CN, North America Stevedoring to build Chicago steel transloading facility

CN and North America Stevedoring Company, LLC (NASCO) will construct of a new multi-modal steel transloading facility in Chicago, the North American hub for steel transportation. NASCO is a division of Quebec Stevedoring Company Ltd. (QSL).

The new facility will be located at the
Port of Chicago on 190 acres of land adjacent to CN’s Kirk Yard and Interstate
90, roughly 13 miles south of downtown Chicago. It will offer producers
multi-modal transportation options by rail, truck, intermodal container, inland
barge and ocean-going vessel for steel coil, sheet, plate, bar, structural,
pipe and tube products, as well as dimensional loads and heavy equipment, as
early as January 2011.

Jean-Jacques Ruest, executive
vice-president and chief marketing officer for CN, said: "The Chicago Metals
& Minerals Transload facility will give both CN and NASCO a strong foothold
in the most important steel market in North America. Approximately half of
steel production and consumption on the continent takes place within a 300-mile
radius of Chicago. Innovative and efficient facilities are critical to the
industry.

"CN will serve the facility
directly, tying it into our North American rail network reaching the Atlantic,
Gulf and Pacific coasts. Together with NASCO and QSL, we will offer the steel
industry new transportation options to tap regional and North American markets
and new port gateways for imported and exported steel. We also believe the
facility will improve supply chain efficiencies for the steel industry and
enhance CN’s and NASCO’s competitiveness in important steel markets."

Denis Dupuis, founder and president of
QSL, said: "This transload operation will have state-of-the-art machinery
for quickly and efficiently transferring steel loads between rail, truck,
intermodal container, barge and vessel. This new multi-modal option in North
America’s heartland will help reduce highway congestion and provide added
efficiency to all our customers. This partnership will benefit our
25-marine-terminal network beyond the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway
system, enabling the growth of our steel-handling business. It could be the
first stepping stone to future expansions along CN rail corridors."

The new Chicago metals transload
facility is part of a series of CN supply chain initiatives aimed at
positioning the company to better serve its steel customers and grow its steel
business. Last month, CN announced the establishment of strategic car staging
locations near producer facilities, allowing it to respond quickly to
steelmakers’ spot sales requirements. One staging location is at Sorel-Tracy,
Que., northeast of Montreal, the other at Paris, Ont., located west of
Hamilton.

CN also recently announced the
acquisition of 200 standard gondolas and 200 open coil gondolas to expand and
improve the quality of its freight car fleet serving the steel industry. The
new gondolas and coil cars follow CN’s acquisition of almost 700 new iron ore
cars this year and last for hauling pelletized iron ore in the Upper Midwest.