Norfolk Southern Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins recently updated investors on our 2024 outlook and growth opportunities. During the fourth quarter and full-year 2023 financial update, Elkins previewed the company’s pipeline, which includes strong opportunities with both new and existing customers. Below, please find expanded insights regarding Norfolk Southern’s 2024 pipeline. The pipeline reflects our strategy in action and our customers’ confidence in our ability to execute. 

Optimizing peak package levels and increasing rail capacity for FedEx

In February of 2023, our team met with leaders of FedEx Ground with the intent to enhance Norfolk Southern’s service for their transportation network. We listened to their business forecasts and made strategic adjustments that we knew would set us up to better serve this valued customer. Because Norfolk Southern provided consistent, reliable service for FedEx Ground leading up to Peak Season, FedEx Ground was able to optimize peak package levels and increase rail capacity. Maintaining this level of consistency, we are forecasting this momentum will continue and FedEx Ground volume is projected for continued growth this calendar year.

“Our customer-centric approach for FedEx Ground reflects our approach with each Norfolk Southern customer,” said Elkins. “It will continue to drive our business forward.”

Launching first carload with brand-new customer, PureCycle

Norfolk Southern also provided business development support to PureCycle in 2023, and we will soon launch our first carload with this brand-new customer. The company makes Ultra-Pure Recycled (UPR) resin from polypropylene plastic waste for commercial scale. Once fully operational, the Ironton, Ohio facility is projected to have an annual production capacity of 107 million pounds of UPR resin – aiming to significantly reduce global plastic waste. As the most sustainable transportation solution, shipping by rail will further help PureCycle reach their own emission targets, and we are excited to launch our business together.

Generating $3.1 billion in customer investment and more than 4,150 new jobs

“We are laser-focused on making strategic investments that generate smart, sustainable growth,” continued Elkins. “As we look to 2024, we are encouraged by the robust pipeline of customers looking to expand or locate facilities along our lines.”

Norfolk Southern partnered with 62 customers to facilitate the completion of strategic industrial development projects in 2023. Collectively, these projects represent $3.1 billion in customer investment and the creation of more than 4,150 new jobs along Norfolk Southern lines. For example, Scout Motors tapped Norfolk Southern's industrial development and automotive logistics expertise in 2023, as the company announced it will invest $2 billion in Richland County, South Carolina, for a new electric vehicle automotive manufacturing facility. The following electric vehicle activity also located along Norfolk Southern lines, or with a short line partner, in 2023:

1. General Motors and Samsung SDI, as the companies invest more than $3 billion in New Carlisle, Indiana to build an EV battery cell plant.
2. Albemarle, as the company invests $1.3 billion in Chester County, South Carolina for a lithium hydroxide Mega-Flex facility.
3. Ford, as the company makes a significant investment in Marshall, Michigan, using knowledge and services from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), to build lithium iron phosphate batteries.

And, in January 2024, a planned joint venture between Accelera, Daimler Truck, and PACCAR selected a site in Marshall, Mississippi to create advance battery cell technology that supports the adoption of electric vehicles for medium- and heavy-duty commercial transportation. The facility will be located on a portion of the Chickasaw Trails Industrial Park Megasite, with proximity to a Norfolk Southern rail line and our Rossville Intermodal Facility. Norfolk Southern has worked for years alongside economic development partners in the region to prime the megasite.