Norfolk Southern

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman spoke with Chris Jahn, President & Chief Executive Officer, at the Washington, D.C.-based American Chemistry Council (ACC). Topics covered included: the proposed Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger; railroad service and pricing; and the regulatory environment, among others.

LM Group News Editor spoke with Larry Gross, President of Gross Transportation Consulting, on the state of the intermodal market.

Earlier this month, activist investor Ancora Holdings LLC penned a letter to the Board of Directors at Jacksonville-based Class I railroad carrier CSX, in which it stated that CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs has put the company in the position of having to play “catch up,” following the recently-announced merger between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS).

While leadership at Class I railroad carriers Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) touted the benefits of this week’s announcement, coming to terms on an $85 billion deal in which UP will acquire NS—to create the nation’s  first transcontinental railroad that will connect more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast and connect around 100 ports as well—feedback from various shipper groups has been less than receptive to the deal.

Following a heavy amount of speculation that Omaha-based Union Pacific (UP) was taking steps to acquire Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern (NS), in first Class I railroad merger since the April 2023 deal, in which Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern for $31 billion, that was subsequently respectively confirmed by the companies in recent days, UP and NS announced today that they have come to terms on an agreement for a deal.

A Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, noted an agreement could be reached as soon as this week, adding, if the deal came to fruition, it would represent the largest railroad deal on record.

As Hurricane Milton reached landfall last night in various parts of coastal Florida, safety is paramount for everyone, of course. That said, Logistics Management has provided an overview below of what is happening with various freight transportation carriers, providers and ports. The statements below are directly from company websites to keep you informed in a brief and concise manner. Please be careful out there for the next few days.

The company announced yesterday that its Board of Directors unanimously appointed NS Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark R. George as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, adding that George will also join the NS Board.

The company said it will invest more than $200 Million into the 3B Corridor, which it said connects markets in northern and central Alabama to the Port of Mobile, as well as global destinations. And it added that this investment helps to position NS to be equipped to handle expected growth across various Southeastern sectors.

Facing questions about its leadership in advance of its Annual Meeting of Shareholders today, due to a proxy bout and attempted management takeover by activist investor Ancora Alternatives LLC, Atlanta-based Class I railroad carrier Norfolk Southern is likely breathing a collective sigh of relief today.

Battle lines continue to be drawn in the proxy bout and attempted management takeover of Atlanta-based Class I railroad carrier Norfolk Southern by activist investor Ancora Holdings LLC.

NS officials said that should this agreement be approved by the court, it will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment.

At this point, anyone who has seen Martin J. Oberman, Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), a Washington, D.C.-based independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, speak at a freight railroad conference, knows he is not holding anything back. That again was the case, when he gave a keynote speech at last week’s Southeastern Association of Rail Shippers (SEARS) 2024 Spring Meeting in Atlanta.

As February 3 marked the one-year anniversary of the derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train, transporting hazardous materials, on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation took the opportunity to make the case for Congress to sign off on the Railway Safety Act, which was approved by the committee in May 2023 and now continues to await Senate approval.

CN and NS officials said that this new service will provide customers with an integrated, market-competitive, and efficient all-rail service. And they added that this service will connect CN-served Canadian markets with Norfolk Southern-served Kansas City and Atlanta, which they referred to as the heart of the fast-growing manufacturing and consumer base in the Southeastern U.S.