CONSOLIDATED FREIGHTWAYS SHUTS DOWN

CONSOLIDATED FREIGHTWAYS SHUTS DOWN

   Consolidated Freightways, based in Vancouver, Wash., planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday, according to a recorded message given the company’s 20,000 employees yesterday by John Brincko, chief executive officer.

   No spokesman was available today to comment further.

   “All U.S. terminals will not be open…and you should not report, since your employment ends immediately,” Brincko said.

   “I’m sorry for this action, but we have no other choice due to a lack of financial resources,” concluded Brincko, who had been CEO since May of 2002.

   Consolidated will lay off all of its employees, including 14,500 members of the Teamsters.

   Analysts said that while the bankruptcy move was anticipated, it came more swiftly than many thought.

   Brincko said the company’s situation had become “critical” in recent weeks when one of Consolidated’s surety bondholders canceled workers’ compensation coverage. “We went immediately to our lenders…but found we were unable to get the funds we needed,” he explained.

      Consolidated Freightways was the third largest U.S. long-haul trucking company, after Yellow and Roadway.

   CNF Inc. announced that is unaffected by the move. CNF Inc. and Consolidated Freightways have been unrelated legal entities since Consolidated Freightways was spun off from CNF in 1996. The operations of the companies owned by CNF, including Con-Way Transportation Services and Menlo Worldwide, are not affected by the Consolidated Freightways bankruptcy announcement.