CFI Expands Portfolio of Services Under its Brand

CFI, the 70-year-old truckload carrier based in Joplin, Missouri, has re-invented itself once again. An operating company of TFI International, CFI has reorganized and expanded into a portfolio of five well-defined service categories, including a new dedicated service. It has rebranded Transport America and TForce Dedicated under the CFI name and launched CFI Temp Control.

The five newly reorganized offerings are Truckload, Dedicated, Temp-Control (all asset-based services), and the non-asset Mexico and Logistics services.

To form the dedicated service, Transport America, which was bought by TFI in 2014 to give the Canadian company “critical mass in the highly fragmented truckload sector in the United States,” was rebranded and integrated into CFI.

This dedicated portion will continue to grow in January, when the former UPS Freight Dedicated division, currently branded TForce Freight Dedicated, also rebrands to CFI.

To form the Temp-Control service, earlier this year CFI expanded into refrigerated transportation through TFI International’s acquisition of MCT.

CFI's Expanded Portfolio

The principal services under the expanded portfolio include:

CFI Turns 70

When Ursul Lewellen decided he wanted to get into trucking in 1951, little did he know that the one‐truck and two‐trailer Joplin‐based business he launched as Contract Freighters Inc. would persevere through challenges including recessions, natural disasters, acquisitions, divestitures, and other obstacles, and 70 years later, mark a milestone that few businesses achieve.

Truckload. CFI’s foundation for 70 years, this flagship offering services North America, Including irregular route drivers and equipment from the former Transport America. Today’s CFI Truckload operation runs 2,200 trucks and 6,500 53-foot dry-van trailers.

Dedicated. Rebranding of the former Transport America to CFI. This service provides high-value dedicated transportation solutions throughout North America. Currently deploying 1,500 drivers, 1,300 trucks and 2,800 trailers in January 2022, CFI Dedicated will grow to include assets from TForce Freight Dedicated. In addition to dry-van truckload, CFI Dedicated provides refrigerated, flatbed, specialized trailers, and liftgate services to meet specific customer supply chain needs.

Temp-Control. From TFI International’s acquisition of MCT, CFI integrated this experienced refrigerated and dry-van service provider to create CFI Temp-Control for transportation of temperature-sensitive goods. CFI Temp-Control facilities joined the CFI network with a fleet of 210 trucks and 600 Thermo-King refrigerated trailers, featuring state-of-the art telematics.

Mexico. One of the two non-asset services, CFI Mexico is a cross-border service built on partnerships with Mexican carriers for 36 years. CFI Mexico operates an owned LTL network within Mexico and provides in-country truckload transportation through a consortium of nearly 200 C-TPAT certified Mexico carrier partners. Additional services include transloading, truckload, intermodal, consolidation and deconsolidation.

Logistics. Also non-asset, CFI Logistics is a third-party logistics provider with a complete menu of supply chain services. These solutions include full-truckload, less-than-truckload, port services, warehousing, expedited, air freight forwarding, Autogistics (specific services for Tier 1 automotive suppliers and manufacturing plants), as well as other trucking services including cross-border Canada and Panama service.

“We have listened to our customers and reorganized our companies to provide a more complete array of services under a common brand, streamlined lines of communication and more convenient and responsive customer experience,” said Greg Orr, president of CFI. “With a strong portfolio of asset-backed, non-asset services as well as superior coverage of North America, we believe that CFI today offers an elite transportation and logistics experience providing significant competitive advantage.”