b'SEPTEMBER 27 - OCTOBER 10, 2021 NORTH AMERICAS TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS NEWSPAPER21I NtErmodal& l ogIStIcSN EWSRailroad megadeal marks the payoff for gamble by CP boss CreelWhen a rival threatened to2017 while turning around oper- Thecombinedcompany steal Canadian Pacific RailwayationsofCSXCorp.Withthewould still be the smallest among Ltd.s dream acquisition, Chiefacquisition,Creelsrailroadisthe large U.S. and Canadian rail-ExecutiveOfficerKeithCreelpoised to increase its network byroads. Integrating them could be bethiscompanysfutureonamore than 50% to 20,000 milesa three- to five-year project for hunch supported by his youngerof tracks that stretch from Van- Creelasheworkstoenhance days operating trains across thecouver to Veracruz, Mexico. Theefficiency and take advantage of central U.S. mergeralsoopenstherailroadthe nonstop freight ride through tonewcustomersandCanada to the U.S. Gulf Coast offerstheprospectofand most of Mexico, said Tony luring more truck trafficHatch,founderofABHCon-to trains. sulting and a former Wall Street Creel had been eyeingtransportation analyst. If Creel is an acquisition of Kansassuccessful,itwouldstrengthen CitySouthernsincehistrackrecordandcouldput hecametoCanadianhim in position to later run anDachser Mexico is managing the export logistics of Grupomars TUNY Pacificin2013.First,even larger railroad, Hatch said. products to the U.S. by providing trucking services from Grupomars heandHarrison,thenCreels career owes much towarehouse in Monterrey, MX to its final destination in Laredo, TX.CPsCEO,hadtoturnHarrison, whose efficiency tech-around the then flaggingniques now have been adoptedDachser Mexico oversees railroad. By 2020, CreelbyalmostallNorthAmerican was in the top job and therailroads.HarrisonpluckedGrupomars TUNY exports to UScompanysoperationsCreel out of a crowd of operators andfinanceshadbeenand made the young railroaderDachser Mexico, a subsid- Dachser Mexico is manag-shoredup.Thatswhenhisright-handman.Harrison,iary of leading global logisticsing the export logistics of Gru-Canadian Pacific Railway CEO Keith Creel Creel heard rumors thatwhothenranIllinoisCentral,provider Dachser, is excited topomars TUNY products to the private equity firms werewouldsendCreeltoproblemannounce its collaboration withU.S. by providing trucking ser-Creel knew that the acqui- pursuing Kansas City Southern.areasandtaskhimwithpush- Grupomar to bring its TUNYvicesfromGrupomarsware-sitiontarget,KansasCityCreel phoned Pat Ottensmeyer,ing through tough changes, saidbranded canned tuna products tohouse in Monterrey, MX to its Southern,anditsothersuitor,KansasCitySouthernschiefMike Cory, who worked along- the United States. final destination in Laredo, TX.CanadianNationalRailwayexecutive officer, and then flewside Creel at Canadian National. Grupomar is one of Mexi- Strengthening supply chains Co., vied for many of the sameto Kansas City to meet him. Keithhadaquickascen- cos leading producers of cannedwith high-quality services that sim-customers along a vast corridorItsahistorictransforma- sion to the top, said Cory, whotunaandthecompanybehindplify complex challenges is vital that stretches from the Midwesttional opportunity, so waiting onstepped down as chief operatingTUNY, a prominent canned tunafor our customers, said Edgardo to the U.S. Gulf Coasta spanprivate equity was not in our bestofficerofCanadianNationalinbrand.TUNYwasintroducedHamon, Managing Director ASL much larger than the 70 miles ofinterest, Creel said in an inter- 2019. He had a great opportunityin the 1990s and quickly posi- Mexico at DACHSER. Dachser overlap in Louisiana that Cana- view.Thatcertainlytriggered(PAYOFFcontinued ontioned itself as one of the favor- Mexicoscomprehensivecross-dianNationalhadacknowl- the engagement. page 24) ite tuna brands in Mexico. borderserviceprovidesseam-edgedinaregulatoryfiling.less end-to-end delivery, offering Creel operated on that line. Hepeace of mind to our customers knew that line like the back ofmovingcargofromMexicoto hishand,saidJasonSeidl,athe U.S. For Grupomar, our ser-Cowen Inc. analyst, in an inter- vice ensures that their canned tuna view. Keith had a better under- shipmentsaremovingswiftly standingthanalmostanybodythrough the supply chain, arriving did in terms of this transactionpromptly and safely from Mexico and some of the facts and stick- to the United States.ing points around it. In addition to providing cross-That experience gave Creelborder transport services between the confidence to dig in his heelsMexicoandtheUSforitscus-andrefusetomatchCanadiantomer Grupomar, Dachser Mexico Nationals higher offer of $30 bil- is also handling FCL ocean freight lion, gambling that U.S. regula- shipments from its port of load-tors would block his competitorsing at Manzanillo, MX to various proposal because of those exten- ports of discharge in New York, sive overlaps. His wager paid off:(OVERSEAScontinued on KansasCitysaid Wednesdayitpage 23)agreed to Creels $27 billion bidThe cutting-edge robotic system will allow GEODIS to optimize the e-Commerce fulfillment process.andterminateditsmergerplan with Canadian National. (PROBLEMScontinued from The U.S. Surface Transpor- GEODIS partners with AHS to implementpage 20)tation Board, as Creel predicted,or more away, theres little for had rejected on Aug. 31 a keyExotec robotic solution to optimizecarrierstodobutusecarbon aspectofCanadianNationalsoffsets and promote SAF. While bid, using forceful language in aLondon-based IAG was one of unanimous ruling that backed upe-Commerce fulfillment the first airline groups to pledge almost every flaw Creel identi- toachievenetzeroemissions fied as a reason his rivals acqui- GEODIS, a global leading transport and logis- GEODIS will partner with AHS to integrate theby2050,theInternationalAir sition proposal would fail. ticsprovider,andAdvancedHandlingSystemsExotec Skypod System into GEODIS state-of-the- TransportAssociationisonly Thestakescouldnthave(AHS, LLC), a full-service provider of integratedart automated eLogistics facility that will go live inthis year planning to ask other been higher: If Creels assump- fulfillment and distribution solutions, announced aNashville, Tenn., in Q1 of 2022. An agile and high- carriers to adopt the target.tion had been wrong and he lostnew partnership to implement the Exotec Skypodperforming automated goods-to-person solution forThereispressureonthe the deal, his railroad would haveSystem into GEODIS eLogistics site in Nashville,the retail and e-Commerce industries, the Exotecindustrytogofurthersup-beenconfinedtoCanadaandTenn. The cutting-edge robotic system will allowSkypod System is the first of its kind to use mobileporting new taxes, mandates on vulnerable to the market powerGEODIS to optimize the e-Commerce fulfillmentrobots that can move in three dimensions and reachSAF, and a switch to alternatives ofanevenlarger,more-con- processonbehalfofitsemergingdirect-to-con- heights of 36 feet to enable efficient, high-densitysuchastraintravel,untilnew nected competitor. sumer customers. inventory storage. solutions can be brought online. GEODIS recently announced the expansion ofeLogisticsisanimportantstrategicinitia- Airlinesshouldbedemanding o uT oF As hADoW its eLogistics service in the U.S. to provide best- tive for our company, and collaborating with ourpoliciesthatwillrestrictthe The win catapults Creel, 53,in-classe-Commercefulfillmentsolutionsforlong-term partners at AHS in new technology withgrowthindemand,suchasa out of the shadow of his mentor,startups and growing e-Commerce retailers fromExotec will be winning formula for our excitingU.K. tax on jet fuel, said Trans-HunterHarrison,whodiedinfour new strategic GEODIS eLogistics locations.(PARTNERScontinued on page 24) port & Environments Finch.'