Jun 20--APL LOGISTICS has begun to deploy its own fleet of 53-foot containers in the North American domestic intermodal market with its first boxes hitting highways and railroads in the region at the end of May, the third party logistics operator said.

    The fleet is expected to reach 1,000 units by the end of August and in excess of that before the end of the year. The move to launch its own fleet of containers comes at a time when an industry-wide equipment crunch introduces greater uncertainty into supply chains of manufacturers and retailers across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

    Fifty-three footers are the most common containers in North America and the new additions supplement containers provided by the company's railroad partners, are said to offer it access to an overall bigger pool of equipment for reliable freight deployment within the region.

    Dave Howland, vice president for land transport services said, "We're putting our own containers into the market to better assure our North American customers of equipment availability and uninterrupted freight services."

(Source:Shippingazette)