[3] TForce Freight traces its history back to 1935 when J. Harwood Cochrane founded the Overnite Transportation Company.

[2] Overnite saw steady growth in its early years fueled in part by contracts with Philip Morris and R. J. Reynolds.

In 1982, Overnite received authorization to operate in all 48 states of the contiguous US allowing it to grow outside its home market in Virginia.

[4] By the mid-1980s, Overnite operated in 33 states plus Washington, D.C. primarily in the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Southeast but already had four terminals in California.

[8] Overnite expanded west in 2001 with its $80 million purchase of Salt Lake City-based western regional LTL carrier, Motor Cargo Industries.

By this time, Overnite was a nationwide LTL carrier employing over 14,400 mostly non-union employees and operating more than 6,000 tractors and 21,000 trailers.

[18] Immediately after acquisition, the logos on the doors of the Overnite and Motor Cargo tractors were covered with signs showing the operator as UPS Freight.

[citation needed] In January 2021, UPS agreed to sell their freight business to Canadian rival TFI International for $800 million.

[22] UPS cited as rationale its plans to move the company's focus away from the domestic trucking market towards small package delivery, which had become more profitable due to the COVID-19 pandemic.