Norfolk Southern Corporation

Norfolk Southern Corporation

NS headquarters building in Norfolk, Virginia
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: NSC Dow Jones Transportation Average component S&P 500 Component
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1980 (Incorporated); 1982 (Establishment)
Headquarters	Norfolk, Virginia, USA, United States
Area served	Eastern United States and Ontario
Key people	James A. Squires (CEO & President) Charles W. Moorman (Chairman)
Services	Freight trains
Revenue	US$ 11.245 billion (2013)[1] US$ 11.04 billion (2012)[1]
Operating income	US$ 3.257 billion (2013)[1] US$ 3.124 billion (2012)[1]
Net income	US$ 1.91 billion (2013)[1] US$ 1.749 billion (2012)[1]
Total assets	US$ 32.483 billion (2013)[2] US$ 30.342 billion (2012)[1]
Total equity	US$ 11.289 billion (2013)[2] US$ 9.76 billion (2012)[1]
Number of employees	30,943
Parent	None
Divisions	None
Subsidiaries	Norfolk Southern Railway (primary subsidiary)
Slogan	One line, infinite possibilities.
Website	www.nscorp.com

The Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) (also known as Norfolk Southern Corp or NS Corp) is a publicly traded stock corporation on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbols NSC based in Norfolk, Virginia. The company was incorporated in 1980 and was officially established in 1982. The company is the second business entity to use the "Norfolk Southern" name. It is the holding company for the Norfolk Southern Railway, a major Class I railroad that was established in 1894 as the Southern Railway.

The Norfolk Southern system was formed in 1982 which consisted of the Southern Railway and the Norfolk & Western Railway. On December 31, 1990, the Southern Railway was renamed "Norfolk Southern Railway" and in 1997 the Norfolk and Western was absorbed into the renamed Norfolk Southern Railway, ending the the existence of the Norfolk and Western Railway and having the renamed Norfolk Southern Railway becoming the only railroad in the entire Norfolk Southern system after that. In 1999, the system which is basically the renamed Norfolk Southern Railway, grew substantially with the acquisition of over half of Conrail.

The primary business function of the Norfolk Southern Corporation is the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods across the Southeast, East, and Midwest United States. The corporation further facilitates transport to the remainder of the United States through interchange with other rail carriers while also serving overseas transport needs by serving several Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. The company also is a major landowner and operates a marine terminal. The company's stock is a component of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Transportation Average stock market indices. The company's President and Chief Executive Officer is James A. Squires.

As of October 1, 2014, Norfolk Southern Corporation's total public stock value was slightly over $34.5 billion.

History

Beginning

The Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway teamed up and created a new railroad holding company called "Norfolk Southern Corporation". The Norfolk Southern Corporation was incorporated on July 23, 1980 in the Commonwealth of Virginia and was officially established in 1982 to control the Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway. The resulting new railroad holding company consisted of both the Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway merging its business operations together into one holding company.

The "Norfolk Southern" name came from an earlier railroad called the Norfolk Southern Railway. The new holding company now becomes the second business entity to the "Norfolk Southern" name; the "Norfolk Southern" name would later on be used more frequently by the newly renamed Norfolk Southern Railway (formerly the Southern Railway).

The newly created Norfolk Southern Corporation aimed to compete in the eastern United States with the CSX Corporation (its railroad network later transformed into the CSX Transportation) which was formed after the Interstate Commerce Commission's 1980 approval of the merger of the Chessie System and the Seaboard System.

After the merger, both the Southern and the Norfolk and Western continued as separate railroads but now under one holding company. The created holding company placed its headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.

Southern Railway becomes Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Corporation suffered a slight embarrassment when the marble headpiece at the building's entrance was unveiled, which read "Norfork Southern Railway". A new headpiece replaced the erroneous one several weeks later; the new headpiece read "Norfolk Southern Railway".^[3]

The Norfolk Southern Corporation used the name Norfolk Southern Railway as a promotional name for both the Southern Railway and the Norfolk and Western Railway from 1982 to December 31, 1990.

On December 31, 1990, the Norfolk Southern Corporation renamed the Southern Railway to "Norfolk Southern Railway”, making the railroad the third business entity to use the "Norfolk Southern" name. In the same year the holding company renamed the Southern Railway to "Norfolk Southern Railway" (1990), the holding company also transferred the Norfolk and Western Railway from themselves to their renamed Norfolk Southern Railway. This began the final seven years of existence for the Norfolk and Western.

The Merger Period

In 1996, the Norfolk Southern Corporation entered into a duopoly with the CSX Corporation to takeover the formerly government-owned Conrail. The CSX Corporation bid to buy Conrail and have it be absorbed into its railroad CSX Transportation. The Norfolk Southern Corporation has been attempting to purchase Conrail ever since the holding company was created which was back in 1982. Fearing that CSX would come to dominate rail traffic in the eastern U.S., Norfolk Southern responded with a bid of its own to purchase Conrail. This started a takeover battle between Norfolk Southern and CSX.

In 1997 during the Conrail battle with CSX, Norfolk Southern Corporation's principal railroad, the renamed Norfolk Southern Railway, finally absorbed the Norfolk and Western Railway, ending the existence of the Norfolk and Western Railway.

On June 23, 1997, Norfolk Southern and CSX filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for authority to purchase, divide, and operate the assets of Conrail. On June 6, 1998, the STB approved the NS-CSX application, effective August 22, 1998. The process though wasn't completed until 1999.

In 1999, the Conrail takeover between Norfolk Southern and CSX was complete, the result was Norfolk Southern acquired over half of Conrail which was 58% while CSX got the remaining 42%. Norfolk Southern gained about 7,200 miles (11,600 km) of track, most of which was part of the former Pennsylvania Railroad. Norfolk Southern began operating its trains on its portion of the former Conrail network on June 1, 1999, closing out the 1990s merger era.

Canadian Pacific debacle

On November 17, 2015, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited announced an offer to purchase all outstanding shares of Norfolk Southern Corporation, at a price in excess of the US$26 Billion capitalization of the US based railway corporation.^[4] If completed, the merger would form the largest single railroad network in North America, reaching from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast to the Gulf Coast.^[4]

On December 4, 2015, Norfolk Southern Corporation rejected Canadian Pacific Railway Limited's offer, but CP replied that it was "committed" to a merger with NS.^[5]

Aftermath of Canadian Pacific debacle

In 2016, Norfolk Southern Corporation combined Norfolk Southern Railway's Virginia and Pocahontas Divisions into the "new" Pocahontas Division, with division headquarters being established in Roanoke, Virginia. In a related move, streamlined operations on its "West Virginia Secondary” in response to a decline of traffic on the route, which connects central West Virginia to Columbus, Ohio.^[6]

On January 27, 2016, Norfolk Southern Corporation announced that as part of its restructuring plans, the Norfolk Southern Railway would cut 2,000 jobs, with around 1,200 eliminated in 2016, and the rest by 2020. Norfolk Southern also announced it would trim 1,500 miles of track, reduce overhead costs, and upgrade its locomotive fleet.^[7]

Subsidiaries

Current Subsidiaries

Subsidiaries of Norfolk Southern Corporations (more than 50% owned and controlled)^[8]

Former Subsidiaries

• Norfolk and Western Railway (merged into Norfolk Southern Railway in 1997)

Company officers

CEO and President positions represent both the holding company and railroad subsidiary. CEO's and Presidents of Norfolk Southern have included:

• Robert B. Claytor, CEO: 1982–1987
• Arnold B. McKinnon, CEO and President: 1987–1992
• David R. Goode:
  • CEO: 1992–2005
  • President: 1991–2004
• Charles "Wick" Moorman:
  • CEO: 2005–2015
  • President: 2004–2013
• James A. Squires:^[9]
  • CEO: June 2015–present
  • President: June 1, 2013–present

Television commercials

The television commercials represent both the holding company and railroad subsidiary. On September 3, 2007, NS launched new television ads featuring a family of gas cans cross country trekking to meet a NS train; it is a message on NS' role to reduced congestion on highways called "Lonely Gallon". It also features the song "You Don't Need Me" performed by Ravi Krishnaswami of New York and Steve Kolander of Atlanta. The song was created specially for NS. It was filmed in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.^[10] In May 2013, NS rocked National Train Day by premiering a new ad series, using music adapted from ABC's "Conjunction Junction" School House Rock program.^[11][12] The video shows an overhead view of Inman Rail Yard in Atlanta. NS's commercials can often be seen on channels such as CNN several times throughout the day.

Awards and recognition

Awards and recognition represent both the holding company and railroad subsidiary. From 1989 to 2012, NS won the Gold (first-place) E.H. Harriman Award in Group A (line-haul railroads whose employees worked 15 million employee-hours or more) every single year.^[13] The award, which recognized the railroads with the lowest casualty rates per 200,000 employee-hours, was discontinued in 2012.^[14]

In January 2011, NS Chairman and CEO Wick Moorman was named Railroader of the Year by Railway Age magazine.^[15]

References

External links

• Company homepage