WINNIPEG, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE:
CNI) and Agri-Food Central Ltd. announced today an agreement to
improve the service delivery performance and consistency of the
supply chain for specialty grains moving from Western Canada to Mexico via rail and to other markets including
those in Latin America through
Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coast ports served by CN.
Under the agreement, CN and Agri-Food Central have agreed to
exchange information that will allow the parties to jointly measure
rail service and supply chain performance, to cooperate on joint
supply chain planning, and establish a process to address any rail
service issues.
Doug MacDonald, CN vice-president, Corporate Marketing, said:
"CN continues to sign agreements with customers who are interested
in working with us to develop better supply chains that increase
end-customer satisfaction."
David Nyznyk, director of supply
management for Agri-Food Central, said: "We have developed a close
relationship with CN, which is well positioned to serve our needs
in reaching export markets for our specialty grains. This supply
chain collaboration and continuous improvement agreement with CN
will enhance our competitiveness as we grow our penetration of
foreign markets."
Agri-Food Central loads bags of lentils, canary seed, flax and
peas into 53-foot containers at CN's Winnipeg Intermodal Terminal.
CN then hauls the containers by rail to Montreal, Vancouver and New
Orleans for export, as well as to Mexico in cooperation with Kansas City
Southern Railway (KCS). Containers are interchanged with KCS at
Jackson, Miss., and return from
Mexico loaded with consumer
goods.
MacDonald added: "CN is signing
a series of supply chain collaboration agreements that are key to
encouraging all stakeholders to achieve improved service levels as
well as greater productivity and efficiency. We believe this
commercial approach is the right way to move distribution services
to the next level."
About Agri-Food Central
Agri-Food Central, headquartered in Winnipeg, Man., is a supply chain management
company whose clients range from primary suppliers to international
buyers looking to vertically integrate and improve their existing
supply chains. The Company coordinates packaging of agri-food
products in Canada and
Mexico, and further adds value to
agri-food products by reducing - and in some cases removing - risks
for clients, including quality, market price, currency and
delivery. In Canada, Agri-Food's
Winnipeg Distribution Terminal is strategically located at CN's
Intermodal Terminal. In Mexico,
the Company has its own fleet of ocean-going containers and
cleaning equipment for re-conditioning of grains and seeds as
needed.
About CN
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. For more information on CN, visit the company's
website at www.cn.ca.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news
release constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under Canadian
securities laws. CN cautions that, by their nature, these
forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and
assumptions. The Company cautions that its assumptions may not
materialize and that current economic conditions render such
assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made,
subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results or performance of the Company or the rail industry to be
materially different from the outlook or any future results or
performance implied by such statements.
Important risk factors that could affect the
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the
effects of general economic and business conditions, industry
competition, inflation, currency and interest rate fluctuations,
changes in fuel prices, legislative and/or regulatory developments,
compliance with environmental laws and regulations, actions by
regulators, various events which could disrupt operations,
including natural events such as severe weather, droughts, floods
and earthquakes, labor negotiations and disruptions, environmental
claims, uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types
of claims and litigation, risks and liabilities arising from
derailments, and other risks detailed from time to time in reports
filed by CN with securities regulators in Canada and the
United States. Reference should be made to "Management's
Discussion and Analysis" in CN's annual and interim reports, Annual
Information Form and Form 40-F filed with Canadian and U.S.
securities regulators, available on CN's website, for a summary of
major risks.
CN assumes no obligation to update or revise
forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in
circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable
Canadian securities laws. In the event CN does update any
forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that CN will
make additional updates with respect to that statement, related
maters, or any other forward-looking statement.
SOURCE CN