Roadway Providing 'Brand Name' Service Across the Mexican Border

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — The Kenmex 2000 trucks are painted in Roadway Express colors. The drivers wear Roadway uniforms and follow Roadway operating procedures. And the freight is delivered on a regular schedule. About the only way to tell that the 27 trucks hauling freight in Mexico are run by Mexican carriers is to look at the name on the side of the tractor.

That’s the point of Roadway’s new contract with two Mexican trucking companies to provide dedicated line-haul service from Nuevo Laredo into the Mexican heartland. "This allows us to operate in Mexico in the same way we operate in the U.S," said Steve Kisslinger, administrative and finance manager of Roadway’s Mexican operation. "From an operational point of view, there will be no difference in shipping something from Mexico City to Chicago as there would be from Akron to Los Angeles."

Roadway contracted with Autotransportes Especializados GM Express SA de CV of Nuevo Laredo and Servicios Corporatives de Transporte SA de CV of Gaudalajara to provide the dedicated service. The two companies bought the new KenMex trucks with financial assistance from Roadway.

Until service with the two carriers began this fall, Roadway, like its competitors in the border LTL trade, would call a Mexican carrier when it had a load to be delivered into Mexico. A drayage service would transport the load across the Rio Grande River and deliver it to the Mexican carrier for final shipment.

The new arrangement allows Roadway to provide as close to "brand name" service without actually operating the trucks itself, which is prohibited under Mexican law. "In Mexico, we still can’t operate as a transportation company. We operate all the facilities, load and unload the freight, but the line haul operation is done with Mexican carriers," said Bob Carr, Roadway’s vice president-international.

For the full story, see the Nov. 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.

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