AFS Through
The Years

Key milestones in our company history
Argyle design of AFS Logistics history through the years

1980

Motor Carrier Act of 1980 changes transportation

Motor carrier deregulation is a part of a sweeping reduction in price controls, entry controls, and collective vendor price setting. The new free-market paradigm results in price wars that drive many carriers under setting the stage for a dramatic increase in new firms and intense competition that continues to shape the industry.

1982

Brian J. Barker starts AFS

Barker sells his 1980 Datsun 280ZX to fund AFS and opens the doors to a new 150 square foot office in his father-in-law’s warehouse on Feb. 2, 1982. By the end of the year, AFS grew to a small but mighty team of five employees.

The first of many satisfied clients

The first three clients AFS serves are all based in the company’s home state of Louisiana.

Post audit services

AFS evolves rapidly in its first year of business, adding post audit services to uncover savings and recover money lost through overpayments for clients.

1983

Freight audit and payment services

To better serve client needs in the newly deregulated market, AFS introduces freight audit and payment services to catch invoice errors and prevent overspending.

$200,000 in managed transportation spend

AFS grows to a major milestone, managing a total of $200,000 in annual transportation spend, saving its clients thousands along the way.

1985

Expansion to Oklahoma

AFS makes its first acquisition, AL Billings & Associates in Tulsa, Oklahoma in February and opens a new office in Tulsa later that year.

Cost management services

AFS again expands its service offering, introducing cost management and signing its first cost management client.

1986

Truckload brokerage

Truckload brokerage becomes the latest addition to the AFS portfolio, helping clients get reliable, on-time shipments and negotiating fair rates.

1987

More growth through acquisition in Oklahoma

AFS acquires Tulsa Freight Audit.

1989

Going beyond borders

AFS launches international service offerings to address client needs outside of the U.S. and serve a wider variety of industries.

1990

Continued deregulation and growth

Deregulation started with the Motor Carrier Act in 1980 and is completed in the 1990s. Along the way, Standard & Poor’s finds that the cost of shipping by truck has fallen by $40 billion between 1980 and 1988. Meanwhile, AFS grows to a team of 20 at the start of the new decade

1991

Expansion to Texas

AFS grows its footprint with a new office in Dallas, a sprawling metropolis and transportation hub connecting the southwest and southeast.

1994

Transportation consulting acquisition in Atlanta

AFS acquires Herring Transportation Consultants.

1995

Parcel audit and cost management services

AFS grows to 25 teammates and expands its service offering for parcel customers with two additional services to catch overcharges for base rates and accessorials, and save clients thousands in parcel spend.

1996

Team growth picks up speed

AFS grows to 35 teammates with locations in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Georgia.

1999

Acquisition and growth in Texas

By July of 1999, AFS acquires Metroplex Traffic in Dallas and grows to 63 teammates.

2000

Acquisition kicks off new century set to be shaped by IT

AFS acquires Carolina Traffic Service in Gastonia, North Carolina. The Transportation Research Board predicts the new century will be marked by breakthrough technologies, with information technology expected to ‘have the most immediate effect on transportation.’

2004

More teammates, more locations

AFS expands, growing to 101 teammates with the acquisition of Pittsburgh-based Scott Traffic Services.

2005

More growth through acquisition

AFS acquires American Freight Payers, based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

2008

The team welcomes more talent

AFS grows to 132 teammates.

2009

Acquisition in Indiana

AFS acquires Uni Trans Logistics in South Bend, Indiana.

2010

Charting a course in a recovering economy

As the U.S. economy emerges from The Great Recession, the industry finds its footing as freight demand increases and AFS begins a decade filled with M&A activity.

2012

Acquisitions in Utah and Ohio

AFS acquires Logica LLC in Bountiful, Utah and UFM Logistics in Casstown, Ohio.

2013

Data and financial processing acquisition, team growth

AFS acquires TrendSet, Inc., in Greenville, South Carolina. The team size grows to 244.

Parcel audit acquisition

AFS acquires TracBack Solutions, in Nashville, Tennessee.

2014

Fortifying parcel and LTL consulting practices

AFS acquires Insource Spend Management Group in Columbus, Ohio.

Freight audit and payment acquisition

AFS acquires Smart Freight Solutions, in Kansas City, Missouri, a freight audit and payment organization that also offered a SaaS TMS application.

Logistics management and consulting acquisition

AFS acquires Vertical Synergies, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia.

Freight brokerage acquisition and major team growth

AFS acquires FLG Express in Atlanta, Georgia and expands to 295 teammates across all locations.

2017

Expanded service offerings

A few years after the company’s major growth in 2014, AFS adds managed transportation services to the company portfolio, helping clients better control and plan their transportation network.

2019

Transportation management acquisition

AFS acquires Woodbury, New York-based Berman-Blake Associates, growing the AFS team to 354. The office later moved to Melville, New York.

Acquisition further bolsters parcel audit

AFS acquires Refund Logistics in Houston, Texas.

2020

Freight audit and payment acquisition

AFS acquires Software Solutions Unlimited, Inc. (SSI) of Portland, Oregon and grows to 383 teammates.

Logistics management and freight cost control acquisition

AFS acquires WCA Logistics located in Urbana, Ohio.

2021

Billions in managed and settled spend

By the end of the year, AFS grows to manage over $10 billion transportation spend and settles $4 billion, generating millions in client savings.

2022

Acquisition creates the largest FAP company in Canada

AFS acquires DTA Services of Toronto, creating the new largest freight audit and payment company in Canada. The AFS team grows to over 400 employees, managing nearly $11 billion in transportation spend.

40 may not look good on everyone. But it clearly looks great on AFS – as this head-to-head comparison between our first day and present-day operations shows. 

AFS Logistics growth statistics in 1982 vs. 2022

Download the Full Q1:2023
Cowen/AFS Freight Index

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