Seven furniture carriers form consortium
Joan Gunin -- Furniture Today, August 4, 2003
High Point — Seven regional furniture carriers in the United States and Canada have created a consortium — the North American Furniture Transport Group, or NAFTG — to provide transportation for imported and domestically produced furniture originating in California and other points beyond North Carolina and Virginia.
The consortium consists of Anderson Truck Line, Lenoir, N.C.; Dejong Enterprises, Norwich, Ontario; Four Truckers, Morganton, N.C.; Rudisill Transportation, Hickory, N.C.; Shull Transport, Hickory, N.C.; Warren Trucking, Martinsville, Va.; and Wiseway Transportation Services, Hudson, Wis.
The NAFTG member companies will offer service to furniture shippers, retailers and distributors in the 48 continental states and in Ontario and Quebec.
"Until now, shippers' and retailers' transportation options from the West Coast and other points outside of the furniture industry mainstream in North Carolina and Virginia had been primarily limited to general commodity carriers that typically handle furniture shipments multiple times," said Carl Abernathy, executive vice president of Four Truckers.
Such an approach can lead to increased damage and transit delays, he said.
"NAFTG will be a one-stop shop for manufacturers and importers in the U.S. and Canada," Abernathy said.
Members provide services such as expedited transit time, radio-frequency bar coding, Internet-based shipment tracking, electronic data interchange and satellite-based equipment tracking.
NAFTG member companies have combined annual revenues of more than $100 million and operate more than 630 trucks and 1,700 trailers.
