CHICAGO,
Aug. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX:
CNR) (NYSE: CNI) and Superior Silica Sands today announced a
multi-year agreement to move frac sand from a new processing plant
now under construction in northern Wisconsin.
Texas-based Superior Silica
Sands is building an 85-acre sand processing plant and rail storage
facility adjacent to CN's Barron Subdivision near Poskin, Wis., capable of producing up to 2.4
million tons per year of high-quality frac sand products.
CN this spring launched a $35-million project to restore nearly 40 miles of
track between Ladysmith and
Barron, Wis. CN will upgrade rail
and replace railroad ties, repair culverts and bridges, and restore
rail service along the line. The Barron Subdivision will connect to
CN's North American rail network at Ladysmith and will be in service later this
year.
CN will provide rail service to the new plant, moving frac sand
from northern Wisconsin to shale
drilling areas across North
America, including Western
Canada.
Superior Silica Sands President Rick
Shearer said: "We are excited to partner with CN on this
project, which will open a new supply chain for our customers and
allow us to reach new markets across North America. This major expansion allows
Superior Silica Sands to realize its business model for dynamic
growth."
Jean-Jacques Ruest, CN executive vice-president and chief
marketing officer, said: "We look forward to working with Superior
Silica Sands. We are investing $35
million to reopen the Barron Subdivision for rail service
and to serve Superior Silica Sands and eventually other new frac
sand plants on the same Barron Subdivision.
"Over the last three years, CN's frac sand market has grown
nearly 70 percent, reaching 35,000 carloads and $100 million in revenue in 2011, and we hope that
our end-to-end service focus will help us grow this market to
become a $300-million business for CN
in the next three-to-five year horizon. With this project, CN
welcomes one of the leading frac sand industry producers, Superior
Silica Sands, as our newest customer."
Superior Silica Sands broke ground on the processing plant and
rail storage yard this month and expects to start production this
November. Superior Silica Sands has invested more than $50 million in this frac sand operation, which is
expected to bring more than 100 new jobs to the area.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information included in this news
release are "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, including statements relating to
the growth of the frac sand market, 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
matters, or any other forward-looking statement.
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.
SOURCE CN