FedEx Freight's Duncan to Retire

Douglas G. Duncan, the executive who has led FedEx Freight from its inception, will retire next February, the company announced.

Under his leadership, FedEx Freight emerged in this decade as one of the leading non-union less-than-truckload carriers, and the second largest LTL operator in the country, after YRC Worldwide.

The rise of FedEx Freight after its creation in 2001 from the acquisition and merger of American Freightways and Viking Freight signaled a tectonic shift in the LTL marketplace, as the traditional "big three" unionized carriers — then Yellow Transportation, Roadway Express and Consolidated Freightways — lost ground to nonunion competitors such as FedEx and Con-way.

Consolidated Freightways folded in 2002, and Yellow Corp. acquired Roadway in 2003 to create what is now YRC Worldwide.

Duncan, president and CEO of FedEx Freight, came to FedEx from Viking Freight, where he served two years as president and CEO, and the Caliber System and Roadway organizations. In addition to FedEx Freight, he oversees FedEx Custom Critical and FedEx's Caribbean Transportation Services. He oversaw the 2006 acquisition of Watkins Motor Lines, which created FedEx National LTL, the long-haul arm of the carrier.

He serves on the executive committee of the American Trucking Associations and as chairman of the American Transportation Research Institute.

Duncan will step down Feb. 28, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His successor has not been named.

Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.