NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. participated in the location of 80 new industries and the expansion of 35 existing industries along its rail lines throughout 2008.
New plants and expansions represented an investment of more than $2.2 billion by Norfolk Southern customers and are expected to create 3,623 jobs in the railroad’s territory and eventually generate more than 136,000 carloads of new rail traffic annually. Norfolk Southern assisted state and local government and economic development officials throughout 20 states in helping customers identify ideal locations for new and expanded facilities.
“Renewable energy projects led the way across our service area in 2008,” said Newell Baker, assistant vice president industrial development. “Our group was able to assist in the location of 19 ethanol and bio-diesel production and distribution facilities across 10 states. In addition, we completed eight projects with stone producers and electric utilities to facilitate rail shipment of high-calcium limestone for use in ‘scrubbing’ power plant air emissions to reduce atmospheric sulfur dioxide and meet future clean air standards.”
Other projects supported include automobile assembly; coke production; lumber, aggregate, paper, and grain distribution; plastic products production; steel processing; and solid waste disposal.
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 industrial park planning, site layout, track design, and logistics assistance.
During the past 10 years, Norfolk Southern’s Industrial Development Department has participated in the location or expansion of 1,115 facilities, representing an investment of $23.6 billion and creating nearly 55,000 customer jobs in the territory served by the railroad.
— PRNewswire-FirstCall
