Crowley to launch multi-modal service between Mexico and the U.S. Midwest and Canada via inland connections by CN

Crowley 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 highly efficient, 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 markets.

“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, Alabama, which avoids inland transportation congestion at the U.S.-Mexico border, the linkage to CN best-in-class 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. 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.

“We are pleased to be joining Crowley with our extensive inland rail network for this innovative service. We share similar values about providing solutions for complex supply chain needs and we are excited to support their first venture via the Port of Mobile into the U.S. and Canada,” said Doug MacDonald, Chief Marketing Officer of CN. “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.”