Norfolk Southern Corporation
NYSE:NSC
$ 258.26
$-1.28 (-0.49%)
$ 258.26
$-1.28 (-0.49%)
End-of-day quote: 03/11/2024

Norfolk Southern Stock

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation (Norfolk Southern) primarily engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the Southeast, East, and Midwest; and via interchange with rail carriers, to and from the rest of the United States (U.S.). Norfolk Southern share price history

The company also transports overseas freight through several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. It offers the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern half of the U.S. Norfolk Southern is an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that owns a major freight railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR).

Railroad Operations

As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 19,100 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia.

The company’s system reaches many manufacturing plants, electric generating facilities, mines, distribution centers, transload facilities, and other businesses located in the company’s service area.

The company operates freight service over lines with significant ongoing Amtrak and commuter passenger operations and conducts freight operations over trackage owned or leased by Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, and Michigan Department of Transportation. Norfolk Southern share price history

Merchandise

The company’s merchandise commodity group is composed of four groupings:

Agriculture, forest and consumer products include soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizer, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods.

Chemicals include sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products (including crude oil), chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids.

Metals and construction include steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and items for the U.S. military.

Automotive includes finished motor vehicles and automotive parts.

In 2023, the company handled 2.2 million merchandise carloads, which accounted for 61% of the company’s total railway operating revenues.

Intermodal

The company’s intermodal commodity group consists of shipments moving in domestic and international containers and trailers. These shipments are handled on behalf of intermodal marketing companies, international steamship lines, premium customers and asset-owning companies. In 2023, the company handled 3.8 million intermodal units, which accounted for 25% of the company’s total railway operating revenues.

Coal

The company handled 76 million tons, or 0.7 million carloads, most of which originated on the company’s lines from major eastern coal basins, with the balance from major western coal basins received via the Memphis and Chicago gateways. The company’s coal franchise supports the electric generation market, directly serving approximately 30 coal-fired power plants, as well as the export, domestic metallurgical and industrial markets, primarily through direct rail and river, lake, and coastal facilities, including various terminals on the Ohio River, at Lamberts Point in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Port of Baltimore, and on Lake Erie.

Railway Property

Equipment – The company’s equipment includes owned and leased locomotives and railcars; maintenance of way equipment and machinery; other equipment and tools used in the company’s shops, offices and facilities; and vehicles and other equipment used for maintenance, transportation, and other activities. The company’s equipment includes both owned equipment acquired by the company, and equipment held under lease arrangements.

Track Maintenance – Of the 35,000 total miles of track on which the company operates, the company is responsible for maintaining 28,400 miles, with the remainder being operated under trackage rights from other parties responsible for maintenance.

Approximately 39% of the company’s lines, excluding rail operated pursuant to trackage rights, carried 20 million or more gross tons per track mile during 2023.

Traffic Control – Of the 16,200 route miles the company dispatches, 11,300 miles incorporate signalization. This includes 8,500 miles governed by centralized traffic control (CTC) and 2,800 miles utilizing automatic block signals. Within the 8,500 miles of CTC, 7,600 miles are controlled by data radio systems originating from 355 base station radio sites.

Government Regulation

In addition to environmental, safety, securities, and other regulations generally applicable to all business, the company’s railroads are subject to regulation by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB).

Railroads are also subject to the enactment of laws by Congress and regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) (including the FRA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)), which regulate most aspects of the company’s operations related to safety, security and cybersecurity.

Competition

The company’s primary rail competitor is CSX Corporation (CSX).

Security Of Operations

The company continues to enhance the security of its rail system. The company’s comprehensive security plan is modeled on and was developed in conjunction with the security plan prepared by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) post September 11, 2001.

The company’s security plan also complies with DOT security regulations pertaining to training and security plans with respect to the transportation of hazardous materials. The company also operates four facilities that are under the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Maritime Security Regulations.

Additionally, the company continues to engage in close and regular coordination with numerous federal and state agencies, including the DHS, the TSA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FRA, the USCG, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Defense, and various state Homeland Security offices.

In 2023, through the Norfolk Southern Operation Awareness and Response Program, as well as participation in the Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response Program, the company provided rail accident response training to more than 5,000 emergency responders, such as local police and fire personnel, utilizing a combination of online training and face-to-face training sessions, as well as the Norfolk Southern Safety Train. The company also has ongoing programs to sponsor local emergency responders at the Security and Emergency Response Training Center.

History

Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated in 1980 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Country
Founded:
1980
IPO Date:
06/02/1982
ISIN Number:
I_US6558441084

Contact Details

Address:
650 West Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, Georgia, 30308-1925, United States
Phone Number
855 667 3655

Key Executives

CEO:
Shaw, Alan
CFO
George, Mark
COO:
Duncan, Paul