Investment in future growth testament to the
strength of supply chain collaboration among CN, Maher and Prince
Rupert Port Authority
MONTREAL, March 10, 2015 /CNW/ - Claude Mongeau,
president and chief executive officer of CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE:
CNI), today welcomed news that Maher Terminals Holding Corp. will
expand the capacity of the Port of Prince
Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal to more than 1.3
million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, from the
current annual container-handling capacity of approximately 850,000
TEUs.
"This investment in terminal expansion to accommodate future
growth in overseas container traffic is good news for CN's
customers and the Pacific Gateway we serve," Mongeau said.
"Fairview Container Terminal, opened in 2007, has become a major
gateway success for trade between Asia, Canada
and the U.S. Midwest. This success is testament to the supply chain
collaboration and innovation focus of CN, Maher and the Prince
Rupert Port Authority. Together we understand what it takes to
foster continual improvements in port-terminal-rail efficiencies
that help our customers compete more effectively in their end
markets. This is a virtuous cycle, setting the stage for future
growth, one container at a time.
"CN is proud of its role in Prince
Rupert's success. We will continue to invest in rail
capacity improvements along our route from northern British Columbia to key markets such as
Chicago and Memphis. Our investment in the Kaien long rail
siding just outside of Fairview
terminal is helping us to accommodate growth in container volumes
with greater efficiency. We will also expand our intermodal network
and terminal capacity to continue playing our role as true backbone
of the economy."
In seven years of operations, traffic through Prince Rupert's Fairview Container Terminal
has grown at the fastest pace of any container terminal in
North America. In 2014, volume
increased 15 per cent over year-earlier volumes, while Fairview continued to post excellent terminal
dwell times for containers.
The Fairview Container Terminal expansion project will start in
April 2015 and is expected to be
finished by mid-2017.
Prince Rupert is the closest
major North American port to Asia
with direct on-dock access to CN's rail network. Containers are
rapidly transferred between vessel and rail, enhancing Prince Rupert's total transit time advantage.
The port is also North America's
deepest natural harbor and can efficiently handle the world's
largest container vessels.
Maher Terminals is an affiliate of Maher Terminals LLC of
Elizabeth, N.J.
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 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 is a true backbone of the economy, transporting more than
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.
SOURCE CN