National Rail Car will supply 700 custom-built potash transport rail wagons to Canpotex.
Canpotex has selected National Steel Car of Hamilton, Ontario, to manufacture 700 new railcars to transport Saskatchewan potash to coastal ports. Canpotex’s investment in these additional railcars is valued at $70 million. Since 1999, Canpotex has invested more than $500 million to build more than 7,000 railcars with National Steel Car.
Canpotex’s railcars are custom-designed by National Steel Car in collaboration with Canpotex to conform to the specific properties of potash. This design, according to the supplier, has allowed Canpotex to optimize the payload per railcar and the number of railcars per unit train, increasing overall train efficiencies by more than 90% and resulting in enhanced capacities within respective rail corridors. As a result, since 2000, Canpotex has doubled its annual rail shipments without adding an additional train and, consequently, without placing any additional strain on Canada’s rail system.
Canpotex currently ships in excess of 10 million mt per year of potash, representing approximately $3 billion in annual exports. Once in service, Canpotex’s railcars will transport potash from Saskatchewan to Canpotex port facilities in Canada and the United States for shipment to customers in 36 markets.
