Talkin' Trucks With Mike:A History of the TNT Companies

Yeah the guy from USF didn't have much to say.

 

Consolidated Freightways kind of tried to be like a TNT style of company, but always kind of ended up falling short. Well CF "spun" it's self off from it's self. They had Emery Air Freight which wasn't as profitable or as good as Ansett and almost bankrupted the entire company. CF's Emery Air Freight did, do hauling for the US Post Office, but they ended up losing there mail contract and ended up suing the post office the whole thing was a big mess.

TNT was a stronger company then CF no doubt.

 

Well here's one I've been meaning to talk about. That's right the big one TNT's Western United States Operations

TNT United
TNT Bestway
TNT Wallace-Colville
TNT Reddaway


What's Interesting is the only TNT era companies alive today are Holland Reddaway. The rest were merged in with other TNT companies or went away in the divestiture/buy out.

 

Reddaway was started in Oregon in 1919. For some reason CF didn't buy them out .

Anyhow Reddaway grew and grew and grew in 1971 they were bought out and expanded service.

Reddaway actually was one of the later buy outs by TNT. TNT didn't buy out Reddaway until 1989. Reddaway was not under the TNT umbrella very long, by 1996 TNT had already divested them selves and started to disband them selves. 1996 US Freightways was born and TNT United which also was TNT Wallace Colville Express it all ended up getting merged into the USF Reddaway Flag.


I think in 2006 Reddaway took over USF Bestway in order to expand there service area southward and eastward a bit.

 

It's interesting you said that. Someone else said the same thing TNT did not run the Ford C series trucks. Roadway ran those things in the city for many years, but TNT always had the Ford L8000 or stuff that was a little heavier then the C series trucks.

Usually TNT's straight trucks tended to be that Ford European Style truck that was popular in the 1990s. This one which is heavier duty. Taxi Truck had different trucks, but no Ford C models, but Taxi Truck was I think Independent Contractors right?