With New Intermodal Container Ramp, ADM Opens Doors to Economic Growth in Central Ill.

Facility capitalizes on company’s transportation, logistics expertise; region’s prime rail, roadway access

Offering businesses of all sizes the ability to get any product, anywhere, efficiently and cost-effectively

DECATUR, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) yesterday opened an intermodal container freight shipping and receiving facility that will enable businesses to tap into the company’s deep transportation and logistics expertise and provide a platform for economic growth in central Illinois.

The intermodal ramp, located on 250 acres of land at ADM’s Decatur processing complex, offers direct access to three Class I railroads and close proximity to four interstate highways and a major U.S. highway. For importers and exporters, this unique interchange offers ready access to coastal and export markets. And for all customers, the location provides proximity to 95 million customers within a day’s drive. The facility itself has two high-capacity cranes that can handle 50,000 containers per year, with room to grow to 150,000.

Intermodal containers can be loaded with virtually any type of product and are transported by truck, railcar and ship. Their flexibility and standard size have made them popular worldwide; there are an estimated 17 million intermodal containers in the world today, and the American Association of Railroads reports that between 2010 and 2012, U.S. intermodal container freight volumes increased nearly 10 percent.

“ADM’s new intermodal facility will offer businesses of every type the ability to access markets anywhere, at any time, and do so quickly and cost-effectively,” said Scott Fredericksen, president, ADM Transportation. “Our deep logistics experience, vast global transportation network and commitment to outstanding service can offer businesses in and around Central Illinois an unprecedented level of access and reach.”

“ADM is one of the key reasons Illinois is the largest exporting state in the Midwest, and this new facility will help even more businesses get their goods to domestic and foreign markets more easily and cost effectively,” Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said. “Expanding markets for Illinois products creates jobs here at home and drives our economy forward.”

“We are optimistic that businesses in our region will join us to help drive the economic growth this facility is capable of catalyzing,” Fredericksen added. “With strong support from our leaders in Springfield and Macon County, we’ve been able to get this project off the drawing board and into operation quickly. We look forward to seeing it reach its full potential, and to helping Illinois achieve its goal of doubling exports by 2014.”

About ADM

For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs. Today, 30,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 265 processing plants, 460 crop procurement facilities, and the world’s premier crop transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 140 countries. For more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

Archer Daniels Midland Company
Media Relations
David Weintraub
217-424-5413
media@adm.com