Canpotex

Canpotex is wholly owned by its two member producers:[1][4]

• The Mosaic Company
• Nutrien

The majority of Canpotex potash is shipped to west coast terminals via CPR lines, in dedicated covered hopper railway cars

Canpotex potash railway car on display at the Saskatchewan Railway Museum.

Canpotex operates over 5,500 specialised covered hopper cars for inland transportation of potash from landlocked Saskatchewan to ports,[6] and operates solely on Canadian Pacific Railway lines.[7] In 2011, Canpotex started on the construction of a new $55 million rail car maintenance yard near the town of Lanigan, Saskatchewan used to perform maintenance and manage the inventory of railcars.[8]

The majority of its potash is shipped overseas to Asian, Latin American, and Oceanic markets[9] through Neptune Terminals, partly owned by Canpotex, in North Vancouver, British Columbia.[10] Since 1997, Canpotex has additionally exported through Portland Terminals (owned by Canpotex and operated by Kinder Morgan) in Portland, Oregon.[10] Canpotex additionally ships smaller quantities of potash through the St. Lawrence Seaway via Thunder Bay, Ontario, and has access to ports on the East Coast of the United States and Gulf of Mexico.[11]

Canpotex has committed $900 million to the manufacture of 15 cargo vessels. The first of these vessels, the U-Sea Saskatchewan, built as a joint venture with Ultrabulk received its first load of 58,000 metric tons of potash in the Port of Vancouver in November 2010.[12] The U-Sea Saskatchewan was built by Imabari Shipbuilding of Japan and is capable of carrying 60,000 metric tons.[13] Other ships include the Ultra Colonsay.