The dean of parcel consultants, Michael K. Erickson, has announced that he will run for Congress in the first election in Oregon’s newly constituted 6th District.
Should he prevail in the November midterms, Erickson, 59, will turn over the leadership of AFMS Consulting LLC, which he founded in October 1992 and remains its CEO, to his wife and brother. Erickson faces five other candidates in the May 17 Republican primary.
Oregon’s 6th District was created in response to the 2020 census. It covers a mostly rural area south of Portland and includes parts of Salem, the capital.
The Seattle-born Erickson has long been politically active at the national and state levels. He was nominated in 2006 and 2008 to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Oregon’s 5th District but lost both times. He ran unsuccessfully for two different seats in the Oregon House of Representatives in 1988 and 1992.
Erickson formed Tigard, Oregon-based AFMS after a long career at the former Airborne Express. He is known in the industry for waging a multiyear legal battle with FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and UPS Inc. (NYSE: UPS) over alleged antitrust violations. AFMS argued that UPS and FedEx colluded to boycott third-party consultants who negotiated parcel contracts for their shipper customers.
A federal district court in 2015 dismissed the case with prejudice, ruling that AFMS had failed to properly define a market impacted by the carriers’ alleged actions. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court ruling two years later.
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The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register NowThe night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register NowIndustry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.
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