LTL news: New England Motor Freight and Manitoulin Transport form a partnership agreement
Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 8/14/2009
ELIZABETH, N.J.—New England Motor Freight (NEMF), a less-than-truckload (LTL) and transportation services provider, and Manitoulin Transport, a Toronto-based, provider of expedited transportation and logistics services, announced they have formed a partnership agreement.
Effective August 31, Manitoulin will receive all NEMF freight over Buffalo and Albany, N.Y. for deliveries to Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, with northeast U.S.-bound Manitoulin freight being transported through NEMF network for final delivery.
NEMF Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ed Generous told LM that this partnership stems from the company’s need to continue looking at ways of enhancing its service offerings for shippers, adding that this partnership will improve transit time and customer service, which he said is an ongoing endeavor.
NEMF initially contacted Manitoulin three years ago to kick the tires around on a potential partnership, with discussions accelerating over the last six months.
Major shipper benefits of this partnership, cited by Generous, include direct service coverage, seamless connectivity and cross-border functionality in both operations and sales, and IT integrations between the carriers.
“In terms of transit time, you are looking at overnight and second day service into markets in Montreal and Toronto from our service lanes and vice-versa,” said Generous. “There will also be improved transit times into the western provinces of Canada, too.”
Unlike Toronto and Montreal, which are very populated markets, the Western provinces will see improved transit times to the major markets through this partnership, said Generous.
Transfer points for NEMF freight heading to Montreal and Toronto are in Buffalo and Albany, with Manitoulin handling the customs clearance process for NEMF due to its strong relationship with Canadian Customs, which also provides visibility for shippers through customs processes.
“The cross-border business is growing,” said Generous. “And for the carriers offering a premium service in both transit times and consistency, this is a huge market opportunity for us.” Generous declined to disclose how many customers will be leveraging this new service.
Another major benefit of this partnership is that Manitoulin has the most direct service points of any Canadian carrier, which is critical, said Generous.
Manitoulin has 66 terminals in Canada and NEMF owns 40 in the U.S. Generous said that both carriers are very asset-intensive, with NEMF owing more than 6,000 pieces of equipment and Manitoulin has more than 2,600. All of these assets will be used in this joint service offering, depending on demand and volume.
“There are a lot of similarities between NEMF and Manitoulin,” said Generous. “We both have a broad array of services, and NEMF is not just an LTL carrier. Also, we have a similar culture and are both privately-held, which are key elements of this partnership.”
This partnership is one of a few LTL alliances that have previously been announced. Others include:
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an April 2009 partnership between Milan Express, a Tennessee-based transportation services provider focusing on less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload, logistics, and warehousing, and New Century Transportation Inc., a New Jersey-based provider of LTL, regional and national truckload and temperature-controlled services, promises to offer shippers with LTL services from the Midwest/Southeast region to and from the Northeast; and
· the Reliance Network, a high-tech alliance among six regional LTL carriers established in February 2008 whom collectively provide shippers with national LTL, truckload and supply chain freight services. Reliance Network carriers include Averitt Express (South and Southeastern U.S.), Canadian Freightways/Epic Express (Canada), DATS Trucking (West), Lakeville Motor Express (Midwest), Land Air Express of New England (New England), along with Pitt Ohio Express (Mid-Atlantic and Central states).
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