Knight Files Suit Against Freightliner

NEW YORK - Kevin Knight, chairman of truckload carrier Knight Transportation, said that his firm has filed a breach of contract suit against Freightliner LCC, claiming the truck manufacturer failed to honor its four-year rolling truck purchase agreement.

Speaking Monday at a Bear Stearns industry conference here, Knight said, “Current (Freightliner) management has chosen a course to force us out of our current agreement. We don’t agree with their tactics.”

A Freightliner spokesman told Transport Topics the company never comments on pending litigation.

Knight’s quarterly report, filed April 29, referred to litigation with “one of our major tractor suppliers concerning new equipment purchase prices and tractor repurchase commitments”.

During the record sales year of 1999, Freightliner was one of several companies said to have been generating sales by guaranteeing residual or “buyback” prices for its tractors.

Freightliner is the Phoenix-based company’s largest tractor vendor, and Knight said it will accept another 40 to 50 tractors from the company. However, Knight will then use another manufacturer –- probably Volvo -- for the rest of its planned 250 tractor additions this year.

“In our view, we will be able to work through these issues and Freightliner will continue to be a supplier to us,” Knight said.

Knight Transportation is ranked No. 67 in the 2000-2001 Transport Topics 100 list of largest trucking companies.

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