Central Freight Lines to Acquire Jaguar Fast Freight

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Central Freight Lines, Waco, Texas, has agreed to acquire the business and assets of Jaguar Fast Freight of Phoenix in a stock transaction.

Jaguar operates as an intrastate less-than-truckload carrier in Arizona and is an agent for Central.

The combination will allow Central to better market its regional trucking services, according to Tom Morehouse, senior vice president of sales and marketing.

"Our customers told us they wanted, and needed, our services from and to Arizona," he said.

Central President Joe Hall said the Jaguar operation will be operated as a fourth region of Central Freight Lines with Kent Chapman as regional operations director and Larry Rockwell as regional sales director. Chapman is currently president and Rockwell is director of sales for Jaguar.

The merger is expected to close within 45 days and approximately 250 Jaguar employees will become Central employees, company officials said.

Jaguar was formed in January 1996 from the combination of three carriers: Arizona Pacific Freightways, Pioneer Freightways and Highland Trucking. Jaguar later acquired the LTL business of Hurley Trucking of Phoenix.