News
COFC IN THE NEWS
COFC named coyote carrier of the year 2023
COFC Logistics has been announced as the Outstanding Intermodal Provider for Coyote as part of their 2023 Carriers of the Year.
Outstanding Intermodal Provider
COFC Logistics is an intermodal equipment provider (IEP) and core contributor to our intermodal offerings.
We’ve seen our relationship grow with COFC since 2018, and as of 2023 they moved approximately 20% of our shippers’ domestic rail shipments. How did they do it? With fair rate negotiations, outstanding service scores, and reliable equipment availability. They even go the extra mile with their consistent willingness to host training sessions for our reps. We look forward further shared success on the rails this year.
“We’ve developed a respectful and collaborative relationship With Coyote over the years. Together, we excel at identifying opportunities which are mutually beneficial, and Coyote’s intermodal team is creative in developing unique solutions using our network to meet their customers’ needs.”
- Garry Old, COFC Logistics
cofc logistics, llc appoints new vice president of sales & Marketing
COFC Logistics, LLC is thrilled to announce the appointment of Jonathan Mulch as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing. With a proven track record of success in the industry, Mulch brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our team.
In his new role, Mulch will be responsible for driving our intermodal sales effort to new heights. His strategic vision, industry knowledge, and leadership skills make him the perfect fit to lead our sales team and help us achieve our growth objectives.
Garry Old states "Jonathan Mulch is an outstanding addition to our leadership team. His experience in the industry and his passion for delivering results make him the ideal candidate to lead our sales efforts. We look forward to the positive impact he will undoubtedly bring to COFC Logistics."
Mulch expressed his excitement about joining COFC Logistics, "I am honored to become a part of COFC Logistics and to have the opportunity to lead our sales team. I am committed to driving growth in this dynamic industry."
COFC Logistics is confident that Jonathan Mulch will play a pivotal role in our continued success and expansion within the intermodal market.
2023 Inside-the-box thinking
January 20, 2023
Dear Valued Customers, Draymen and Vendors,
Thank you for your support in 2022! The past year presented unique challenges that required us all to come together to achieve success, and we see signs of growth as we move into 2023. We hope you continue to join us on our journey together.
You may have seen several emails from us introducing our new Customer Service Portal, redesigned website and marketing materials. The portal enhances the customer experience and improves response time for problem resolutions.
Currently, we have 8,500+/- containers in the United States ready and available. By the end of February, we will have ceased using our older leased containers and, with the addition of new builds, the weighted average age of our fleet will be two years. We are in-servicing containers as the market demands.
That means you can depend on us for the capacity, systems and pricing options to easily and competitively move your intermodal shipments. And we couldn’t be more excited to continue to earn your business in 2023!
Join us to learn about Inside-the-box thinking.
Garry Old
President/CEO
COFC Logistics Fleet Growth Plans
COFC Logistics is pleased to provide an update on our fleet expansion. Our current fleet size in the U.S. is 6,000 containers with 2,500 additional containers arriving by the end of the year. We will take delivery of up to 1,500 more containers by the end of Q1 – 2023.
We are in discussions with many of you, our customers, regarding growth with existing BCO’s as well as conversion business based on the industry changes coming in January. We are continuously evaluating our network based on customer interest and feedback.
Our founder and CEO, Garry Old shared with JOC.com on April 22, 2022: “with changes looming in the marketplace, we feel the time is right to expand our fleet. We have been experiencing significant demand for our service,” he said. “As we move through 2023 and 2024 and the demand continues to increase, we will add up to 10,000 additional containers to our fleet.”
Robin Harter, Vice President adds: “with increased staff in operations, accounting, and sales we are prepared for the planned increase in volume. COFC continues to make customers the priority with technology enhancements in both Operations and Pricing, including the upcoming launch of a new Customer Service Portal. These process enhancements and customer support tools allow COFC Logistics to maintain its high level of customer service. We look forward to supporting our customers now and in the future.”
We have expanded our sales team to include Clinton Bell. Clinton will be covering the western region of the country, west of the Missouri River, while Geoff Smock will be covering the eastern region of the country, east of the Missouri River.
Please contact the sales team with any opportunities that you may have:
Geoff Smock – Assistant Vice President – Sales & Marketing and Eastern Region
Email: geoff.smock@cofclogistics.com or phone (630) 470-0016
Clinton Bell – Director of Sales – Western Region
Email: Clinton.bell@cofclogistics.com or phone (530) 206-6115
Thank you for your continued growth and support!
Garry Old
President/CEO
Clinton Bell joins the COFC Sales Team!!
COFC Logistics is proud to announce that effective July 18, 2022, Clinton Bell has joined our sales team as Director of Sales – Western Region.
Clinton has worked in the intermodal industry since 1984. Since starting his career with the Norfolk Southern Railway, he has held positions in operations, accounting, and sales in both the retail and wholesale sides of the industry. He also has experience operating systems design, expansion into new markets as well as writing policies and procedures. His passion for growth and desire to expand his market reach led Clinton to be an expert in the Mexico intermodal market. He is known for being a customer advocate while supporting corporate goals and objectives.
Clinton will report to Geoff Smock, AVP – Sales and Marketing. “Adding Clinton to our team will not only strengthen existing COFCL customer relationships but supports our aggressive growth plans as we add 7,200 new containers in 2022 and 2023.” states Geoff.
Please take a moment to welcome Clinton to the COFC Logistics Team. Clinton can be reached at clinton.bell@cofclogistics.com or by phone at 530-206-6115
CFQU Fleet Expansion – 2022
BNSF partner COFC Logistics buying 5,500 domestic containers
Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Apr 22, 2022 2:27PM EDT
COFC sells containers and train capacity to non-asset intermodal marketing companies which in turn sell the services to intermodal shippers. Photo credit: Ed Varnado/Visions of Ed.
COFC Logistics, a domestic intermodal provider partnered with BNSF Railway, is purchasing 5,500 containers that will be delivered over the next 12 months, a move designed to provide an alternative for shippers who do not want to follow Schneider National’s move to rival Union Pacific Railroad next year. There is a market for an alternative, as multiple shippers told JOC.com at TPM22 last month that they were leery about following Schneider to UP because they favor BNSF. Schneider announced in January that it’s leaving BNSF at the end of this year to join UP, following a similar move from APL Logistics and Knight-Swift Transportation this Jan. 1. It’s a major shift because Schneider owns 25,000 domestic containers, the third largest in the US behind J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Hub Group.
J.B. Hunt last month announced plans to increase its container pool by 40 percent to 150,000 containers within the next three to five years, hoping to lure shippers back to BNSF. COFC CEO Garry Old said Friday the company will own 10,000 containers after this current order is fulfilled, providing yet another BNSF option. Unlike J.B. Hunt, COFC does not sell directly to shippers, but sells containers and train capacity to non-asset IMCs that in turn work with shippers. “With changes looming in the marketplace, we feel the time is right to expand our fleet,” Old told JOC.com, adding COFC will then double its fleet size again within the next three years. “We have been experiencing significant growth and demand for our service,” he said. “As we move through 2023 and the demand continues to increase, we will add up to 10,000 containers to our fleet.”
Some shippers want to work with smaller non-asset intermodal marketing companies (IMCs) partnered with COFC. The small to mid-size IMCs can deliver more access to decision-makers than at a large IMC. And some shippers do not have enough volume to pique the interest of large IMCs. Non-asset IMCs may consider the COFC-BNSF option as they find it harder to secure capacity on UP trains using rail-owned containers known as UMAX and EMP boxes. As large IMCs have grown their container fleet 17 percent year over year as of March 31, the rail-owned container fleet has shrunk 2.7 percent, according to Jason Hilsenbeck, founder of Drayage.com and LoadMatch, which tracks domestic container pools. Train capacity could increasingly go to Hub, Schneider, STG Logistics (formerly XPO), and Swift Intermodal, pushing out small and mid-sized IMCs and forcing them to search for alternatives similar to the COFC-BNSF partnership. Still, UP has cited investments into the UMAX and EMP containers as evidence it will not abandon any customers.
BNSF expansion
BNSF is building out its intermodal network to accommodate the growth strategies of J.B. Hunt and COFC. Crews are building 400 additional parking spots at the BNSF Cicero terminal outside of Chicago and 1,100 additional spots at BNSF’s Alliance terminal outside of Dallas. Both projects will be completed before the end of this year. Parking spots are part of BNSF’s “wheeled terminal” model in which overhead cranes take containers off trains and place them onto chassis, and then a yard hostler moves the combined units to parking spots. A truck driver later comes into the terminal to hook up to the chassis. When terminal operations are fluid, a wheeled terminal often provides a faster turn time than a traditional grounded terminal. Additional parking spots should allow BNSF to handle more containers per day. BNSF is also widening or adding more tracks in Arizona, Texas, and Kansas to support more intermodal trains.
Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @arijashe.
CFQU Fleet Expansion – 2021
At COFC Logistics, we have been adding containers throughout the year to support our capacity commitments and existing SPQ demands. By the end of September our fleet will be 3,435 containers. We have an additional 1,000 new containers being built in October. These containers will increase our fleet to 4,435 by the end of 2021. Throughout Q1 and by the end of Q2 of 2022, we will have expanded our fleet to 5,435 containers. We sincerely appreciate your continued support and look forward to growing with everyone.
COFC Logistics is recognized by Inc. Magazine
COFC Logistics has been recognized, for the second time, as one of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies by Inc. Magazine. In addition to our national ranking, we were also ranked:
#38 in the State of Ohio
#57 in Logistics & Transportation
#94 in the Midwest
I want to thank all of you for your continued support. We could not achieve this growth without the dedicated effort and support from everyone.
Below is a link to the full press release:
COFC Ranks 94 on the Inc. Magazine’s Fastest-Growing Companies: Midwest
The Inc. 5000 Series: Midwest
COFC Logistics, LLC Ranks No. 94 on the inaugural 2020 Inc. 5000 Series: Midwest With Two-Year Revenue Growth of 194 Percent
NEW YORK, March 25, 2020 – Inc. magazine today revealed that COFC Logistics, LLC is No. 94 on its inaugural Inc. 5000 Series: Midwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Midwest economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses.
“This recognition by Inc. magazine honors the hard work of the COFC team and would not be possible without the continued support of our customers. They are the backbone of our success” says COFC’s Founder and President Garry Old. “In addition to general Midwest ranking, COFC is ranked #10 in the Logistics & Transportation industry sector.”
The companies on this list show stunning rates of growth across all industries in the 12 Midwest states. Between 2016 and 2018, these 250 private companies had an average growth rate of 360 percent and, in 2018 alone, they employed more than 27,000 people and added $13 billion to the Midwest’s economy. Companies based in the Chicago, Detroit, and Cincinnati areas brought in the highest revenue overall.
Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Series: Midwest, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/inc5000-series-midwest-2020 starting March 25, 2020.
“The companies on this list demonstrate just how much the small-business sector impacts the economies of each Midwest state,” says Inc. editor in chief Scott Omelianuk. “Across every single industry, these businesses have posted revenue and growth rates that are beyond impressive, further proving the tenacity of their founders and CEOs.”
More about COFC Logistics:
COFC Logistics is an independent supplier of intermodal equipment and ramp to ramp service specializing in 53’ containers. COFC’s service was designed exclusively for IMC’s, 3PL’s, Brokers, Motor Carriers and other intermediaries. COFC is prohibited from working directly with Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCO) and currently operates in over 95 lanes of service throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
CONTACT: For more information about COFC Logistics please contact Robin Harter, Vice President, robin.harter@cofclogistics.com or (419) 410-9074
More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regional Series
Methodology
The 2020 Inc. 5000 Regional Series is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2016 and 2018. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2016. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2018. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2016 is $100,000; the minimum for 2018 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.
Geoff Smock Promoted to AVP of Sales
COFC is thrilled to announce the promotion of Geoff Smock to Assistant Vice President of Sales & Marketing, effective February 3, 2020. Geoff Joined COFC in mid-2016 initially covering the Midwest Region. In 2017, Geoff accepted the task of developing and growing the Mid-West and South-Central Regions. In 2019, Geoff was assigned to cover the Northern United States and has significantly contributed to the overall growth of COFC.
With this well-deserved promotion, Geoff will do what he does best; advocate for customers and educate them on how to best utilize COFC’s expanding network. Geoff will now lead COFC’s sales team as we add an additional salesperson to support our 2020 growth strategy and beyond.
Please join us in congratulating Geoff on his promotion!
COFC Announces Service to/from Atlanta!
COFC Logistics is excited to announce that effective January 27th, 2020 the intermodal service between Atlanta and California has been revived. This change comes as a result of COFC’s growing service offering to meet customer demands. We are offering SPQ and Transactional pricing for this service. Please feel free to send SPQ requests to: pricing@cofclogistics.com
Transactional rates are also available under the Rates tab of COFC’s operating system, please click the link below for additional information.
COFC Logistics Ranks No. 1,430 on the 2019 Inc. 5000!!
COFC Logistics, LLC Ranks No. 1,430 on the 2019 Inc. 5000
With Three-Year Revenue Growth of 289 Percent
NEW YORK, August 14, 2019 – Inc. magazine today revealed that COFC Logistics, LLC is No. 1,430 on its annual Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses. Microsoft, Dell, Domino’s Pizza, Pandora, Timberland, LinkedIn, Yelp, Zillow, and many other well-known names gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000.
“We are honored to be recognized as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies over the last 3 years. The growth has been a team effort and I am thankful for and proud of the COFC Logistics team!” said Garry Old, founder and president of COFC Logistics. In addition to their national ranking, COFC Logistics was also ranked #32 in Ohio and #4 in the Toledo metro area.
About COFC Logistics
COFC Logistics is an independent supplier of intermodal equipment and service. COFC serves over 80 lanes throughout the U.S. and Mexico. COFC Logistics was designed exclusively for IMC’s, 3PL’s, Brokers, Freight Forwarders, Motor Carriers and other intermediaries. Their mission is to provide a quality, easy to use intermodal service utilizing its fleet of 2,500+ 53’ containers that will allow its customers to grow and be successful.
COFC Welcomes Pete Sarullo as AVP of Operations
We are pleased to welcome Pete Sarullo to our team as Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Operations. Pete will use his expertise and experience in intermodal operations management as well as fleet management to guide our growth and continuing the customer service you have come to expect from COFC Logistics. He will oversee our Operations, Pricing and Maintenance and Repair Groups.
Pete’s contact information is below:
Pete Sarullo
AVP – Operations
Pete.sarullo@cofclogistics.com
(419) 725-0700 x 5560
COFC Logistics Promotes Robin Harter to Vice President
It is with great pleasure that we are announcing the promotion of Robin Harter to Vice President of COFC Logistics.
Robin has been an integral part of COFC’s growth and success for 7 years. Singlehandedly, Robin has created the quality service you have come to expect. Her drive and initiatives have developed and built our 3 operating systems, created all internal and external policies, processes and procedures for the accounting and operations groups. We expect Robin’s dedication and commitment to continue improving the company and the overall service to our customers.
Let’s all congratulate Robin on her well-deserved promotion and wish her luck in her new role.
Robin Harter
Robin.harter@cofclogistics.com
419-725-0695
As we continue to move forward in 2019, you will hear of more positive changes at COFC Logistics.
Thank you. We appreciate your continued support.
COFC Logistics Introduces Intra-Mexico Service!
Small shippers targeted for new Mexico rail services
Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor | Apr 10, 2019 4:45PM EDT
Ferromex turned to COFC Logistics for help in expanding capacity on its after seeing a 40 percent spike in demand. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.
Smaller shippers looking for alternative services in Mexico amid rising cargo volumes and tightening capacity will soon have the option to send cargo on two independent intermodal services along the country’s main rail lines.
Ohio-based intermodal provider COFC Logistics next week will launch a six-days-a-week ramp-to-ramp service moving 53-foot containers from Pantaco, in Mexico City, to Mexicali, at the western end of the United States-Mexico border, in an agreement with Ferromex. The railroad said cargo volume on the route increased by 40 percent in 2018 from the year before.
The second service, from Pantaco to Monterrey, will run five days a week, on lines operated by Kansas City Southern of Mexico. Both routes will stop at the Ferrovalle Inland Terminal, in Mexico City, one of the largest inland terminals in the country.
KCS said the Pantaco-Monterrey route is its first dedicated domestic route in Mexico, with all its other routes tied to imports or exports, and “market feedback has so far been encouraging.” The railroad said it began offering the service last year, with a third-party logistics provider and a trucking company also using the route, but COFC will bring additional equipment to the table.
Meeting a demand
The Mexicali route will mainly serve goods going north across the US border that are trucked to the Port of Los Angeles, or transloaded and moved by truck into California, Garry Old, CEO of COFC, told JOC.com. The company already has three customers lined up for the Mexicali route, with combined demand of about 300 containers per month, including beer, bottled water, and other finished goods, said Old. The company projects demand for about 250 containers a month on the Monterrey route.
Old said demand for the two services stems in part from shippers looking for alternative transportation routes amid the tight trucking market created by two Mexican government rules that took effect last year. One limited the number of hours that a truck driver can be behind the wheel, and the other required that all double tractor trailers be certified with the government. The rules also required that double trailers, known as “fulles” in Mexico, must conform to certain safety requirements. As in the United States, trucking capacity in Mexico is further strained by a driver shortage.
Transportation executives said that new hours-of-service regulations alone reduced capacity by a double-digit percentage and pushed up trucking rates, with some users reporting increases of as much as 10 percent. The capacity situation could worsen as the Mexican government ramps up enforcement of the rules.
Ferromex turned to COFC for help in expanding capacity on the Pantaco-Mexicali route after seeing a 40 percent spike in demand, fueled in part by the lack of available trucking capacity, Luis Hernandez, vice president of intermodal for Ferromex, told JOC.com. In addition, while the railroad already has 2,800 containers on the route, it had no spares to meet additional demand, and using COFC’s services enabled the railroad to ramp up capacity swiftly and avoid any delays associated with buying new containers, he said.
The customer-railroad agreement also will enable COFC to serve small to medium-sized businesses, which are generally not the focus of Ferromex’s strategy, as most of the railroad’s capacity is taken up serving its 15 largest customers, Hernandez said.
“Our goal is to work with the small to midsize intermodal marketing companies [IMCs] that are based in Mexico to give them an opportunity to move via rail,” Old said. “A lot of the small and midsize IMCs have not had access to move anything on the rail.”
The cost of moving a container from Pantaco to Mexicali on the new COFC service is about 27,000 pesos ($1,431), about the same as Ferromex charges, compared with about 40,000 to 50,000 pesos ($2,120 to $2,650) by truck, COFC said. The move would take between four and four-and-a-half days by train and two-and-a-half days by truck, the company said. The move from Pantaco to Monterrey, costing 10,000 pesos ($530), would take three to four days, compared with one day by truck, he said.
Providing container flexibility
For the Monterrey route, KCS of Mexico approached COFC. The railroad has the right to run trains on the route, but presently doesn’t do so with intermodal trains, and the cargo at first will be moved on “manifest trains,” or those with a mixture of boxcars, tankers, and intermodal units, Old said.
Most containers go by truck between Pantaco and Monterrey, amounting to about 10,000 moves a year, and COFC’s routes — aside from providing an alternative — give companies flexibility, he said.
“It gives shippers the ability, let’s say in Monterrey, to have one of our containers in their yard and they can load it either domestically down to Mexico City or they could load it cross border into the US,” he said. “We’ve also been approached by a couple of large trucking companies that have business moving in that lane that they’re trying to either increase their business by offering a rail service or fill the pipeline with rail and use their drivers for the hotter stuff.”
COFC, founded in 2011, is an independent supplier of intermodal equipment and services, and serves 70 routes in the US. It owns about 1,500 53-foot containers and expects to double that number by July.
The company — which doesn’t work directly with BCOs, but instead serves IMCs, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), brokers, freight forwarders, trucking companies, and other intermediaries — started its first cross-border US-Mexico service in 2015, partnering with BNSF and Ferromex on a route to Silao in Central Mexico. COFC now offers service to Monterrey, Toluca, and San Luis Potosi.
Beto Vargas, the incoming president of the Mexican Association of Intermodal Transport (AMTI), highlighted the need for Mexico’s intermodal sector to target small and midsized shippers in a January interview with JOC.com. Larger shippers already use rail in Mexico, but smaller shippers tend not to due in part to a perception that rail is not reliable enough and the schedules are not frequent enough, he said.
COFC Logistics Welcomes Jerry Cartwright to the Team!
Dear Valued Customers,
COFC is proud to announce the addition of Jerry Cartwright to our sales staff. Some of you already know Jerry, but for those of you that have not met him, Jerry has over 10 years of intermodal experience. Jerry has working knowledge of operations, sales, and is bilingual in Spanish.
Effective January 1, 2019 COFC will be redefining their sales territories in order to serve you better:
Geoff Smock
Director of Sales and Marketing
Northern United States
Cell: (630) 470-0016
Email: geoff.smock@cofclogistics.com
ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, DE, VA, NC, WV, MI, OH, KY, TN, IN, WI, IL, MN, IA, MO, KS, ND, SD, NE, MT, WY, CO, ID, WA, OR
Jerry Cartwright
Director of Sales and Marketing
Southern United States & Mexico
Cell: (210) 872-2236
Email: jerry.cartwright@cofclogistics.com
SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, UT, NV, CA and all of Mexico
Thank you for your continued support!