G&W invests in Cargomatic

Short-line and regional railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming has entered into a strategic partnership with short-haul and drayage trucking platform provider Cargomatic.    Short-line and regional railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming has made an investment in short-haul and drayage trucking platform provider Cargomatic, G&W said in a statement.
   Under the agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, G&W also entered into a strategic partnership with Cargomatic that company officials say will improve the efficiency of its first- and last-mile logistics offerings, as well as simplifying multimodal touchpoints for its customers.
   Long Beach, Calif.-based Cargomatic’s online platform connects shippers offering loads to be transported with trucking carriers available to transport them. The platform, which currently operates in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Houston and New York markets, aims to facilitate “increased truck capacity, real-time tracking and an efficient transportation solution for shippers while providing owner-operator and smaller truck carriers visibility to traffic volumes and operational flexibility,” according to G&W.
   “The Cargomatic team has built a world-class platform combining the best of technology and streamlined processes to connect shippers and carriers to drive supply chain efficiency,” G&W Chief Commercial Officer Michael Miller said of the partnership. “In addition to our investment in Cargomatic, we are pleased to add the Cargomatic platform as an extension of G&W’s rail service at terminal and transload locations across G&W’s U.S. rail network and to work with the Cargomatic team as they expand internationally to Europe and Australia.”
   “This relationship with G&W will create unprecedented transparency and facilitate ease-of-use for first and last mile logistics networks associated with rail; setting the stage for what we view as the semi-autonomous future of transportation: scalable long-haul rail, one train hauling hundreds of containers and railcars – with local, human powered pickup and delivery,” added Richard Gerstein, chief executive officer of Cargomatic.
   “The Cargomatic platform is unique in that it combines deep mobile and enterprise technology with robust customer service necessary for managing the intricacies of drayage and short-haul trucking for intermodal and breakbulk commodities,” he said. “We are excited to work with G&W and together we will work to simplify and automate first/last-mile delivery of bulk traffic flows across the U.S. In addition, the G&W/Cargomatic relationship allows Cargomatic to rapidly increase its presence outside of the U.S., creating additional global marketplaces while simultaneously enhancing G&W’s international service offerings.”
   Headquartered in Darien, Conn., G&W owns or leases 122 freight railroads in nine locally managed operating regions in North America, Europe and Australia.
   The company earlier this week reported full year earnings of $549.1 million ($8.92 per share) for 2017, nearly triple the previous year, on revenues that rose 10.3 percent to $2.21 billion.