ADM Opens Rail-Based Container Hub

A new port facility for Decatur-based Archer Daniels Midland will serve as the central hub for receiving and shipping via rail.

But the President of Decatur and Macon County’s Economic Development Corporation said the intermodal container ramp will offer shipping access to many other companies in Central Illinois.

Greg Coil said all three of the railroads that came in to Decatur formerly worked separately, and this consolidation will make things more efficient, especially for those who have been shipping via truck, like Rural King, which is based in Mattoon.

“Anybody really within a 75 to 100 mile radius of Decatur can benefit from it as well," he said.  "So if you think about the logistics of it all, if you have, for example, a company in Champaign County that currently imports containers and they go into the railyards in Chicago, that can come directly into Decatur now.”

Coil said ADM will be adding a few jobs with the unveiling of the port facility.

"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," said Gov. Pat Quinn, who was on hand for Thursday's announcement. "Expanding markets for Illinois products creates jobs here at home and drives our economy forward."

It’s located on 250 acres of Decatur’s ADM processing plant, and can handle up to 50,000 containers a year, with room to expand to 150,000. 

Construction of the ramp was funded in part by a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.