CN Rail has announced plans to acquire 1,500 new generation, high-capacity grain hopper cars with delivery starting in January of 2021.
These new railcars will encourage economic recovery through job creation in the North American manufacturing sector, as well as help CN continue to meet the growing needs of grain farmers and grain customers, the company says.
JJ Ruest, president and CEO of CN Rail, says that this investment, along with the 2020 $2.9 billion capital investment program, will help move much more grain than before.
“We are confident in the future of the grain business and its key role in CN’s long-term growth,” Ruest says. “By investing in the construction of these new cars, we want to help quickly stimulate the North American economy by supporting the manufacturing and agriculture-related jobs.”
For the second quarter of 2020, CN reported a loss of 19% over 2019 numbers, largely due to decreased trade because of the COVID-19 economic shut down. Over the same time period, the railway moved a record amount of grain.
CN transports more than $250 billion worth of goods annually, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America.
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