Founded in 1982 by the late Sheridan Garrison, American Freightways was originally titled Arkansas Freightways. In 1989 Arkansas Freightways became a publicly held corporation, and developed a wide network of customer centers providing direct shipping to 40 contiguous U.S. states. The company officially changed its name to American Freightways in 1993.

American Freightways was acquired by FedEx Corporation in 2001. By combining Viking Freight and AF, FedEx Corp. created FedEx Freight to offer one-stop shopping for less than truckload shipping customers. In June 2002, FedEx rebranded AF and Viking as FedEx Freight East and FedEx Freight West, respectively. Following the acquisition by FedEx Corporation of Lakeland, Fla. based Watkins Motor Lines, the company would later be known simply as FedEx Freight, Inc. The company’s DOT number, 239039, which was originally assigned to American Freightways, remains in use by FedEx Freight, Inc.