American Commercial Lines Inc. Acquires Remaining Interest in Environmental Services Firm

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind., April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Commercial Lines Inc. NASDAQ: ACLI ("ACL" or the "Company") today announced that it has acquired the remaining 70% of the environmental and civil engineering services firm, Summit Contracting, LLC ("Summit"). ACL had previously acquired a 30% share of Summit in May 2007. The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed and are not material to the Company. Summit's offerings include emergency response, environmental remediation, and industrial and civil construction services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACL, Summit will continue serving its established customer base of major transportation, chemical, energy and construction customers, as well as providing value-added services to ACL's existing and future customers.

"Summit's customer base and services are highly complementary to ACL," commented Mike Ryan, President and CEO of American Commercial Lines. "We expect the company's tactical and strategic offerings to further our competitive advantage within the chemical and energy markets. In addition, Summit's niche expertise in tank barge cleaning, dock and rail construction, industrial development site selection and best-in-class environmental services will also enable us to better control our cost of services on the inland waterways."

Eric Dodd, founder and President of Summit Contracting, LLC added, "The relationship between Summit and ACL has already yielded numerous new sales opportunities. We are excited to take the relationship with ACL to the next level as a way to grow both businesses." Mr. Dodd, who has an environmental services and civil engineering background with over 18 years of experience, will continue to lead the company as a subsidiary of ACL.

American Commercial Lines Inc., headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is an integrated marine transportation and service company operating in the United States Jones Act trades, with approximately $1 billion in revenues and approximately 3,300 employees as of December 31, 2007. For more information about American Commercial Lines Inc. visit www.aclines.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's present expectations and beliefs about future events. As with any projection or forecast, these statements are inherently susceptible to risks, uncertainty and changes in circumstance. Important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and should be considered in evaluating the outlook of American Commercial Lines Inc. Risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in American Commercial Lines Inc.'s filings with the SEC, including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006. American Commercial Lines Inc. is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changes, new information, subsequent events or otherwise.