CF Industries' Advantaged Network
World's Largest Producer of Ammonia
CF Industries is the world’s largest producer of ammonia, with an extensive production and manufacturing network primarily located in North America. Our network sets the Company apart in the highly competitive global nitrogen industry because of the structural and operational advantages we have developed.
Long-Term Sustainable North American Structural Advantages
Our structural advantages are rooted in our North American operations. This gives direct access to low-cost natural gas and strategically positions our operation near end users.
Low-cost natural gas
Natural gas is the raw material and primary fuel source used in the ammonia production process at our manufacturing facilities. It accounts for approximately 70 percent of the cost to manufacture ammonia.
Operating in North America gives us access to low-cost and plentiful natural gas. As a result, we are one of the lowest-cost nitrogen producers in the world and firmly positioned on the low end of the global cost curve.
Highly productive North American agriculture sector
North America has a highly productive agriculture sector.
Because of the ideal growing conditions and weather, advanced agricultural practices and access to global markets, North American farmers will always plant these acres and fully fertilize them.
This ensures consistently strong demand where our production is.
Import-Dependent Region
North America is an import-dependent region. This means purchasers here have to bid in the last marginal nitrogen ton to meet demand.
Our margin opportunity is defined by the difference in our production costs and the production costs of high-cost marginal producers that set the global price. For North American producers like CF Industries with access to low-cost natural gas, this is a significant advantage.
Industry-Leading Operational Advantages
CF Industries has built, and maintains to the highest standards, what we believe to be the industry’s most reliable, efficient and flexible assets.
World’s largest ammonia production network
CF Industries operates 16 ammonia plants and a total of approximately 60 production units across 9 manufacturing complexes. Collectively, they have an average annual capacity of approximately 10.5 million tons of gross ammonia. With that ammonia, we produce approximately 20 million product tons for sale on an annual basis. Our facilities have unique production flexibility that allows us able to switch which product we are maximizing – urea or UAN – within our network in a matter of hours.
Industry-Leading Utilization Rates
Underpinned by safety excellence, the Company operates our facilities at industry-leading utilization rates. Over the last five years, we have averaged 8% greater ammonia capacity utilization than other North American producers. This drives capital and operating efficiency, saving shareholders billions of dollars of capital and the accompanying annual maintenance and overhead costs while allowing CF Industries to produce meaningfully greater volumes of ammonia with the same assets.
Extensive North American Distribution Network
CF Industries’ production sites are fully integrated into our distribution network, allowing us to move that volume efficiently thanks to our logistics capabilities. Today, we have approximately 45 distribution terminals that we either own or lease, with a portion of the terminals distributing multiple products. The terminals primarily serve ammonia and UAN customers in key growing regions.
We actively manage product flows to and from our distribution facilities to ensure our product is in the right place at the right time. This includes leveraging nearly 3 million tons of product storage across our terminals and production sites.
Logistics Flexibility
Our production sites have access to multiple modes of transportation to ship products.
- Pipeline: Two production facilities and 10 distribution terminals tied into the Sunoco ammonia pipeline, allowing us to safely and efficiently transport ammonia through our network.
- Barge: We ship ammonia, urea, UAN and AN by barge throughout the United States inland water system. In 2024, we shipped over 7 million tons of product via barge, including delivery directly to customers and supply to our terminals.
- Rail: All our North American production facilities are located on Class I railroads, giving us access to all the key growing areas in the United States and Canada.
- Truck: We have truck load-out at our production and distribution terminals. These are typically for local sales.
- Vessel: We can export via ocean going vessel, which has allowed us to strategically develop our business in Europe, Brazil, Argentina and Australia over the last 10-15 years.
