Schneider National announced Monday the launch of an intermodal service providing “truck-like daily transit between the Southeast and Mexico.”
The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based multimodal transportation and logistics provider said the service will provide continuous rail transportation between locations in Mexico and Texas with points in the U.S. Southeast. The new lane is an offshoot of a deal struck by CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE: CP), creating a Class 1 rail connection between the two carriers in Alabama.
The service will provide shippers in states like Florida and Georgia with a seamless cross-border option that doesn’t require a container handoff at the border as customs clearance is executed in transit. A news release said in addition to reducing delays, freight is less exposed to theft because it isn’t stopped at the border.
The new service is expected to start next month.
“This represents a major leap forward in our industry combining the best-in-class service of two renowned railroads, and it will transform the intermodal landscape,” said Jim Filter, Schneider group president of transportation and logistics, in a news release. “It will be especially useful for shippers looking to diversify their transportation solutions and support and fortify nearshoring strategies.”
Schneider (NYSE: SNDR) partners with both railroads currently, providing chassis and containers as part of its intermodal offering.
“This new interchange we are establishing with CSX is going to provide new competitive services and solutions to customers like Schneider, reaching additional rapidly growing markets,” said John Brooks, CPKC’s chief marketing officer.
The Surface Transportation Board blessed a deal last month allowing CPKC to acquire the western portion of the Meridian & Bigbee Railroad from Genesee & Wyoming, with CSX acquiring the eastern section. That approval becomes effective on Saturday.