America’s Harvest service links Midwest grain to Mexico

America’s Harvest service has been launched by CN and four railroad partners to move grain from the U.S. Midwest to central and southern Mexico.

The service brings together a Canadian Class I railroad, two Mexican Class I railroads and two short lines. It is designed to give grain shippers one coordinated process⁠ covering documentation, import and export compliance, shipment visibility and final delivery, while reducing the complexity and execution risk of entering or expanding in the Mexican market.

How America’s Harvest service is structured?

America’s Harvest is provided by CN; Huron & Eastern Railway⁠, a Genesee & Wyoming Inc. short line; CG Railway LLC, which is jointly owned by G&W and Grupo Mexico Transportes; and Grupo Mexico’s Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V., known as Ferromex, and Ferrocarril del Sureste S.A. de C.V., known as Ferrosur.

Under the service, the railroad partners coordinate commercial negotiations and adapt to customer trade requirements. Grain will originate at Kinde or Durand in Michigan and move over HESR and CN to Mobile, Alabama. From there, CG Railway will carry the traffic by ferry to Mexico, where Ferromex or Ferrosur will complete the rail movement to Mexico City or Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.

Transit times for Michigan-to-Mexico grain shipments

The partners list several transit options from Michigan. America’s Harvest provides 15-day service to Coatzacoalcos; 18-day service to Orizaba, Veracruz; 20-day service to Puebla, Puebla; 22-day service to Mexico City; 26-day service to Celaya, Guanajuato; and 27-day service to Guadalajara, Jalisco.

Cross-border rail operations and shipper support

Shippers are also offered a single customer-service point, one rail waybill, end-to-end shipment tracking, import/export compliance assistance and management of rail-car returns to the point of origin. According to the partners, customs pre-clearance allows shippers to avoid congestion and use more seamless cross-border operations.

What this means for the market?

The launch gives Michigan grain shippers a structured route into a freight segment where rail already plays a major role. The Association of American Railroads says U.S. railroads move 1.6 million carloads of grain annually and handle 24% of domestic grain movements and 39% of grain export movements, citing USDA data. The cross-border part is also operationally specific: CG Railway says it operates two 590-foot roll-on / roll-off rail ferries, each able to carry 135 railcars, and offers a three-day port-to-port transit time on its U.S.–Mexico railferry link. (aar.org⁠)

For HESR, the launch reflects the short line’s focus on customer options and growth beyond domestic markets, Mark Nagy, HESR’s director of sales and marketing, said in an email.

“Mexico represents a significant and expanding destination for U.S. agricultural products, and this new partnership enables shippers to reach those markets in a safe, efficient and cost-effective way,” he said. “By bringing together trusted partners across North America, HESR is helping ensure that Michigan-grown products move confidently from origin to consumption markets well beyond the U.S.”