THE Canadian National Railway (CN) and Agri-Food Central Ltd have announced an agreement to improve containerised specialty grain movements from western Canada to Mexico via rail and to other markets including those in Latin America through Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coast ports served by CN.

    Winnipeg-based Agri-Food Central loads bags of lentils, canary seed, flax and peas into 53-foot containers at CN's Winnipeg Intermodal Terminal. CN then hauls the containers by rail to Montreal, Vancouver and New orleans for export, as well as to Mexico in cooperation with Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS). Containers are interchanged with KCS at Jackson, Mississippi, and return from Mexico loaded with consumer goods.

    Under the agreement, Montreal-based CN and Agri-Food Central have agreed to exchange information that will allow the parties to measure rail service and supply chain performance, to cooperate on joint supply chain planning, and establish a process to address any rail service issues.

    "CN continues to sign agreements with customers interested in working to develop better supply chains that increase end-customer satisfaction." said CN vice-president Doug MacDonald.

    Said Agri-Food Central supply chain chief David Nyznyk: "This supply chain collaboration and continuous improvement agreement with CN will enhance our competitiveness as we grow our penetration of foreign markets."

    Agri-Food Central is a supply chain management company whose clients range from primary suppliers to international buyers looking to improve supply chains. The company coordinates packaging of agri-food products in Canada and Mexico, and further adds value to agri-food products by reducing - and in some cases removing - risks for clients, including quality, market price, currency and delivery.

(source:http://www.shippingonline.cn/news/newsList.asp?classname=News)