Pacific Alaska Freightways acquires Southern Alaska Forwarding

Seattle-area based Pacific Alaska Freightways (PAF), a provider of freight transportation services to Alaska, including steamship, barge, rail, air, truckload, less-than-truckload, and intermodal, said that it has officially acquired Southern Alaska Forwarding,  a freight consolidator serving Kodiak and Cordova, Alaska from Seattle.

PAF officials said that the key SAF employees will be part of the transition and the entire company will be known as PAF.

PAF was established in 1961 and since that time has established itself as a premier freight hauler and logistics services provider. And SAF was established in 1979. Over the past several years, the companies have worked together in a partnership, with PAF picking up freight from Anchorage and transferring to SAF for delivery in Kodiak, as well as providing support for each other from the lower 48 into their respective service areas, according to a PAF statement.

In an interview with LM, PAF Director of Sales and Marketing Curt Dorn said that PAF “saw a great opportunity to provide existing clients with greater coverage, as well as the financial synergy after integrating the SAF model into PAF.”

Dorn declined to provide a specific number for how many customers PAF and SAF had prior to this deal being announced but said it is in the thousands.

Dorn said this move had been in the works for several months. And he explained that customers will see various benefits of this deal, including direct service to Kodiak from the lower 48,  technology for better freight visibility,  online or via e-mail,  POD’s, and status updates.

In terms of competitive advantages this deal will provide for PAF, Dorn cited more volume moving through its lower 48 facilities which allows PAF to direct load into to Kodiak reducing handling and transit time.