b'MARCH 8 - 21, 2021NORTH AMERICAS TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTI CS NEWSPAPER 21I NtErmodal& l ogIStIcSN EWSKeystone XLs death sparks rush to shipDaimler Truck eyes rebound, oil-sands crude by rail electric rig in spinoff yearDaimlerAGstruckunitDaimlerisstillinthe U.S. President Joe Bidens decision to cancelU.S. Gulf Coast refineries, which need the heavywill focus on restoring earningsmidst of a thorough transforma-the Keystone XL pipeline is sparking renewed inter- crude to replace declining supplies from Mexicothis year and start producing antionthatmaynotbeproperly est in shipping Canadian oil-sands crude by rail, andand Venezuela. That means the risk of derailmentselectric big rig as it gets readyvalueduntiltheseparationof that comes with its own environmental risks. may also rise. to separate from the larger Mer- cars and trucks is effective, Jef-CenovusEnergyInc.andImperialOilLtd.Those U.S. refineries need that heavy crude oilcedes-Benzluxury-cardivisionferiesanalystsledbyPhilippe haveincreasinglyturnedtotrainstomovetheirproduced by Canada, Sean Brown, Calgary-basedafter more than a century. Houchoissaidinanote.The crude, with oil exports by rail from Canada moreGibsons chief financial officer, said in a conferenceThe spinoff is designed to addplanned spinoff remains in our thantriplingsinceJuly.Now,GibsonEnergycall Tuesday. Discussions continue to heat up. value for shareholders by makingopinion the best opportunity to Inc.anoilshippingcompanythatsignedaGibson expects that by the third or fourth quar- the operations more agile, lift prof- discover the right price for two 10-yearcontractwithConocoPhillipstoprocesster it will start a 50,000-barrel-a-day facility thatitabilityandadvancethedevel- businesses with different capital oil-sands crude before loading it at its train termi- will maximize the crude content in rail shipmentsopmentofcarbon-neutraldriveand valuation dynamics.nalexpects other producers to follow suit. by removing diluent used to move the crude throughtechnologies, Daimler Truck said Without Keystone XL, which was scheduledpipelines to its terminal in Hardisty, Alberta. in a statement. v aluep otentIalto enter service in 2023, rail is poised to becomePlansforotherdiluentrecoveryunits,orOur planned independenceDaimlerstruckunitcould a more important way for Canadian oil to reachDRUs, are also emerging. willhelpusmakeevenfasterbeworthabout29billioneuros progress here in the future, said($35 billion) if valued at multiples MartinDaum,Daimlersman- similar to global rival Volvo AB, agement board member respon- although it would need to substan-siblefortrucks.Thedivisiontiallyimprovereturnstojustify plans to start series productionthat valuation, Deutsche Bank AG ofitsbattery-poweredeActrosanalysts said last month. Sanford truckthisyear,withtheelec- C.Bernsteinsestimateiseven tric eEconic low-floor truck tohigher, at about 35 billion euros.follow in 2022. Thebusinesstargetsan Daimlersharessurgedthisadjusted return on sales between month after the company unveiled6% and 7% this year. It eked out the spinoff of the trucks unit, a his- a 2% profit margin in 2020 after toric step toward abandoning theglobal deliveries fell by a third conglomerate structure thats beento378,500vehicles.Theunit weighingontheGermanmanu- forecast vehicle sales to rise sig-facturersvaluationforyears.nificantly this year after fourth-Daimler is arguing that cars andquarter order intake was one of trucks will go through divergingthe strongest on record, signaling technological trends in the comingan economic recovery is gaining years, with hydrogen expected totraction in key markets.play a bigger role for big rigs andIn a broader strategic shift, buses than passenger vehicles. Daimlers truck unit forged coop-Daimlerstruckbusinesserations to share technology cost is the worlds biggest maker ofafter the manufacturer tradition-heavy-dutyhaulersandgener- ally produced more components ates the biggest chunk of profitsitself than many peers. It collabo-atitsNorth AmericanFreight- rateswithVolvoonfuelcells, CFI expands logistics into dedicated facilityliner operation. It also sells Mer- withWaymoLLConautono-cedes-branded trucks in Europemous driving and added a pact in Laredo andSouthAmericaandFusowith Cummins Inc. this week on Two affiliated services of CFI, CFI Logisticshe explained. Today, CFI Mexico and CFI Logis- trucks in Asia. medium-duty engines.and CFI Mexico, are expanding into a new, dedi- tics employ close to 200 associates.cated facility in Laredo, building on 36 years ofOrraddedthatCFILogisticshaslong-held operationsinMexicoprovidingexpeditedcross- relationships with truck lines in Mexico and theGSC Logistics expects record border as well as in-country Mexico logistics andU.S, which are increasingly important as trucking transportation services. The new office will servecapacity continues to tighten. By establishing acargo volume in 2021as the sales, operations and administrative centermore seamless and integrated operation we can do for CFI Logistics services in and out of Mexico.a better job of being flexible, agile and precise inAtop WestCoasttruckingin2021,indicatingthattrade The location is a shared facility with CFI Mexico,responding to shipper needs, and in providing ourcompanyexpectsrecordbusi- dynamics favor its home market a service comprised of both CFI Logistica and CFIcarrier partners with consistent quality freight. nessvolumein2021thankstoin Northern California.de Mexico, headquartered in the Guadalajara WorldHe noted as well that while under the currenta Port of Oakland breakthrough.Accordingtothetrucking Trade Center. pandemic, many employees work from home, theOakland-basedGSCLogisticscompany, shipping lines are redi-CFI Logistics is affiliated with U.S. truckloadnew,largercentralizedofficewillaccommodateforecasta25percentjumpinrecting cargo to Oakland from con-carrier CFI, an operating company of TFI Interna- anticipated workforce levels once restrictions arethe number of cargo containersgested Southern California ports. tional Inc., a North American leader in the transpor- lifted and accommodate longer-term growth needs.it transports for customers. TheHighlightingthetrend,French tation and logistics. CFI Mexico is a service of CFI. At the end of the day, products still move in andfreighthaulerstakeditsbullishshippinglineCMAlauncheda CFI has 12 facilities in Mexico providing aoutofwarehouses,ordersneedtobefulfilled,outlook on the changing supplyfirst-call Oakland service Feb. 12. wide range of in-country and cross-border logisticstransportationarranged,andtrucksloaded,Orrchain routing dynamics that ledShips in the weekly service will and freight transportation services. These includesaid. We still need to manage the process, andtointroductionofanOaklandmake Oakland their first U.S. stop truckload and less-than-truckload services, truck- have workers on site, protected with proper PPEfirst-call service this month. upon arrival from Asia.load and intermodal freight brokerage, warehous- and following all safety protocols. First-callstatusdemon- Thatswelcomenewsfor ing, inventory management, fulfillment and supplyCFILogisticsdifferentiatesitselfthroughstrates the market is viewing theGSC Logistics. First ports of call chain planning and engineering. A North Americanaccess to the truckload assets of CFI, as well asPortofOaklandmorestrategi- are the discharge point for most transportation solutions provider, these CFI affili- complimentaryservicesfromotherTFIInterna- cally which will attract increasedimports shipped from Asian fac-ated services are also co-located in U.S and Canadationalcompanies. Thegoal:end-to-endlogisticscargo volumes, said GSC Logis- tories.GSCLogisticsspecial-with CFIs truckload service centers and the com- solutions with CFI expertise to guide the journeyticsPresidentDaveArsenault.izesintruckingcontainerized panys Joplin headquarters, noted Greg Orr, presi- and ensure consistent quality service, visibility, andWerealreadyhearingfromimports to retailers, distributors dent of CFI. reliability, said Orr. customerswhoarerequestingand manufacturers.Amajorityofourcustomershaveinvest- The investment is also consistent with CFIstoexpandourexistingpartner- CMAs new route becomes mentsinbusinessoperationsintheU.S.andlong-termcommitmenttoMexicoasaleadingshipsinordertoaccommodateOaklandsonlyfirst-callser-Mexico,andtheyregrowing,saidOrr.Withprovider of cross-border service, Orr added. Atincreased cargo volumes sched- vice in more than a decade with our current and projected growth, and that of oura time when some logistics providers are scalinguled to arrive on those ships. strongspeculationotherswill customers seeking more services, it made senseback, and other truck lines are exiting Mexico, weGSC Logistics said it trans- follow.GSCLogistics,which to establish one convenient, central office for ourare stepping up investment by building on our 36ported an all-time record numbercontractswithmorethan200 principal U.S. and Mexico logistics managementyears of experience to expand the quality and scopeof containers last year from portsNorthern California truck driv-andoperationsteamstooptimizecommunica- of transportation and logistics services we can pro- in Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma.ers,saiditspreparedforthe tions, operations planning and customer service,vide shippers on both sides of the border. It anticipates significant growthadded volume.'