CP, Canadian Tire unveil 60-foot intermodal container

Canadian Pacific and Canadian Tire Corp. last week deployed North America's first 60-foot intermodal container for use by the retailer.

Developed by Canadian Tire in collaboration with CP, the container is an additional seven feet longer than the 53-foot containers. It was designed to enable Canadian Tire and CP to transport more products to increase the volume shipped in each container while reducing costs and greenhouse gas emissions, officials from both companies said in a jointly issued press release.

"This new configuration will enable us to increase the volume shipped in each container by 13 percent which ultimately allows us to carry more goods per trip, resulting in an improvement in service to our stores and our customers," said Neil McKenna, vice-president of transportation for Canadian Tire.

Canadian Tire moves more than 100,000 different types of products to 500 stores from coast to coast, company officials said.

CP has worked with Canadian Tire on innovative products in the past, including the introduction of the first 53-foot intermodal container in 1994.

"At CP, we are constantly looking for ways to do our business better, safer and more efficiently in order to serve our customers and the nation's economy," said Jonathan Wahba, CP vice-president of sales and marketing, intermodal and grain. "In Canadian Tire we have found an innovative partner that shares our passion for customer service, sustainable transportation and safety."