FedEx-owned American Freightways, the LTL carrier based in Harrison, Ark., now offers American Shipper Desktop, a free product to help its web-challenged customers.

American Shipper Desktop provides the software a customer needs to look up AF rates and create a shipping database on his or her own freestanding computer. The product comes on a CD, so it can be used on computers not connected to the Internet - or anything else, for that matter.
The software does not ignore electronic communication entirely. An EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) module allows customers to send and receive data concerning their shipments, but only at their option.
According to Rita Moore, AF's director of electronic commerce, American Shipper Desktop will be updated regularly on CDs as rates change.
American Freightways and Viking Freight comprise a new FedEx subsidiary called FedEx Freight.