CHICAGO, June 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE:
CNI) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the
Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA), which owns the public
terminals at the Port of Mobile,
intended to drive increased supply chain efficiency and a greater
share of transportation markets in North
America.
JJ Ruest, CN executive vice-president and chief marketing
officer, said: "We believe the agreement -– similar to ones CN has
signed with all of Canada's major
ports and intermodal terminals -- will extend the geographic reach
of the Port of Mobile so that we
all can take advantage of potential new container rail traffic
following completion of the Panama Canal expansion project in
2016."
A key signatory to CN's MOU for the Port of Mobile gateway is APM Terminals Mobile, LLC.
APM Terminals operates a 95-acre, deep-sea container terminal at
the Port of Mobile. The
state-of-the-art container terminal is adjacent to the intermodal
rail facility now under construction. The ASPA is building the
US$32-million rail terminal that will
permit the direct and fluid transfer of containers between vessel
and rail car in the spring of 2016.
James K. Lyons, chief executive
officer of the ASPA, said: "The completion of an adjacent rail
container transfer facility at our port in the spring of 2016 will
improve our ability to handle container traffic. Our future
level-of-service agreement with our port partners will create a
range of competitive key performance indicators through a system
that encourages collaboration and accountability, for the benefit
of our mutual customers."
Ruest concluded: "With increased canal capacity and the new rail
facility at the Port of Mobile, CN
sees a 'third-coast' opportunity for increased volumes of container
traffic entering North America via
the Gulf of Mexico. We're looking
forward to working with our partners in Mobile to make their supply chains more
competitive and grow our business with them."
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 factors that
could affect the above 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 and
assumptions 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