The Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and North America Stevedoring Company, LLC (NASCO) announced Monday the construction of a new multi-modal steel transloading facility in Chicago, Illinois.
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.
"The Chicago Metals & Minerals Transload facility will give both CN and NASCO a strong foothold in the most important steel market in North America," said Jean-Jacques Ruest, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer for CN. "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[a privately held company that handles more than 11 million metric tons (mt) of general and dry bulk cargo annually over its network of port facilities], 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," added Ruest.
"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," commented Denis Dupuis, founder and president of QSL.
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.