Name: Con-Way Mexico  

                    Address: New York # 4085                     

Esq. con Nueva Australia, Col. Industrial Lincoln

City: Monterrey, N.L.      

Managing Director:  Jose Antonio Gonzalez

Products: Logistics

Year Founded: 1992

Phone: 800-872-4482

      A new network of logistics centers has opened in Mexico to provide U.S.-quality service in Mexico.

      Con-Way Mexico Express, the Mexican operating company of Con-Way Transportation Services, Inc., recently opened logistics centers in Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, San Luis Potosí, Guadalajara, Querétaro and Mexico City.

      “Building this network is the next logical step in providing Con-Way service throughout all the NAFTA markets,” said David S. McClimon, president of Con-Way.  “We eventually want to provide the same service in Mexico that we currently provide in the United States and Canada.” 

      Con-Way established its presence in Mexico in 1992 when it set up a sales support office in Monterrey.  Since then it has expanded its sales offices to cover the cities of Guadalajara, Querétaro, and Mexico City.  Each of the new logistics centers will also have a sales office.  The expansion will bring the Mexico-based staff of bilingual Mexican nationals to more than 50. 

      The logistics network will be managed by Con-Way Mexico personnel, and will be linked to the Con-Way computer system.  This link will allow full operations control and visibility of shipment movements and storage details.  Customers will be able to access information about their shipments via the Internet.  The computer system will also allow Con-Way to monitor on-time delivery performance in Mexico in the same way that it does in the United States and Canada.

      “Over the past several years we have worked very closely with a select number of excellent Mexican motor carriers and are very confident in their service capabilities,” said José Antonio Gonzalez, managing director of Con-Way Mexico.  “We’ve established contracts with these carriers to provide the best line haul connections between all the centers and service to Mexico’s major markets.  These carriers will be held to the same strict set of transit time and freight handling standards that Con-Way has in place in the United States and Canada.  They know we’ll be monitoring them and they are enthused about being part of the Con-Way network.”

      As part of the contract agreements with the Mexican carriers, Con-Way Mexico has published a set of simplified rates and transit time standards.  Copies of the rate scales are available on the Con-Way web site, from a local Con-Way account executive or by calling the Con-Way Mexico service desk.  The published transit time standards between each logistics center are also available.

      In addition to arranging freight transport across the U.S. / Mexico border and within Mexico, the new logistics centers will also provide cross-dock distribution, assembly and short-term warehousing services.

      “The number of Canadian and U.S. companies with parts manufacturing and assembly plants in Mexico continues to grow.  “We’ve been helping arrange this type of less-than-truckload movement to and from the border for years,” said González.   “Having access to our network of logistics centers will now make that assignment much easier and more efficient for our customers.  And we will now be able to offer our services to even more customers now that Con-Way has made this investment in facilities and systems.”

      González said Con-Way has enjoyed success in Mexico from the beginning but that the Sept. 11 attack in the United States caused an overall slump in manufacturing.

      “We’ve been thinking about this (logistics network) for a number of years,” he said, “but the economic conditions after 2001 were not perfect. That pushed the project back a little bit. We started to see a more healthy trend in October 2003 and in the first quarter of 2004 we decided to move forward.”

      Response from local trucking companies has been tremendous, he added.

      “I’ve been very surprised,” he said. “The human resources side has just been wonderful. The transportation companies have been very professional.”

      Contact with the Con-Way Mexico staff from the United States or Canada can be made via a toll free number, (800) 872-4482. From Mexico the number is 01-800-926-6929. The Mexican staff has extensive knowledge of the Con-Way operations in the U.S. and Canada as well as their own market.

      Con-Way Transportation Services Inc. is a $2.6 billion transportation and services company that provides time-definite and day-definite freight delivery services and logistics for commercial and industrial businesses.  Within the Con-Way family are regional less-than-truckload carriers Con-Way Central Express, Con-Way Southern Express, Con-Way Western Express, Con-Way Canada Express and Con-Way Mexico Express; Con-Way NOW, an expedited carrier specializing in emergency shipment service; Con-Way Logistics, a supply chain services provider, Con-Way Air, an airfreight forwarder with service throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, and Con-Way Full Load, a truckload brokerage service offered throughout the U.S. and Canada.  All Con-Way operating components are ISO certified for 9001 and 14001 and the less-than-truckload and expedite units are C-TPAT/PIP certified and FAST highway carriers.

      Con-Way is a subsidiary of Palo Alto, California-based CNF Inc., a $4.0 billion freight transportation, logistics, supply chain management and trailer manufacturing company.