Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Acquisitions, Goodwill and Other Long-Lived Assets Carrying Value of Goodwill (Details)

v2.4.1.9
Acquisitions, Goodwill and Other Long-Lived Assets Carrying Value of Goodwill (Details) (USD $)
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Dec. 31, 2013
Goodwill [Line Items]    
Goodwill, Acquired During Period $ 55,916us-gaap_GoodwillAcquiredDuringPeriod  
Goodwill, Net 144,412us-gaap_Goodwill 88,496us-gaap_Goodwill
Customer relationships acquired 108,240us-gaap_FiniteLivedCustomerRelationshipsGross  
Non-compete agreements acquired 3,272us-gaap_FiniteLivedNoncompeteAgreementsGross  
Trade names acquired 1,500us-gaap_FiniteLivedTradeNamesGross  
Forward Air [Member]    
Goodwill [Line Items]    
Goodwill, Net 93,842us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= fwrd_ForwardAirMember
37,926us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= fwrd_ForwardAirMember
FASI [Member]    
Goodwill [Line Items]    
Accumulated impairment loss (6,953)us-gaap_GoodwillImpairedAccumulatedImpairmentLoss
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= fwrd_FasiMember
(6,953)us-gaap_GoodwillImpairedAccumulatedImpairmentLoss
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= fwrd_FasiMember
Goodwill, Net 12,359us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= fwrd_FasiMember
12,359us-gaap_Goodwill
/ us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis
= fwrd_FasiMember
TQI [Member]    
Goodwill [Line Items]    
Goodwill, Acquired During Period 0us-gaap_GoodwillAcquiredDuringPeriod
/ fwrd_ForwardAirCorp.SubsidiariesAxis
= fwrd_TQIMember
 
Goodwill, Net $ 45,164us-gaap_Goodwill
/ fwrd_ForwardAirCorp.SubsidiariesAxis
= fwrd_TQIMember
$ 45,164us-gaap_Goodwill
/ fwrd_ForwardAirCorp.SubsidiariesAxis
= fwrd_TQIMember
TQI [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member]    
Goodwill [Line Items]    
Weighted average useful lives of acquired intangible assets 15 years  
TQI [Member] | Noncompete Agreements [Member]    
Goodwill [Line Items]    
Weighted average useful lives of acquired intangible assets 5 years