(Norfolk Southern issued the following news release on February 26.)
NORFOLK, Va., — Norfolk Southern Corporation participated in the location of 69 new industries and provided support for the expansion of 20 additional industries along its rail lines in 2003.
The new plants and expansions represent an investment of $1.5 billion by Norfolk Southern customers and are expected to create an estimated 7,200 jobs in the railroad’s territory and eventually to generate more than 85,000 carloads of new rail traffic annually.
The largest project coming on line last year was an automobile assembly plant at Lincoln, Ala., for Honda Manufacturing of Alabama L.L.C. Honda will complete a second assembly plant at the same location this year, with a total investment of more than $1 billion.
Other industries locating on NS lines during 2003 included TDS Automotive, an auto parts distribution warehouse in Chesapeake, Va.; Collier Metals LLC, a steel service center in Atlanta, and ConAgra Foods Inc., a temperature- controlled distribution warehouse in Emigsville, Pa.
“Warehouse and distribution projects led the way in 2003,” said Larry Collingwood, assistant vice president industrial development. “Nearly 40 percent of new and expanded industries were involved in distribution of products such as lumber, cement, steel, plastics, food, paper, chemicals, aggregates and auto parts.”
During the past 10 years, Norfolk Southern’s industrial development department has participated in the location or expansion of 1,144 industries, which invested $24.5 billion and created more than 60,000 jobs in the territory served by the railroad.
Norfolk Southern works with state and local economic development authorities on projects involving site location and development of infrastructure to connect customers to its rail system and provides free and confidential plant location services, including site layout, engineering and logistics assistance. Offices are located in Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbia, S.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Harrisburg, Pa.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Norfolk; Philadelphia; Raleigh, N.C.; Roanoke, Va., and St. Louis.
Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation’s premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates 21,500 route miles in 22 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, serving every major container port in the eastern United States and providing superior connections to western rail carriers. NS operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is the nation’s largest rail carrier of automotive parts and finished vehicles.