Rail is critical to transporting our nation’s automotive supply chain. As the largest originating shipper of light vehicles in America, Norfolk Southern is preparing for sustained growth in electric vehicle (EV) production. This includes strategic adjustments to support the coming increase in transporting these auto parts and finished vehicles. A team of Norfolk Southern leaders recently visited its Great Lakes Division to home in on its automotive and intermodal customers’ supply chain needs.

Norfolk Southern operations near the City of Detroit.

In Great Lakes Division, Norfolk Southern ships finished vehicles and an array of auto parts to/from 19 markets on the East Coast. That is in addition to everything that traverses our network through to our western rail counterparts and markets.

Rail furthers EV sustainability
Rail can play a critical role in building on the emissions savings of EV’s. Compared to truck, shipping with Norfolk Southern saved 1,027,660 million metric tons of carbon emissions in Michigan last year – this equates to 813,422 trucks removed from the highway.

Infrastructure to support EV growth
Across markets over the last ten years, the Norfolk Southern Industrial Development team has helped its economic development partners in the region to attract new business and expand existing business. Many of the projects over the last decade have been linked to the automotive industry. 

To expand distribution of Dodge Durango’s, Norfolk Southern worked with Stellantis to expand railcar loading capacity for at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant. We are also supporting expanded vehicle production at their Mack Avenue Assembly Plant that manufactures the Jeep Grand Cherokee. And nearby, Norfolk Southern has collaborated with General Motors on rail infrastructure as the retrofit their “Factory Zero” Assembly Plant.

Opportunities for auto part delivery
Norfolk Southern is also preparing for an increase in intermodal traffic from manufactured auto parts. Key will be solidifying plans to upgrade, expand, and electrify the Livernois Intermodal Facility. In support, the 2023 Michigan Rail Enhancement Fund awarded the company $5 million. This is the first step in a multiphase project. The project could convert a rail yard that is currently a flat facility to a stacked operation. This includes new overhead gantry cranes, additional pad tracks, and paving to accommodate more intermodal containers. By stacking, Norfolk Southern will handle anticipated volume growth on a smaller footprint.