Crowley Launches Multimodal Service Between Mexico, US and Canada

Crowley announced it will launch an end-to-end, integrated ocean and rail service between Mexico and the U.S. Midwest region and into Canada. Featuring Crowley’s new Mexico-U.S. ocean route in the Gulf, the service will leverage the inland rail network of Canadian National Railway Company and its U.S. rail subsidiaries (CN). The companies’ combined network provides broad reach across the Midwest and into Canada to increase solutions for global customers in North American market, the company said.

“With this collaboration with Canadian National, Crowley has further expanded market reach for our customers and the communities they serve with the fast, reliable transport of goods across the entirety of North America,” said Brett Bennett, senior vice president and general manager, Crowley Logistics. “Leveraging each side’s unmatched supply chain capabilities and commitment to customers long-term, we are creating even more efficiencies to advance the power of today’s innovative and demanding global supply chain.”

In addition to a new ocean shipping route from Tuxpan, Mexico, to Mobile, Ala., which avoids inland transportation congestion at the U.S.-Mexico border, the linkage to CN rail service from Mobile to the Midwest and into Canada will offer customers the fastest, most environmentally efficient transit times versus emissions from trucks with five to six times less fuel used per ton transported, Crowley said. Ships making a roundtrip between Tuxpan and Mobile weekly in September will carry up to 1,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) containers and more than 200 refrigerated containers.

After transiting on Crowley’s vessel from Mexico to the Port of Mobile, containers will be loaded onto daily CN trains traveling through the Midwest into Canada, offering some of the fastest rail service connecting Mobile and Chicago; Detroit; Minneapolis; Memphis; and Canadian cities such as Toronto, and Montreal, among others.

Doug MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer of CN, said, “We can better serve our customers in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada by assisting Crowley in providing a reliable, and seamless door-to-door customer experience.  The new service will enable more efficient supply chain corridors and increased market access throughout North America.”