ABF tracking

LTL freight transport in North America

ABF Freight System, Inc. is one of the largest less-than-truckload (LTL) freight carriers in North America. Based in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the company has built a reputation for reliability and performance in the transportation of mid-sized goods. With over a century of experience in the industry, ABF Freight relies on a vast logistics network, highly skilled teams, and a constant commitment to quality and safety to provide top-notch service to businesses of all sizes.

History and Evolution

Founded in 1923 as OK Transfer, the company began as a local carrier in Fort Smith. In 1935, after acquiring Arkansas Motor Freight, it adopted this name and began expanding beyond Arkansas. The company became Arkansas Best Freight System Inc. in 1957 following the acquisition of Best Motor Freight, from which the acronym ABF is derived. In the following decades, ABF continued its growth through major acquisitions (notably Navajo Freight Lines in 1978), allowing it to become one of the few transcontinental trucking carriers of the time.

Throughout the 20th century, ABF Freight consolidated its national presence and overcame the challenges of trucking deregulation (initiated in 1980) and several economic cycles. The company became part of the Arkansas Best Corporation group (founded in 1966), which was renamed ArcBest in 2014. In 2012, ArcBest acquired the expedited logistics company Panther Expedited, thus expanding the group's urgent transportation service offerings. In 2023, ABF Freight celebrates its centennial, still standing as a major LTL player in the United States and the largest unionized LTL carrier in the country. This longevity demonstrates ABF's ability to innovate and adapt to industry changes while maintaining a company culture focused on employee training and customer satisfaction.

Network and Geographic Coverage

ABF Freight has a vast network of terminals and service centers spread across North America. The carrier operates approximately 240 service centers covering all 50 U.S. states (including Alaska and Hawaii), as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. This extensive geographic presence allows ABF Freight to offer reliable connections across the continent. For example, the company provides cross-border shipping services between the United States and Canada, as well as between the United States and Mexico, relying on facilities near the borders and partnerships with trusted local carriers for deliveries in Mexico. Beyond North America, ABF Freight can also handle international shipments through the ArcBest network, with local representations in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and other regions of the world. This global coverage allows for supporting clients with global logistics needs while maintaining a single point of contact. The extent of ABF Freight's network, combined with strategically located facilities, enables it to serve a wide variety of industrial sectors while offering optimized transit times over long distances.

To support this network, ABF Freight relies on significant infrastructure. Its fleet includes several thousand tractors and trailers suitable for palletized freight transport. There are over 7,000 professional drivers within the company, maneuvering more than 4,000 tractors and 22,000 trailers across the continent. Each day, ABF Freight handles an average of over 20,000 LTL shipments, reflecting the considerable volume of goods transiting through its network. All these resources (qualified human resources, road equipment, and transit warehouses) ensure a robust logistics capacity capable of absorbing demand and maintaining a high level of service. The carrier also places particular importance on the maintenance and renewal of its vehicle fleet, investing in a modern and well-maintained fleet to ensure delivery reliability and road safety.

Transportation Services Offered

A specialist in industrial parcel delivery, ABF Freight offers a comprehensive range of transportation services to meet the varied needs of its professional clientele:

• LTL Transport (less than full truckload): The core business of ABF Freight, the LTL service involves transporting shipments from various clients on the same vehicle, with each shipment occupying only part of the trailer. This consolidation optimizes truck filling and offers an economical shipping solution for modest freight volumes. ABF Freight ensures reliable LTL deliveries across its North American network thanks to its multiple service centers and an efficient point-to-point organization. ABF's LTL shipments cover a wide range of goods, whether pallets of consumer goods, industrial spare parts, or other partial loads of general merchandise.
• Expedited and Urgent Shipping: For shipments requiring delivery in the shortest possible time, ABF Freight offers urgent services, also known as Time Critical or guaranteed shipping. These solutions dedicated to critical goods ensure priority transport with reduced transit times and a guaranteed delivery date. The service can, for example, mobilize team drivers taking turns to drive 24/7, so that urgent shipments reach their destination without interruption. Urgent options include expedited door-to-door delivery, possibly including weekends or holidays as needed, for sectors where timing is crucial (automotive industry, healthcare, just-in-time supply chain, etc.).
• Full or Large Freight (FTL) (Although ABF is historically centered on LTL, the company can also transport larger loads. Through the ArcBest network, ABF Freight provides Full Truckload (full truck) solutions when the shipper has enough goods to fill an entire trailer. This full truck service offers dedicated capacity: the load occupies the vehicle alone (and thus allows a direct route from the point of origin to the point of destination, without intermediate grouping or sorting steps. This results in faster transit and reduced handling risk for these large or sensitive shipments. Using FTL transport is particularly recommended for fragile goods requiring minimal transfers, or for large volumes that need to arrive quickly.
• Final Delivery and Local Distribution: ABF Freight offers final mile services to ensure the last segment of delivery to the final destination, especially when it has specific requirements. For example, the carrier can arrange delivery directly to a construction site or commercial site, including in dense urban areas or difficult access, thanks to suitable equipment (trucks equipped with lift gates, pallet jacks, etc.). Home delivery options are also available for shipments requiring residential distribution, often via the U-Pack service or partners, allowing individuals to receive large goods at their door. This focus on the last mile ensures that beyond long-distance transport, ABF Freight handles delivery to the final recipient with the same level of reliability.
• Specialized Logistics Services (For shipping needs out of the ordinary, ABF Freight has dedicated solutions. The company handles sensitive or high-value goods , offering enhanced security protocols and increased tracking for these shipments (for example, expensive electronic equipment or works of art). It is also certified for the transport of hazardous materials ( Hazmat ), strictly adhering to the regulations and precautions required to safely transport chemicals or regulated substances. Additionally, ABF Freight organizes temperature-controlled shipments for perishable or temperature-sensitive goods, using refrigerated or heated trailers as needed (this service being provided through its dedicated ArcBest solutions for food, pharmaceuticals, etc.). Finally, ABF Freight is recognized for its expertise in exhibition and event transport : the carrier offers a specialized service for trade shows and professional exhibitions, ensuring that stands, equipment, and exhibition materials arrive on site within the allotted time and in perfect condition. In summary, thanks to these tailor-made services, ABF Freight can adapt to the specific logistics requirements of many sectors (retail, automotive, high technology, heavy industry, etc.) and offer comprehensive solutions beyond standard delivery.
• Intermodal and Multimodal: To optimize the cost/transit ratio over long distances, ABF Freight also offers intermodal transport solutions. This mode combines road transport with other modes, notably rail, to take advantage of the efficiency of each. Concretely, an ABF trailer can be transported by train for part of the journey and then picked up by truck for the final delivery, reducing fuel costs and the carbon footprint while maintaining a high level of reliability. ABF Freight coordinates these multimodal sequences and ensures continuous tracking of the shipment through the different modes of transport. The client thus benefits from a flexible solution, often less expensive for non-urgent shipments over very long distances, without having to manage the intermodal complexity themselves.

Organization and Logistics Operations

The operation of ABF Freight relies on a structured and proven logistics model in the parcel delivery field. Each day, pick-up tours are carried out locally: ABF Freight drivers collect goods from shippers or their regional warehouses. The collected shipments are then transported to the nearest ABF service center, where they are consolidated with other shipments destined for the same geographic area. Once sorted and grouped, the loads are loaded onto line haul trucks that travel long distances overnight to destination terminals. During this transit, shipments may pass through one or more intermediate platforms in the ABF network, being unloaded and reloaded successively according to the hub-and-spoke scheme typical of LTL. Upon arrival at the destination terminal, the goods are again sorted by local delivery sector, then entrusted to distribution trucks for the final tour (last mile) to the recipient. This organized process (from initial collection to final delivery) allows for pooling transport capacities and optimizing costs, while ensuring step-by-step tracking of each shipment in the system.

On a daily basis, ABF Freight thus manages a complex logistics flow mobilizing road drivers, dock teams, and operations agents in each center. Computer coordination plays a central role in orchestrating these operations: the carrier uses a high-performance transportation management system (TMS) that tracks each lot in real-time, optimizes trailer loading plans, and plans routes. Thanks to regular scans of pallets and packages at each stage (pick-up, platform passage, local tour departure, etc.), position and status information of the shipment is continuously updated in the system. Clients can thus know at all times the progress of their shipment. ABF Freight notably offers online tools via the ArcBest portal to book transport, track shipments, and access delivery proofs, providing transparency and responsiveness to the service provided. In parallel, the company invests in onboard technologies to improve its operations: trucks equipped with GPS and telematics systems for vehicle tracking, optimization of city delivery routes to reduce distances traveled and fuel consumption, or automatic speed limiting solutions for safety and energy-saving reasons. This intensive use of technology, combined with rigorous operational procedures, allows ABF Freight to achieve a high level of reliability in its transit times and merchandise handling.

Internally, ABF Freight operates with several specialized operational units that complement its main offering. First, the ABF Freight unit itself represents the traditional LTL network and constitutes the core business of the company, with its thousands of drivers and distribution centers across the continent. Alongside it, Panther Premium Logistics is the expert entity in expedited and time-sensitive deliveries. Acquired in 2012 by the ArcBest group, Panther operates as an urgent shipping service, handling critical shipments requiring immediate handling and a constantly optimized route (for example, parts essential to a production line or medical equipment that must be delivered urgently). Furthermore, ABF Freight developed the U-Pack service in 1997, oriented towards moves and residential shipments. U-Pack offers individuals and small businesses a solution where the client loads their belongings into a dedicated trailer or container, and then ABF transports it to the chosen destination. This self-service moving formula, backed by the ABF network, has been very successful: more than a million households have moved their goods across the United States, Canada, or to Puerto Rico using U-Pack over the years. The existence of these specialized units, integrated within the parent company ArcBest, allows ABF Freight to offer an expanded range of logistics services while capitalizing on its network and century-old expertise in freight transport.

Shipment Tracking

ABF Freight provides its clients with efficient online tracking tools to monitor each shipment from pick-up to delivery. For each shipment, a unique tracking number, generally called a PRO number, is assigned. This ABF tracking number typically consists of 9 digits (for example: 094738076) and allows for unambiguous identification of a shipment in the system. Shippers and recipients can enter this PRO number on the ABF website (ArcBest portal) to obtain real-time status of their freight, the latest location updates, and the estimated delivery date. The tracking provided by ABF Freight offers detailed information at each key stage: confirmation of initial pick-up, passages through various network terminals, departure for local delivery, any delays or incidents, and confirmation of final delivery. Thanks to these successive notifications, clients have complete visibility over the journey of their merchandise and can anticipate receipt.

Practically speaking, the ABF Freight tracking platform updates statuses as soon as a scan or movement operation is recorded in the network. Generally, data is updated very quickly after each event (loading, unloading, etc.), ensuring maximum transparency. If, however, a tracking number does not return information, it may mean that the shipment has not yet been scanned into the system (for example, just after pick-up) - it is advisable to wait a few hours and check again. In case of a more serious problem (invalid number, prolonged lack of update), ABF Freight's customer service is available to help resolve the tracking issue, although such incidents remain rare thanks to the system's reliability. Overall, shipment tracking at ABF Freight is designed to provide both shippers and recipients with great peace of mind, allowing them to know at any time where their freight is and if everything is proceeding as planned during transport.

ABF Freight Tracking Statuses