Roadrunner expanded its LTL network into Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and the surrounding areas of Western Canada following its debut in Toronto and Montreal earlier this year, the company announced last week.
The new Western Canada LTL service will be available from all origin locations that ship to the carrier’s facility in Seattle, which will serve as the consolidation point for the expanded cross-border service.
“Our customers have repeatedly asked us to complement our Eastern and Central Canada offering to include the West,” Tomasz Jamroz, Roadrunner COO, said in the announcement. “We are playing into our strengths in these markets, and we are able to provide the service, quality, and on-time LTL experience our customers now expect from Roadrunner.”
Roadrunner’s West Canada service builds on its previous Canada service expansion and the reopening of a shuttered Yellow Corp. terminal in Atlanta earlier this year. The carrier and other bidders spent a combined nearly $2 billion on terminal acquisitions at a court-supervised real estate auction last year in the largest bankruptcy in trucking history.
Cross-border service has been a popular area for investment among LTL competitors. Estes Express Lines used the Yellow auction to grow its Canada cross-border offerings, while Saia announced a partnership with Fletes México and XPO launched its Mexico+ service.
Roadrunner uses data and analytics to identify which markets will allow it provide the best long-haul LTL service, Ryan Schelb, VP of network strategy and expansion, said in the announcement.
“The service to Western Canada will benefit immensely from having Seattle as our launching point, since our metro-to-metro network is so unique in the LTL world,” Schelb said.
Other recent Roadrunner upgrades include the creation of “Guaranteed Service” in select lanes, which offers shippers on-time delivery by the promised date or a full refund of charges, as well as one-day service between Southern California and Chicago, the company said.
