ContainerPort Group Inc. (CPG) and ASF Transportation Group LLC (ASF) said yesterday they have merged their operations to create a combined intermodal drayage entity composed of 1,300 trucks operating in markets east of the Rockies.

The company, which will operate under the ContainerPort Group brand, will be led by ASF Transportation President Michael Smith, whose Mobile-based company utilizes 600 independent driver contractors. ASF's main territories are in the South, mid-Atlantic, and Gulf Coast, while Cleveland-based CPG's niches are the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and North Atlantic markets. The combined entity will operate under the ContainerPort Group brand and operate out of 25 terminals, the companies said.

The merger only involves ASF Group's intermodal/transportation arm. Its forwarding/ocean division, which trades as ASF Logistics and ASF Global, will remain independent.

The two firms said they will initially do business as separate organizations until the merged entities can execute an "orderly combination" of operations. No time frame for such a combination was given.