent growth led to the expansion of the company's headquarters in 1993. The 300-acre site is home to the company's administrative offices, maintenance facilities, wash bay, and local driver services.

Equipment upgrades grew as rapidly as office locations. The first 48-foot trailer was purchased in 1986. Just three years later, the first air-ride trailer was delivered. Con-way Truckload, as CFI, was the first carrier to operate a 100% air-ride fleet.

In 2007, Con-way, Inc. determined that to become a viable commercial truckload company, an acquisition would be necessary to augment its existing truckload business which was built to service the needs of Con-way Freight. To meet this need, Con-way, Inc. acquired Contract Freighters, Inc. (CFI), a privately held North American truckload carrier based in Joplin, Missouri, for US$750 million. CFI was an industry leader at the time of acquisition, operating over 2,600 tractors and more than 7,000 trailers, with more than 3,000 employees including approximately 2,500 drivers. Previously, Con-way had been CFI's largest customer, accounting for six percent of total revenues.

The combination of Con-way Truckload and CFI provided a number of benefits. CFI had been Con-way Freight's largest provider of contract service for long-haul transcontinental truckload transportation. CFI had operations in Mexico for more than 20 years and was already one of the largest cross-border truckload carriers. Its capabilities could be combined with Con-way Freight's Mexico network and Menlo Worldwide Logistics's border-based logistics operations. The acquisition created a business unit with over US$500 million in annual revenues for truckload freight.

On October 31, 2015, XPO, Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, acquired Con-way Truckload. On October 27, 2016, XPO sold the truckload division to the Canadian-based company TFI International. Shortly after, the truckload division was renamed back to its original name, CFI.

CFI's truckload assets were acquired by Heartland Express for $525 million in 2022.

CFI operates from four dedicated truckload terminals and 37 sales offices throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. As of 2021, CFI's operations included approximately 2,000 drivers, over 1,800 tractors, and over 7,000 trailers plus 700 contracted owner-operators.

Divisions

In addition to its core truckload operations, CFI operates several divisions:

CFI Logistics: Logistics and transportation management services in the US, Canada, and Mexico including cross-border services

CFI Mexico: Domestic logistics management and transportation services in Mexico plus cross-border services between the US and Mexico. CFI Mexico operations consist of two divisions: