MEMPHIS, TN,
Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -
Claude Mongeau, president and chief
executive officer of CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE:CNI), said the company's
drive to become "a true supply chain enabler" will deliver a more
efficient transportation system helping its customers compete
better in their end markets.
"The CN team is taking its Precision Railroading model to the
next level - delivering on an agenda of operational and service
excellence anchored on supply chain collaboration to improve
end-to-end service for our customers," Mongeau told the Southeast
Freight Conference here today.
Mongeau said this supply-chain focus is the next chapter in CN's
"remarkable transformation journey" -- a journey that saw CN
transformed from a rail industry laggard into a North American rail
industry leader.
The modern CN story began with privatization in 1995, followed
by $8-billion worth of acquisitions
that gave the railroad a true North American footprint touching
three coasts. Next came Precision Railroading - CN's unique
business model that ensures disciplined operational execution and
intense asset utilization -- and now a new customer-centric focus
and commitment to supply chain innovation.
Mongeau said Memphis, a major
freight distribution hub, is a pivotal location on CN's 20,500
route-mile network that spans 16 U.S. states and eight provinces.
The city is the gateway to CN's operations in the Gulf of Mexico region and the largest U.S.
location outside Chicago where CN
interchanges traffic with four of the major U.S. Class 1
railroads.
The importance of Memphis in
CN's system is underscored by the company's sizable capital
investments in the city. CN has invested $100-million to rebuild and upgrade its main
freight-car classification yard in Memphis, now known as Harrison Yard. It is also a partner in the
$35-million CN-CSX Transportation
Gateway Intermodal Terminal that opened in 2005 at Frank C. Pidgeon
Industrial Park in Memphis.
Mongeau said: "With a clear strategic agenda driven by our
commitment to innovation, productivity and supply chain
collaboration, we can create value for our customers, shareholders,
and the North American economy."
CN - Canadian National Railway Company and its
operating railway subsidiaries - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans to the Gulf of
Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas
of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis.,
Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St.
Louis, and Jackson, Miss.,
with connections to all points in North
America.
SOURCE CN