By Stephen Nakrosis


CF Industries Holdings Inc. on Thursday said shipping reductions by Union Pacific Corp. rail lines would result in delays to nitrogen shipments.

CF said it was notified by Union Pacific on April 8 that certain shippers would be mandated to reduce the volume of private cars on the railroad effective immediately. The move will affect fertilizer shipments during the spring application season, CF said, adding delayed deliveries may result in lower crop yields.

CF said it ships to customers via Union Pacific rail lines primarily from complexes in Louisiana and Iowa, adding the rail lines serve agricultural areas in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and California.

CF said it "understands that it is one of only 30 companies to face these restrictions," and also said it "intends to engage directly with the federal government to ask that fertilizer shipments be prioritized so that spring planting is not adversely impacted."

Union Pacific didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a note posted on April 11, Kenny Rocker, the railroad's EVP, Marketing and Sales, said Union Pacific is working to resolve service challenges. Among the steps being taken are adding more locomotives, recruiting new crews and removing 2% to 3% of UP-controlled cars from its network across multiple commodity groups, he said.

He also said if Union Pacific doesn't see reductions to the operating inventory through customer's voluntary efforts, it will begin metering traffic after April 18.


Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-14-22 1357ET