In The News

Con-way Truckload launches regional service

JOPLIN, MO — Con-way Truckload reports the launch of Con-way Truckload Regional, designed to complement the carrier’s existing long-haul, solo and team services.

Con-way Truckload Regional will deliver the same level of quality service that customers have come to expect with long-haul, but now for short-haul truckload shipments of less than 600 miles, including cartage service for truckload shipments of less than 100 miles, the company said. The company also plans to offer drayage services as part of Con-way Truckload Regional.

The new offering brings shippers the reliability, flexibility and professionalism of an established industry-leading carrier for shorter-distance truckload freight, according to the carrier. Con-way Truckload says it is able to apply its more than 50 years of transportation expertise to regional service by accessing a select group of sister company Con-way Freight’s network of nearly 300 North American facilities.

Additionally, Con-way Truckload’s more than 2,600-truck fleet is available to support regional service via dispatch through the company’s centralized operation in Joplin, Mo.

“This is the ideal time for us to enter the regional, cartage and drayage business. About 70 percent of the freight in the transportation market travels less than 550 miles, and it’s a segment that tends to stay healthy even during challenging economic conditions,” said Herb Schmidt, president, Con-way Truckload. “Between those factors, our access to secure, state-of-the-art facilities and our ability to take on the business without building additional infrastructure, this is a strategic growth opportunity with tremendous potential.”

Regional service also allows Con-way Truckload to offer expanded customized solutions for shippers with diverse truckload shipping requirements, and to scale those services according to business needs.

Retail and manufacturing customers with seasonal surges, for example, will benefit from the company’s capacity and flexibility of resources, the company said.

Through an 18-month pilot program, Con-way Truckload has been successfully providing regional service in an 11-state region. By the end of 2009, it plans to have 325 trucks dedicated to the new offering, and will add an additional 300 trucks in 2010. By 2011, the company’s goal is to have 1,000 trucks dedicated to nationwide regional service.

Joplin, Mo.-based Con-way Truckload is an operating company of Con-way Inc. Formerly Contract Freighters Inc. (CFI), Con-way Truckload today employs more than 3,000 drivers with a fleet of more than 2,600 tractors and 8,600 trailers operating throughout the United States as well as internationally in Mexico and Canada.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected] .

www.theTrucker.com