CSX Stock

CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries (CSX) operates as a transportation company.

The company provides rail-based freight transportation services including traditional rail service, the transport of intermodal containers and trailers, as well as other transportation services, such as rail-to-truck transfers and bulk commodity operations. CSX and the rail industry provide customers with access to an expansive and interconnected transportation network that plays a key role in North American commerce and is critical to the long-term economic success and improved global competitiveness of the United States. In addition, freight railroads provide the most economical and environmentally efficient means to transport goods over land.

CSX Transportation, Inc.

CSX’s principal operating subsidiary, CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT), provides an important link to the transportation supply chain through its approximately 20,000 route-mile rail network and serves major population centers in 26 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It has access to over 70 ocean, river and lake port terminals along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. This access allows the company to meet the dynamic transportation needs of manufacturers, industrial producers, the automotive industry, construction companies, farmers and feed mills, wholesalers and retailers, and energy producers. The company’s intermodal business links customers to railroads via trucks and terminals. CSXT also serves thousands of production and distribution facilities through track connections with other Class I railroads and more than 240 short-line and regional railroads. On June 1, 2022, CSX completed its acquisition of Pan Am Systems, Inc. (Pan Am), which is the parent company of Pan Am Railways, Inc. This acquisition expanded CSXT’s reach in the Northeastern United States.

CSXT is also responsible for the company's real estate sales, leasing, acquisition and management and development activities. Substantially all of these activities are focused on supporting railroad operations.

Other Entities

In addition to CSXT, the company’s subsidiaries include Quality Carriers, Inc. (Quality Carriers), CSX Intermodal Terminals, Inc. (CSX Intermodal Terminals), Total Distribution Services, Inc. (TDSI), TRANSFLO Terminal Services, Inc. (TRANSFLO), CSX Technology, Inc. (CSX Technology) and other subsidiaries. Effective July 1, 2021, CSX acquired Quality Carriers, the largest provider of bulk liquid chemicals truck transportation in North America. CSX Intermodal Terminals owns and operates a system of intermodal terminals, predominantly in the eastern United States, and also provides drayage services (the pickup and delivery of intermodal shipments) for certain customers. TDSI serves the automotive industry with distribution centers and storage locations. TRANSFLO connects non-rail served customers to the many benefits of rail by transferring products from rail to trucks. The biggest TRANSFLO markets are chemicals and agriculture, which includes shipments of plastics and ethanol. CSX Technology and other subsidiaries provide support services for the company.

Operating Model

The company focuses on developing and strictly maintaining a scheduled service plan with an emphasis on improving customer service, optimizing assets and increasing employee engagement.

Lines of Business

During 2023, the company served four primary lines of business: merchandise, intermodal, coal and trucking.

The merchandise business shipped 2.6 million carloads (43% of volume) in 2023. The company’s merchandise business is comprised of shipments in the following diverse markets: chemicals, agricultural and food products, automotive, minerals, forest products, metals and equipment, and fertilizers.

The intermodal business shipped 2.8 million units (45% of volume) in 2023. The intermodal business combines the superior economics of rail transportation with the flexibility of trucks and offers a cost and environmental advantage over long-haul trucking. Through a network of approximately 30 terminals, the intermodal business serves all major markets east of the Mississippi River and transports mainly manufactured consumer goods in containers, providing customers with truck-like service for longer shipments.

The coal business shipped 755 thousand carloads (12% of volume) in 2023. The company transports domestic coal, coke and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers and industrial plants as well as export coal to deep-water port facilities. Most of the export coal the company transports is used for steelmaking, while the majority of domestic coal the Company ships is used for electricity generation.

Trucking revenue includes revenue from the operations of Quality Carriers.

Properties

The company’s properties primarily consist of track and its related infrastructure, locomotives, and freight cars and equipment.

Track and Infrastructure

Serving 26 states, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, the CSXT rail network serves, among other markets, New York, Philadelphia and Boston in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the southeast markets of Atlanta, Miami and New Orleans, and the midwestern markets of St. Louis, Columbus and Chicago.

CSXT’s track structure includes mainline track, connecting terminals and yards, track within terminals and switching yards, sidings used for passing trains, track connecting CSXT's track to customer locations and turnouts that divert trains from one track to another. Total track miles, which reflect the size of CSXT’s network that connects markets, customers and western railroads, are greater than CSXT’s approximately 20,000 route miles.

In addition to its physical track structure, the company operates numerous yards and terminals for rail and intermodal service. These serve as points of connectivity between the company and its local customers and as sorting facilities where railcars and intermodal containers are received, classed for destination and placed onto outbound trains, or arrive and are delivered to the customer.

Network Geography

CSXT’s operations are primarily focused on four major transportation networks and corridors that are defined geographically and by commodity flows.

Interstate 90 (I-90) Corridor – This CSXT corridor links Chicago and the Midwest to metropolitan areas in New York and New England. This route, also known as the waterlevel route, has minimal hills and grades and nearly all of it has two main tracks (referred to as double track). These engineering attributes permit the corridor to support high-speed service across intermodal, automotive and merchandise commodities. This corridor is a primary route for import traffic coming from the far east through western ports moving eastward across the country, through Chicago and into the population centers in the Northeast. The I-90 Corridor is also a critical link between ports in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and consumption markets in the Midwest. This route carries goods from all three of the company’s major rail markets – merchandise, intermodal and coal.

Interstate 95 (I-95) Corridor – The CSXT I-95 Corridor connects Charleston, Jacksonville, Miami and many other cities throughout the Southeast with the heavily populated mid-Atlantic and northeastern cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. CSXT primarily transports food and consumer products, as well as metals and chemicals along this line. It is the leading rail corridor along the eastern seaboard south of the District of Columbia and provides access to major eastern ports.

Southeastern Corridor – This critical part of the network runs between CSXT’s western gateways of Chicago, St. Louis and Memphis through the cities of Nashville, Birmingham, and Atlanta and markets in the Southeast. The Southeastern Corridor is the premier rail route connecting these key cities, gateways, and markets and positions CSXT to efficiently handle projected traffic volumes of intermodal, automotive and general merchandise traffic.

Coal Network – The CSXT coal network connects the coal mining operations in the Appalachian mountain region and Illinois basin with industrial areas in the Southeast, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as many river, lake, and deep water port facilities. The domestic coal market has declined significantly over the last decade and export coal remains subject to volatility. CSXT’s coal network remains well positioned to supply utility markets in both the Northeast and Southeast and to transport coal shipments for export outside of the U.S. Most of the export coal the company transports is used for steelmaking, while the majority of domestic coal the company ships is used for electricity generation.

Locomotives

As of December 2023, CSXT owned or long-term leases more than 3,500 locomotives. From time to time, the company also short-term leases locomotives based on business needs. Freight locomotives are used primarily to pull trains while switching locomotives are used in yards. Auxiliary units are typically used to provide extra traction for heavy trains in hilly terrain. Of owned locomotives, approximately 68% were in active service as of December 31, 2023, and the remainder were in storage to be utilized as needed. Storing locomotives and equipment allows the company to quickly adjust its active fleet based on demand and other factors while avoiding delays due to supply limitations or excessive lead times to acquire additional equipment.

Equipment

The company owns or long-term leases rail equipment, including several types of freight cars and intermodal containers. Of total owned and long-term leased equipment, approximately 89% was in active service as of December 31, 2023, and the remainder were in storage to be utilized as needed.

The company’s revenue-generating equipment, either owned or long-term leased, primarily consists of freight cars and containers.

Gondolas – Support CSXT’s metals markets and provide transport for woodchips and other bulk commodities. Some gondolas are equipped with special hoods for protecting products like coil and sheet steel.

Multi-level flat cars – Transport finished automobiles and are differentiated by the number of levels: bi-levels for large vehicles such as pickup trucks and SUVs and tri-levels for sedans and smaller automobiles.

Covered hoppers – Have a permanent roof and are segregated based upon commodity density. Lighter bulk commodities such as grain, fertilizer, flour, salt, sugar, clay and lime are shipped in large cars called jumbo covered hoppers. Heavier commodities like cement, ground limestone and industrial sand are shipped in small cube covered hoppers.

Open-top hoppers – Transport heavy dry bulk commodities such as coal, coke, stone, sand, ores and gravel that are resistant to weather conditions.

Box cars – Include a variety of tonnages, sizes, door configurations and heights to accommodate a wide range of finished products, including paper, auto parts, appliances and building materials. Insulated box cars deliver food products, canned goods, beer and wine.

Flat cars – Used for shipping intermodal containers and trailers or bulk and finished goods, such as lumber, pipe, plywood, drywall and pulpwood.

Other cars – Primarily slab steel cars.

Containers – Weather-proof boxes used for bulk shipment of freight, primarily in intermodal service.

Competition

CSXT’s primary rail competitor is Norfolk Southern Railway, which operates throughout much of the company’s territory.

Regulatory Environment

The company's operations are subject to various federal, state, provincial (Canada) and local laws and regulations generally applicable to businesses operating in the United States and Canada. In the U.S., the railroad operations conducted by the company's subsidiaries, including CSXT, are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and its sister agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Together, FRA and PHMSA have broad jurisdiction over railroad operating standards and practices, including track, freight cars, locomotives and hazardous materials requirements. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulatory authority with respect to matters that impact the company's properties and operations. In Canada, the railroad operations conducted by the company’s subsidiaries, including CSXT, are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the Canadian Transportation Agency.

History

CSX Corporation was incorporated in 1978 under Virginia law.