Reddaway (trucking company)

USF Reddaway Inc.

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Transportation
Predecessor	Reddaway's Truck Line, Inc.
Founded	June 1919 (1919-06) in Oregon City, Oregon, United States
Founder	William Arthur "Art" Reddaway
Defunct	2023 (2023)
Fate	Operations suspended; parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Headquarters	Tualatin, Oregon , United States
Area served	Western United States, British Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii
Key people	Walter Wayne “Walt” Reddaway (former leader)
Products	Less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services
Owner	Yellow Corporation (formerly YRC Worldwide)
Number of employees	3,000+ (2021)
Parent	Yellow Corporation

USF Reddaway Inc. (commonly known as Reddaway) was a US-based less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon. As a subsidiary of the transportation conglomerate Yellow Corporation (previously YRC Worldwide), Reddaway provided services throughout the Western United States, as well as British Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Origins and initial development

The company was established in June 1919 by businessman William Arthur "Art" Reddaway (1888–1957) under the name Reddaway's Truck Line, Inc. in Oregon City, Oregon. Operations began with just one Ford Model T truck. Art Reddaway managed the enterprise together with his wife, Ethel May Joslin Reddaway. Their son, Walter Wayne “Walt” Reddaway (1915–1979), took over leadership until 1970. Walt made a notable contribution to the trucking industry by inventing spray guard rain flaps known as The Reddaway System, for which he obtained a patent in 1975.

Acquisition by TNT North America

In 1989, Australian multinational TNT Ltd., through its US branch TNT North America, acquired Reddaway, which at that time operated 16 terminals across the northwestern United States. This purchase was part of TNT’s strategy to acquire regional trucking firms throughout the US to complement its other holdings—TNT Red Star Express Lines in the northeast, TNT Holland Motor Express in the midwest, and TNT Bestway Transportation in the southeast. Following the acquisition, Reddaway continued operating as an autonomous subsidiary under the name TNT Reddaway Truck Line within TNT North America.

Separation from TNT

In 1992, TNT divested its US trucking operations by creating TNT Freightways Corp., with plans to raise $240 million by offering 80% of the company publicly. The initial public offering exceeded expectations, raising $280 million and becoming the largest IPO for a trucking company in US history. This new entity managed six regional less-than-truckload carriers—including TNT Reddaway—and three logistics companies.

By January 1993, TNT Freightways had purchased the remaining 20% stake from its former parent company. However, in 1994, two subsidiaries—TNT Holland and TNT Red Star—were impacted by a significant Teamsters strike involving more than 75,000 workers from major US trucking firms. Both companies exited Trucking Management Inc. (TMI), the industry’s collective bargaining group, opting instead to negotiate directly with the union.

In 1996, TNT Freightways rebranded itself as USFreightways Corp., replacing "TNT" with "USF" across its subsidiaries. At that time, it merged TNT United Truck Lines into USF Reddaway Inc., which maintained its headquarters in Clackamas County, Oregon. Later in 2003, USFreightways simplified its corporate branding further by adopting the name USF Corp.

Acquisition by YRC/Yellow

By the early 2000s, USF Reddaway had evolved into a super-regional LTL carrier servicing western US states and Canada. In 2005, Yellow Roadway Corp., then the largest LTL carrier nationwide, acquired USF Corp., which was ranked third largest. The four regional LTL carriers under USF continued operating as independent subsidiaries within Yellow Roadway’s newly formed YRC Regional Transportation division. This group included USF Bestway, USF Dugan, USF Holland, USF Reddaway, along with truckload carrier USF Glen Moore and Roadway’s regional LTL subsidiary New Penn.

Yellow Roadway Corp rebranded to YRC Worldwide in 2006. The following year saw a merger of USF Bestway into USF Reddaway, leaving YRC Regional with USF Holland, USF Reddaway, USF Glen Moore, and New Penn. In 2008, YRC consolidated its Yellow and Roadway operations under YRC Inc., simultaneously shutting down 21 less profitable USF Reddaway terminals located in the southern United States to improve operational efficiency.

Additional restructuring occurred in 2011 when the "USF" prefix was dropped from USF Reddaway, USF Holland, and USF Glen Moore; these companies became known simply as Reddaway, Holland, and Glen Moore respectively. That year also marked YRC’s sale of Glen Moore to Celadon Trucking, leaving Reddaway, Holland, and New Penn as primary subsidiaries within YRC Regional. In 2012, Reddaway moved its headquarters from Oregon City to Tualatin near Portland. By 2021, it operated a fleet of approximately 1,500 trucks and 5,000 trailers across fifty service centers staffed by over 3,000 employees.

YRC Worldwide underwent rebranding as Yellow Corporation in 2021 and announced intentions to unify all its brands by 2022 to enhance market position and streamline operations. However, on August 6, 2023, Yellow Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after suspending operations six days earlier—a pivotal moment affecting its financial stability and corporate organization.