TORONTO, ONTARIO–Canadian National today announced the purchase of 150 state-of-the-art refrigerated containers and an option to buy 150 more.
William K. Berry, CN’s vice-president, intermodal, said: “CN is Canada’s largest long-distance hauler of grocery industry products. This reefer purchase underscores CN’s continuing commitment to provide high-quality transportation to the service-sensitive grocery trade. The new equipment will also improve our ability to capture additional grocery traffic.”
The 53-foot containers will have eight per cent more cubic space than the 48-foot containers they replace and weigh nine per cent less.
CN moves the bulk of its grocery business on expedited intermodal trains between Central Canada and the western provinces. First introduced in June 2000, CN’s “Need for Speed” intermodal trains cut transcontinental transit times by 24 hours and made CN fully competitive with long-haul team-driver trucking.
Berry said: “Our grocery business consists of foodstuffs and associated household products, moving from Central Canada to distribution centres in the West. With these new containers, CN will offer grocery shippers the latest state-of-the-art equipment. In addition, CN will be positioned to capture lucrative backhaul movements of frozen meats, poultry and French fries that are produced in Western Canada and destined for Eastern markets.”
Canadian National Railway Company 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 cities 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.