International Paper sited its $225M corrugated box plant in Brandon, Miss., around a direct CPKC spur, cutting transload handling out of its inbound containerboard for the life of the asset.
The details: IP broke ground May 20 on the 468,000-sq-ft greenfield plant, set on 80 acres in Rankin County directly on CPKC's main network. Construction begins in June; operations are slated for Q4 2027.
CPKC will manage inbound raw materials and outbound distribution, Supply Chain Dive reported. "That level of alignment is intentional," CPKC spokesman Terry Cunha told the outlet.
Why the spur matters: A plant without rail at its dock pays a transload terminal to move freight between railcar and truck, plus a drayage leg on each end.
Putting railcars at the plant's own dock removes the handling fee, the extra touches, and the truck miles, on heavy inbound rolls moving daily for 30-plus years.
The jobs nuance: Local officials say the investment "secures" 150 manufacturing jobs; employees at IP's Richland box plant, less than 10 miles away, are expected to transition to the new site.
The Brandon plant comes out of IP's 80/20 consolidation, a strategy that concentrates capital on its highest-value customers and products. The company's streamlining has affected 4,500-plus jobs since October 2024, with at least seven more closures guided for 2026 in its European business.
Across the sector: Georgia-Pacific put its $425M Dixie tableware plant, in production since June 2024, on a CSX Select Site in Jackson, Tenn., and BNSF opened an Oklahoma City intermodal facility built around Hobby Lobby's container flows.
CPKC has standardized these deals: its Site Ready program certified 14 new rail-served industrial sites in March, opening more than 6,600 acres. BNSF and NS run similar programs.
The catch: A sole-served siding ties the plant's freight to one carrier for decades. It is the same concentration concern shippers are raising in the Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger docket, at plant scale rather than network scale.
