Among Northeastern states, Pennsylvania is
not one where CSX has a particularly large
footprint. CSX's primary strengths are in the
corners � Erie (NW), Pittsburgh (SW) and
Philadelphia (NE). But we also have a toehold
in the central section, in Chambersburg,
Franklin County, Pa. And thanks to an active
short line partner, that presence has recently
expanded.
For almost 10 years, the PSCC has been
providing freight service to the 200-acre
Cumberland Valley Business Park in
Chambersburg. This includes numerous
rail-served warehouses, paved transloading
locations, equipment ramps and hundreds
of available railcar storage spots. The largest
customer is the U.S. Department of Defense
- Letterkenny Army Depot. In 2007, the
PSCC was awarded one of the CSX Short
Line Growth Awards.
This spring, the PSCC expanded its
operation with CSX through a long-term
lease of about five miles of unused former
mainline track. The lease also included
the CSX interchange tracks, which PSCC
immediately began to upgrade at its own
expense. More than 2,000 ties were installed,
rails were replaced, new ballast was dropped
and switch and grade crossing renewals
performed, at a cost approaching $400,000.
The immediate result was expanded
interchange capacity, enabling CSX and
PSCC to interchange 80-car trains without
breaking them into pieces. This helped the
existing military and private car storage
business but also allowed the PSCC to
secure a new unit train pipe move. With
convenient access to Interstates 81, 76 and
70, the short line also improved its future
position in the marketplace to handle more
merchandise business as well as unit trains
of wind energy components, drilling sand or
waste, the latter destined to nearby existing
landfills.
The Pennsylvania & Southern is continually
pushing and pulling, working every option
it has, and even some it wishes it had, to
grow its carload volume. Since the PSCC
connects only with CSX, every new revenue
load the short line generates also helps CSX
grow.
Pennsylvania & Southern Railway
(PSCC) � Chambersburg, Pa.
The Pennsylvania & Southern is not a short line
content to rest on its laurels.
Southeast short line volumes have held
steady over the first half of 2012. Volumes
are up 3%, or 3,544 carloads, compared to
the same time last year. This is significant
since Southeast volumes have suffered over
the past few years while the construction
and housing markets were in a slump.
There is a strong correlation between the
construction and housing markets and the
Southeast growth trends.
Paper & Forest, Chemicals & Fertilizer and
Metals markets are driving the carload
growth in this region. Pulpboard, panel
products, wood pulp, scrap metals, pipe
and plastic pellets are particularly strong.
For example, pipe shipments with the Port
Bienville Railroad (PBVR) have increased
significantly in 2012. The PBVR transports
pipe for PSL North America, and this traffic
is driven by project work. Pipe shipments on
the PBVR are up to 534 carloads in 2012,
as compared to six carloads in 2011, when
there were fewer pipe projects.
We are also seeing stellar performance with
switching roads. Volumes are up 13% versus
last year. The strength in our switching
volumes is driven by wood pellets and export
coal through the ports in the Southeast.
Wood pellets continue to be an active market
of growth opportunities with our short line
partners.
Overall, coal has been a weak market with
our short line partners in 2012; however,
the impact hasn't been as dire in the
Southeast. A good example is The Hampton
and Branchville Railroad (HB). The HB
transports coal to South Carolina Electric
and Gas, and their coal business is up 44%
as compared to the first half of 2011. These
are encouraging results in a year when coal
volumes are declining.
Continuing to grow our business with short
line partners is very important to CSX.
However, we need the short lines' help in
sustaining and improving carload volume
growth. This year, one of our main goals is
to increase the number of joint sales calls
with our short lines to identify new business
opportunities and to present a unified
railroad message to our joint line customers.
Let us know if there are joint sales call
opportunities on your roads and we will
work with you to coordinate visits to your
customers' facilities. Together, we can carry
the message that two railroads are better
than one.
Volumes Rebound with Short Lines in the Southeast
The short lines in the Southeast have done an outstanding
job of working with their customers and CSX to cultivate
business over the past year.
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CSX Interchange
CSX CommeRCiaL meTRiCS
as of July 27, 2012
2012 Carload Change
Carload
Volume
Change
from 2011
agricultural Products
237,599
(13,108)
automotive
241,518
45,870
Chemicals
273,456
1,674
Coal, Coke & iron ore
753,633
(123,921)
emerging markets
228,535
(18,287)
Food & Consumer
57,573
(1,815)
intermodal
1,413,575
109,563
metals
156,695
2,145
Forest Products
166,207
4,368
Phosphates
184,040
(3,594)
Sum:
3,712,831
2,895
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