ContainerPort Group merges with ASF Intermodal

The merger forms an intermodal drayage operation with over 1,300 power units in most key markets east of the Rockies, according to a joint statement from the newly combined firms.    ContainerPort Group, Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio-based service provider to the containerized cargo shipping industry, and ASF Transportation Group, a Mobile, Alabama-headquartered freight shipping and trucking company, have merged, the two companies announced Jan. 4.
   The merger, which was effective Jan. 1, will form an intermodal drayage operation with over 1,300 power units in most key markets east of the Rockies, the firms said.
   ASF Transportation – comprised of ASF Intermodal, ASF Truckload, ASF Brokerage, and Middle Bay Transportation – brings a fleet of nearly 600 independent contractors and a very talented group of managers, dispatchers, customer service and support teams to the combined enterprise.
   The combined company, to be operated under the ContainerPort Group brand, will be comprised of 25 terminals, 1,300 plus trucks, and over 400 professionals.
   ASF Transportation Founder and President Michael Smith has been named president of ContainerPort Group, Inc.
   “Michael brings exactly the type of hands-on, genuine, and no-ego type of management style which we were patiently looking to bring to the organization,” CPG Chairman Fred Hunger explained. “His executive leadership from the transportation space, combined with his entrepreneurial spirit is a perfect combination to lead our now 1,300 plus strong fleet, and our Midwest intermodal depot locations.”
   As of the beginning of the year, the two companies are working in parallel, but CPG has said that this is only until time can provide for an orderly combination of the operations.
   However, the merger involves only the Intermodal/Transportation arm of the ASF Group. The Forwarding/Ocean Division, trading as ASF Logistics and ASF Global, will remain independent and under the existing management structure.
   “We are very excited to join the CPG team in blending our respective strengths into a dominant force in the intermodal drayage space,” newly appointed company President Michael Smith said in a prepared statement. “Our strengths as a South, mid-Atlantic, and US Gulf operator are a great strategic fit to CPG’s strengths in the Midwest, mid and North Atlantic markets.”