For CN, a “third coast” opportunity
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
CN, the Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA) and APM Terminals Mobile, LLC on June 15, 2015 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the Port of Mobile intermodal gateway project, which is “intended to drive increased supply chain efficiency and a greater share of transportation markets in North America.”
ASPA, which, owns the public terminals at the Port of Mobile, is building a $32 million intermodal terminal for the transfer of containers between marine vessels and CN intermodal trains beginning in the spring of 2016. APM Terminals operates a 95-acre, state-of-the-art deep-sea container terminal at the Port of Mobile adjacent to the intermodal facility now under construction.
“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,” said CN Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer JJ Ruest. “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.”
“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,” said ASPA CEO James K. Lyons. “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.”
