NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Corp. participated in the location of 64 new industries and the expansion of 30 existing industries along its rail lines in 2012.
New plants and expansions announced in 2012 represented an investment of $2.1 billion by Norfolk Southern customers and are expected to create more than 6,100 jobs in the railroad’s territory, in future years potentially generating more than 141,000 carloads of new rail traffic annually.
Norfolk Southern assisted state and local government and economic development officials throughout 19 states in helping customers identify ideal locations for new and expanded facilities.
“Our 2012 results were once again anchored by the energy sector,” said Newell Baker, assistant vice president industrial development. “Norfolk Southern assisted in the location or expansion of 32 energy-related facilities in 14 states across our service area. Marcellus and Utica Shale gas exploration projects continued to play an important role, along with coal, and power generating equipment. We were excited to see the first shipments of Bakken Crude delivered to east coast refineries in 2012, and we expect this subsector to grow significantly in 2013. In addition, the continued rebound in the metals and automotive markets during 2012 played an important role for us and for our service area.”
The balance of other projects secured during 2012 was distributed among several of the broad product areas Norfolk Southern serves.
