Americold , a logistics, real estate and value-added services company with controlled temperature, inaugurated its new Import and Export Center in Kansas City, Missouri , with an investment of more than 120 million dollars, which will serve to initiate refrigerated service via train between Mexico and the United States.

Developed in partnership with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) , the 335,000-square-foot facility will be key to the Mexico Midwest Express (MMX) rail service .

Key features include on-site USDA inspections to eliminate border delays ; a cargo capacity exceeding 50,000 pounds per container to reduce highway congestion; and a 300-mile service radius to support the regional flow of food.

In a statement, the firm noted that beyond the immediate region, the facility also serves as a strategic consolidation point for longer-distance shipments, including flows from Canada to Mexico , particularly for customers facing border inefficiencies or trucking capacity challenges.

“This is more than infrastructure; it’s a fully integrated solution that connects food producers to consumers faster and more efficiently. By combining our cold storage capabilities and food flow expertise with CPKC’s rail network, we’re creating a new North American cold chain that delivers real value to our customers. Simply put, we’ve found a better way to move food,” said George Chappelle, CEO of Americold.

This facility is part of a broader network of import and export centers the company is developing through strategic partnerships to support global trade routes and enable the rapid and seamless movement of food in North America and around the world.

“This grand opening marks the realization of a shared vision and what is now a growing strategic collaboration that brings new rail service products to market,” said Keith Creel, president and CEO of CPKC.

The project is expected to create nearly 190 new jobs and significantly improve regional and cross-border food logistics .

The project was supported by the Missouri Partnership, the City of Kansas City, the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (EDCKC) , KC SmartPort, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Missouri One Start, Evergy, and Spire.

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Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) of Mexico announced that refrigerated service will begin next August with the Monterrey-Kansas City, San Luis Potosí-Kansas City, and a third route that was not revealed .

“We’re going to bring animal products and food from Kansas City to Mexico. The idea is to start with the MMX (Mexico West Express) train. Today we’re bringing 2,400 meters of rail, between 80 and 90 cars, and we’re going to load refrigerated cargo onto that train,” said Oscar Del Cueto, president of the railroad.

In an interview, he mentioned that they have already met with authorities from the National Service of Health, Safety and Agri-Food Quality (Senasica) , as well as with Julio Berdegué Sacristán, head of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader) , in order to address the issues related to carrying out the movement of refrigerated goods.

“The document has already been sent to the United States to place the Senasica inspectors in Kansas, and Senasica has everything ready to have them. All that’s left is for the U.S. government to sign it, and it’s going very well,” he stated.

He specified that they estimate that this service will begin next August , in addition to the construction of the import and export center in Port Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, which will be ready in 2026, while in Kansas City the first cold storage facility will be inaugurated in that month.

Del Cueto recalled that they had already conducted tests for this type of service from Monterrey to the United States .

It’s worth noting that in 2023, CPKC and Americold Realty Trust established a strategic partnership to optimize temperature-controlled logistics across North America. As part of this agreement, Americold plans to invest between $500 million and $1 billion over the next five to 10 years in development projects with the railroad and its other strategic partner, DP World .

Meanwhile, CPKC added 1,000 new 53-foot combined transport refrigerated containers to its network, doubling its existing fleet and providing more shipping options to customers using the Mexico Oeste Express (MMX) combined transport service.

MMX is North America’s first single-line rail service serving refrigerated freight shippers from the Midwest to Mexico, a market currently served by trucks.

Regarding a possible impact from the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum, Del Cueto ruled out any impact; they are even waiting for the Mexican government to announce what actions will be taken in this regard.

“We had noticed that they were keeping the cost in Mexico, while exports continued. Remember, we have a trade imbalance with the United States; there are more imports, but I think there should be an adjustment in tariffs, and it’s too early to say whether there will be an impact on manufacturing (of railroad equipment). President Trump’s idea of ​​creating these tariffs in the United States is to protect the industry. I think there will be resolutions soon; we’ll have to wait and see what the Mexican government says,” he emphasized.

He reiterated that the company had a good quarter despite the initial tariff actions ; however, they are currently seeking to move merchandise from Canada to Mexico and vice versa, and to use the United States as a bridge to avoid tariffs. In this regard, he stated that they are already experiencing volume growth in LP gas (liquefied petroleum gas), grains, and plastics.

Likewise, he explained that after a review and new designs for the route, the Mexico-Querétaro passenger train would only be using nine kilometers (km) of its tracks; however, how it would operate at that point, which is already close to Querétaro, has not yet been analyzed.

“New designs were made, there were different proposals where a different construction could be done so as not to affect the charging infrastructure, and the goal of the president (Claudia Sheinbaum) and the regulatory agency is to avoid using our infrastructure and build new ones, and that is being achieved,” he explained.

The Rail Transport Regulatory Agency (ARTF) stated a few weeks ago that  passenger trains will run on dedicated tracks , although there are approximately five kilometers of track that are “extremely difficult” due to their topography, so a mixed operation would be carried out.

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El cargo CPKC to launch refrigerated service between the US and Mexico with three routes apareció primero en T21.

It’s been at least five years since Grupo Bafar has sought to jump on the bandwagon to transport primarily frozen goods such as potatoes, pork cheeks, beef tripe, chicken, and others; however, it hasn’t been able to make this happen.

Now, with Canadian Pacific Kansas City ‘s (CPKC) new refrigerated service, this exchange is possible.

“Multimodal rail is an excellent alternative, and I’d like to find that echo with BNSF or Union Pacific , with which we’ve conducted tests and believe it should work. We haven’t been able to finalize anything, but it’s an indispensable tool when we have high costs for diesel, refractories, and human factors,” Velo describes.

He believes that one of the factors that has prevented them from reaching an agreement is that their plants are located far from the rail infrastructure, so they are also looking for suppliers who offer this service to be able to load the refrigerated box. However, he affirms that CPKC’s project to move refrigerated vehicles would also be a great option for the company, since Laredo, Texas, is one of the main areas through which they receive their merchandise to move it to their distribution centers.

In this regard, Velo states that they are “eyeing this railroad company as an option,” and are therefore seeking a meeting with its executives. “We plan to approach them and see what alternatives exist to finalize something, because we have very strong growth in that area. Our plant in La Piedad, Michoacán, which we supply through Laredo, is experiencing tremendous growth.”

The correct route

CPKC Railroad is moving forward with its plans to transport perishable goods. It has already added 1,000 53-foot refrigerated combined transport containers to its fleet network, thereby providing more shipping options to customers using the premium combined transport service, especially for the Mexico Midwest Express (MMX).

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El cargo Refrigerated on board, the tracks are lined up apareció primero en T21.

Just two years into operations, Colds, a company specializing in logistics solutions and cold chain storage, has an ambitious expansion plan projecting a 140% growth by its third year of operation.

The surge in demand for cold chain logistics services stemmed from the need in the food industry for specialized services, noted David Guerrero, CEO of Colds, emphasizing that it’s one of the industries relying heavily on the integrity of this chain to keep food in optimal condition.

In 2021, the National Directory of Economic Units (DENUE), by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), reported 110 companies utilizing refrigerated storage, owning 176 refrigerated warehouses in the country. However, according to Guerrero, due to the increased demand for cold chain services, companies have had to invest in expanding storage capacities.

In an interview, Guerrero highlighted that Colds started with a thousand positions, and by the end of the first year, they already had 9,500 positions in their warehouses. By the close of the second year in March, Colds had 14,500 storage positions.

Currently, the company operates warehouses in Nuevo León, Estado de México, and recently in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

Their expansion plan includes the warehouse in La Paz, aimed at meeting the cold chain demand in that region and, consequently, in Los Cabos. This project came about due to a client’s need for space, serving as a pilot to eventually expand their offerings in that infrastructure.

“It puts us five years ahead because La Paz wasn’t on the radar, but there’s no cold storage player there. The way we’ve opened is a pilot because it’s a very small phase, and within the same park, we’re designing the development of a warehouse similar in size to Monterrey’s, with between four to six thousand positions,” Guerrero affirmed.

Additionally, he mentioned plans to expand their presence in Nuevo León with a new warehouse in the municipality of Guadalupe, as well as increasing their capacity in the Apodaca and Huehuetoca warehouses, Estado de México.

In this regard, Guerrero pointed out to T21 that as they grow, they are not losing sight of their clients’ needs, emphasizing Colds’ added value in focusing on client-centric services, aiming to tailor storage solutions to their specific needs.

“Our focus is on clients who may have special manufacturing needs, who in turn need to meet the demands of their clients, particularly in the highly demanding self-service sector. We aim to create a hybrid model, combining a personalized touch for the client with the best locations,” he stated in the interview.

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The railway industry in Mexico is gearing up to offer transportation services for fresh and frozen products, a service expected to start rolling on train tracks in 2025. However, this requires infrastructure and inspection points, which are currently lacking but are being worked on by both Grupo México Transportes (GMXT) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) of Mexico.

“It’s a very relevant business area that can strengthen Mexico’s international trade in the agricultural sector, which is of great importance to the local economy. It’s a great opportunity to transport fresh and frozen products by rail, as well as sweet bakery products and others such as beef, chicken, and pork for importation to the United States and Canada,” according to the Mexican Railway Association (AMF).

José Miguel Baena, Commercial Director of GMXT, confirms that this transportation division of Grupo México is working to start transporting refrigerated products, which would begin next year. The service would be with their own equipment, he adds.

“We have a couple of big projects to start working on as a cold chain; we’re already on it, and I believe you will have news in the coming months. The idea is to export vegetables and greens to the United States; we’re looking for partners to make investments in terms of equipment, warehouses, and more, but we’re already working on it,” he says.

He mentions that they would be working on the basis of this project by 2024. Although he details that one of the challenges would be the efficiency of freight, as the cold chain cannot be lost, so strategic allies and the trust of customers are required.

INVESTMENTS ON THE HORIZON

CPKC of Mexico is also making investments to build suitable infrastructure to have a cold chain that allows providing this type of service in the country. In addition, it already has a thousand refrigerated containers that it expects to put into full operation by 2025.

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El cargo Refrigerated services will take the steel way. apareció primero en T21.