American Freightways Honored with Motor Carrier Industry's Highest Safety Award; Carrier Also Earns Numerous State Safety Awards
HARRISON, Ark.--Oct. 8, 2001--American Freightways (AF), a leading less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier providing all-points direct regional service in 40 states and part of the FedEx Corp. family of companies, has been honored with the American Trucking Associations' (ATA) President's Trophy.This prestigious award, presented annually to only one motor carrier in each of three mileage categories by the ATA's Safety & Loss Prevention Management Council, is the highest safety honor in the trucking industry. AF was presented the trophy in the over 100 million miles category at an awards ceremony in Nashville recently in recognition of its outstanding safety record, program, and initiatives.
AF also earned first place in the General Commodities, LTL-Linehaul (over 100 million miles) and second place in the General Commodities, LTL-Local (over 50 million miles) categories in the ATA's National Fleet Safety Contest.
"These honors from the ATA are a testament to the professionalism and ongoing commitment to safety that each of our associates displays on the highways and in the workplace day in and day out. Nothing is more important than our stewardship of safety," said Tom Garrison, president and CEO of American Freightways. "Winning the President's Trophy is a tribute to the people behind the scenes, our drivers and frontline supervisors, who work as a team with one common unwavering goal -- to promote and maintain a true safety culture at AF."
In addition to safety records, President's Trophy nominees were judged in a variety of other safety-related areas such as compliance with regulations (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, hazardous materials, OSHA and environmental regulations); safety training and supervision of drivers; inspection and maintenance of equipment; accident handling, reporting and investigation; and leadership in industry safety activities.
"American Freightways has helped to raise the bar on motor carrier safety," said William Canary, ATA interim president and CEO, noting that AF tractors and trailers feature at least 15 additional safety-related accessories than required by federal regulations. "AF goes the extra mile to put safe drivers and trucks on our highways."
Viking Freight, AF's sister company, was also recognized by the ATA for its outstanding safety performance, taking home second-place honors in the General Commodities, LTL-Local category (10-50 million miles) and earning a third-place award in the General Commodities, LTL-Linehaul division (50-100 million miles). Viking is a past recipient of the President's Trophy, winning in 1999.
The ATA President's Trophy represents the latest in a long line of safety awards that Harrison, Arkansas-based American Freightways has earned during the past few months, including the following:
| -- | West Virginia Motor Truck Association -- Trailmobile Safety Award for Local and Intercity (6-8 million miles). |
| -- | Texas Motor Transportation Association -- First Place, Trailmobile Safety Award for Local (over 10 million miles). |
| -- | New Mexico Safety Management Council -- First Place, Trailmobile Safety Award (1-3 million miles). |
| -- | Minnesota Trucking Association -- First Place, Trailmobile Safety Award for Less Than Truckload, Over the Road (over 3 million miles). |
| -- | Michigan Trucking Association -- Trailmobile Safety Award for General Commodities (over 5 million miles). |
| -- | Indiana Motor Truck Association -- Indiana Fleet Safety Contest Winner for Over the Road (over 10 million miles) and Fleet Safety Contest Grand Trophy Winner. |
| -- | New York State Motor Truck Association -- Fleet Safety Award for Large Class. |
| -- | Illinois Trucking Association -- First Place, Local (over 5 million miles). |
| -- | Missouri Motor Carriers Association -- Trailmobile Safety Award for Over the Road (over 5 million miles). |
| -- | Colorado Motor Carriers Association -- Trailmobile Safety Award for General Commodities (over 5 million miles). |
| -- | Alabama Trucking Association -- Improvement Award. |
"We're extremely proud of our strong commitment to safety education, which is lead by our Safety Director Jay Key and his team," said Carl Thomas, AF's vice president of safety and security. "AF's comprehensive program includes updating and retraining our associates on numerous safety-related areas, including hazardous materials handling, fatigue management, and defensive driving skills."
American Freightways, recently acquired by FedEx Corporation, is a scheduled, for-hire carrier of less-than-truckload shipments providing direct all-points delivery service in 40 contiguous states. Together with Viking Freight of San Jose, Calif., these two operating companies of FedEx Freight provide service to virtually all U.S. ZIP codes, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Internationally, American Freightways and Viking provide service to North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. More information about AF can be found at www.AF.com.
With annual revenues of $20 billion, FedEx Corp. is the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground, North America's second largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Freight, a leading provider of regional less-than-truckload freight services; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited, time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs brokerage, consulting, information technology and trade facilitation solutions.
Note To Editors: FedEx Corp. press releases are available on the World Wide Web at www.fedex.com.