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Coal no longer on top: Intermodal revenue surpasses coal at Norfolk Southern
Listen to this articleAfter years of steady growth, its intermodal business surpassed slumping coal last year for the larger share of revenue at the Virginia-based railroad company, according to its annual report.
Norfolk Southern has been heavily investing in intermodal in Central Pennsylvania, especially in the Harrisburg area with a $60 million investment in its Rutherford terminal.
Intermodal is the combination of moving containerized freight by ship, rail and truck.
In 2013, coal accounted for more than $2.5 billion of company revenue for Virginia-based Norfolk Southern Corp., while intermodal finished at nearly $2.4 billion. Last year, those numbers flipped, with intermodal nearly reaching $2.6 billion.
The railroad giant handled 3.8 million intermodal units last year compared with 3.6 million in 2013.
General merchandise accounted for nearly $6.7 billion of the company’s $11.6 billion total, which was up from $11.2 billion in 2013.
Within general merchandise, chemicals is the biggest chunk of revenue. Chemicals totaled about $1.9 billion last year, according to Norfolk Southern.
Coal revenue at Norfolk Southern dipped by nearly $500 million over the last two years. The company is expecting a continued revenue decline in coal this year because of lower fuel surcharges and decreased volumes.
Intermodal revenue is again expected to increase due to stronger volumes, the company said in the report.
Norfolk Southern, which operates about 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, trades its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NSC.
