FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) unit of FedEx Corp., said today it has expanded operations in North America by offering next-day deliveries linking 13 U.S. markets with Canada, and by adding two service centers in Mexico that will serve the country's northern tier.

FedEx Freight said it has opened a service center in Rochester, N.Y., to connect shipments moving to and from Montreal and Toronto via its Priority next-day service. The company has also opened service centers in Culiacán, Mexico, which will serve the country's northwestern and Pacific regions (including Nogales, Mexicali, and Tijuana), and in Silao, which covers the north central region.

Under a major revamp that took effect in January 2011, FedEx Freight segmented its services into a premium service known as Priority, which promises deliveries in one to two days, and a less time-sensitive option called Economy, which delivers in three days or more.

Around the time of the launch, company executives described the strategy as a "unique approach" for the LTL industry because it based pricing on the specific service levels purchased by users rather than on the number of vehicle-miles traveled.

FedEx Freight, which has served the Canada and Mexico for several years, offers both services between the United States and Canada. It offers the Economy service in the U.S.-Mexico cross-border market as well as within Mexico. However, its Priority service is only available on cross-border services.

The company added that shippers can now process cross-border LTL shipments to and from Canada and Mexico using such electronic shipping tools as "FedEx Ship Manager Software," "FedEx Ship Manager Server," and "FedEx Web Services."