Mongeau says solid supply chain collaboration and information
sharing will be key to reaching world markets efficiently
EDMONTON,
Oct. 7, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ -
Claude Mongeau, president and chief
executive officer of CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI), said today current
forecasts call for Western Canada
crop production of more than 60 million tonnes - one of the largest
harvests in history - and stressed that supply chain collaboration
and information sharing will be essential to moving the crop
efficiently.
"Our grain customers have advised us in recent
weeks that they are raising their original forecasts for this
fall's shipments, as well as the amount of grain they intend to
export between now and the end of this crop year next July,"
Mongeau said. "The current grain crop is now forecast to be among
the largest in history. This is very good news for all of us
involved in the business.
"Such a large crop will clearly challenge the
entire supply chain. Meeting this challenge successfully will
require all supply chain partners to come together in order to
maximize end-to-end throughput on a consistent basis. Prompt car
loading in the Prairies, steady railway movements from the country
to port, and efficient car unloading at port terminals will be
critical to solid hopper car fleet velocity so that the cars can be
brought back to the countryside to meet new orders in a timely
way.
"All participants in the supply chain will have
to up their game to move the crop to market on time, and on spec.
CN is focused on port terminal unloading performance on the
waterfront, maintaining a fluid rail operation, and sizing its
hopper car fleet capacity at the level required to help keep the
supply chain synchronized. Our C$100-million investment in increased rail
capacity in the Edmonton-Winnipeg corridor this year will help CN
handle strong volumes of grain and other commodities over the fall
and winter seasons."
Mongeau said the strong collaboration CN
experienced with its supply chain partners in the fall of 2012 in
moving significant volumes of grain to market bodes well for this
fall. And he thanked partners who had invested in or secured
incremental grain terminal capacity in Vancouver over the last 12 months.
Mongeau concluded: "True collaboration and
information sharing along the entire supply chain will be the
foundation for our joint success. CN is ready to play its role as a
key supply chain enabler, helping Canadian farmers and our
customers bring this record crop to world markets efficiently."
CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) is a true backbone of
the economy, transporting approximately C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide
range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to
manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network
spanning Canada and mid-America.
CN - Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating
railway subsidiaries -- serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of
Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis., 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 is "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 current grain crop being forecast to be one of the largest in
Canadian history, 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.
SOURCE CN