CPR and Consolidated Fastfrate Sign 10-year deal

The Canadian Pacific Railway and Consolidated Fastfrate have signed a ten-year, $400-million contract and partnershipt that is meant to set a new industry standard for the movement of less-than-truckload (LTL) freight.

“The signing of this contract is a source of great pride and satisfaction for all members of the CPR family and not just because of its positive financial implications. Since 1965 we have satisfied Consolidated Fastfrate’s service and price needs to such an extent that it is partnering with us exclusively for the next decade,” said CPR President Robert J. Ritchie.

CPR and Consolidated Fastfrate will now offer combined rail and truck service for LTL freight throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico, using intermodal containers for the rail haul.

Consolidated Fastfrate will provide seamless LTL service for the CPR intermodal group, and the CPR will be Consolidated Fastfrate’s exclusive provider of rail-based intermodal service. The two companies say the contract will lead to a 25-per-cent increase in the value of LTL transportation business for the railway, with solid prospects for further
growth.

“Under this contract, we will give North American shippers a level of intermodal transportation with trains and trucks so closely linked that it will be hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins,” said Ritchie.

“CPR has invested in areas that are critical to meeting the performance shippers have come to expect from truck-based service. Because CPR has delivered that kind of service to us, we invested $40 million in new facilities inside or adjacent to the CPR’s intermodal terminals across Canada. We are already planning additional services, facilities and support systems that will take this integrated rail-truck service to new levels. We fully expect that our business will grow,” said Consolidated Fastfrate president Ron Tepper.