[5] When deregulation of land transport occurred in October 1982, Mainfreight quickly took advantage of the opportunities presented and won a large share of the freight market.

Whilst describing the foundation of Mainfreight in 2000, Plested said to the New Zealand Herald, "We moved all our freight by sea between Auckland, and Christchurch and Dunedin, and we worked weekend shifts to make sure we loaded and unloaded the ship using the whole of the seven days - we found that was faster and more reliable than our big competitors.

[6] The company partnered with agents and third parties to provide any coverage into Northern Territory, Tasmania, and most rural areas of Australia.

[2] In 2023 the Mainfreight USA transportation sector set a new milestone by obtaining their Motor Carrier Authority license leading them to expand their LTL (Less-than-Truckload) ground shipping operations.

In 2011, Mainfreight Limited acquired the business of Wim Bosman Group providing further opportunities to expand their international global presence with branches located throughout Europe.

[7] Mainfreight branches are located throughout France, Poland, United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Italy, and Belgium.

In 2022 due to the political conflicts and sanctions in place between Russia and Ukraine, Mainfreight suspended all domestic operations in the two territories.

The lawsuit claimed that Wim Bosman, the former owner, had prior knowledge of a large client, Giant Bicycles, intentions to end corporate ties with the group.

[15] Since 2011, Mainfreight, under the Wim Bosman name, have opened new branches in Bergen op Zoom in The Netherlands, Cluj-Napoca in Romania, Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen in Germany, London in United Kingdom, and Poznań/Luboń in Poland.

[18] In September 2007, it was reported by Business Wire that Mainfreight had signed a merger agreement with NYSE American-listed Target Logistics for $2.50 a share; for a total of US$54 million.