Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Description of Business and Basis of Presentation

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Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Description of Business and Basis of Presentation Description of Business and Basis of Presentation
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

Forward Air Corporation ("the Company", "We", "Our") is a leading asset-light freight and logistics company. Prior to the Company’s Board of Directors’ (the "Board") approval of a strategy to divest the Company's Pool Distribution business (“Pool”), its services were classified into three principal reportable segments: Expedited Freight, Intermodal and Pool. As a result of the decision to divest Pool, which has been classified as a discontinued operation, the Company now has two principal reportable segments: Expedited Freight and Intermodal (see Note 14, Segment Reporting). See Note 4, Discontinued Operations and Held for Sale, for additional information regarding the decision to divest Pool.
Through the Expedited Freight segment, the Company operates a comprehensive national network to provide expedited regional, inter-regional and national less-than-truckload ("LTL") services. Expedited Freight offers customers local pick-up and delivery and other services including final mile, truckload, shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage and other handling.

The Company's Intermodal segment provides first- and last-mile high value intermodal container drayage services both to and from seaports and railheads. Intermodal also offers dedicated contract and container freight station ("CFS") warehouse and handling services. Today, Intermodal operates primarily in the Midwest and Southeast, with a smaller operational presence in the Southwest United States.

Pool, which has been classified as a discontinued operation, provides high-frequency handling and distribution of time sensitive product to numerous destinations within a specific geographic region. Pool offers this service throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Southwest United States.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by United States generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The Company’s operating results are subject to seasonal trends (as described in the Company's 2019 Form 10-K) when measured on a quarterly basis; therefore operating results for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Forward Air Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company include Forward Air Corporation and its subsidiaries. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation.

Discontinued Operations

On April 23, 2020, the Board approved a strategy to divest Pool within the next year and accordingly, has been classified as assets held for sale as of September 30, 2020 and for all prior periods presented. Pool assets and liabilities are reflected as “Assets and liabilities held for sale” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets in this report. In addition, the results of operations for Pool have been presented in this report as discontinued operations. Amounts for all periods discussed below reflect the results of operations, financial condition and cash flows from Forward Air’s continuing operations, unless otherwise noted. See Note 4, Discontinued Operations and Held for Sale.
Use of Estimates

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

In particular, management has made estimates and assumptions related to the impact of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") on its business. The current environment resulting from COVID-19 is unprecedented and comes with a great deal of uncertainty as discussed further throughout this document.