ABF expands shipping reach into South America

Fort Smith-based ABF Freight System continues to expand its global reach with ocean transport services now reaching Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay.

“ABF Global is providing a single contact for full-container-load (FCL) and expedited less-than-container-load (LCL) supply chain solutions,” the company noted in a statement.

ABF announced in November service expansion into Europe and Turkey. The company had previously developed shipping connections in China, India and other Southeast Asia countries.

“With an established presence in Europe, China, India and Southeast Asia countries, South America is a natural extension of our global coverage,” Carlos Martinez-Tomatis, ABF GSCS division vice president, said in the statement “ABF Global now covers nearly 90 percent of the total ocean international market to and from the United States. Our goal is to reach 96 percent of the total import/export market, which we anticipate achieving before the end of 2013.”

The new service allows an ABF customer “end-to-end visibility,” meaning they can monitor the process from loading to delivery. The company also has dedicated space on ships, which provides customers a “single-contact” service through the shipment.

“Long-term planning is enhanced by advanced scheduling for consolidation and departures. Features and benefits include in transit, virtual warehousing. Dynamic rerouting capabilities enable on-the-water inventory allocation and order fulfillment directly from the container to the end-user or multiple delivery locations,” said Martinez-Tomatis.

ABF is one of the largest less-than-truckload carriers in the U.S., and is a subsidiary of Fort Smith-based Arkansas Best Corp.