ABF Freight firm president retiring

ABF Freight President Tim Thorne is retiring after 31 years with the freight and logistics company, effective late June.

He will be replaced by Seth Runser, ABF's vice president of linehaul operations, the ArcBest subsidiary said Monday.

Thorne, a former U.S. Army captain, joined ABF as a supervisor assistant in 1990, before eventually becoming president in October 2014.

Under Thorne's leadership, ABF ratified a 5-year contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and paid a profit-share bonus to eligible union workers for the first time in its nearly 100-year history.

ArcBest said in a news release that Runser will be promoted to the new role of ABF chief operating officer, effective February 1, before becoming president on July 1.

Runser, 36, joined the company as a management trainee in 2007, and worked at various locations around the country before relocating at Fort Smith headquarters.

"We have the very best people in the business, and it has been an honor to serve as president of ABF," Thorne said in a written statement.

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