JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX is a better, faster and more capable company than it was even one year ago, Michael Ward, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer wrote to investors in the 2012 Annual Report delivered this week.
Last year the company successfully withstood a significant drop in its coal business by making quick adjustments in its operations and focusing on the mainstays of safety, service and productivity.
“Experience has shown that when CSX does those things well, we can turn good conditions into great results, or bad conditions into better results,” Ward said, noting that employees led the major U.S. freight railroads in safety last year, drove customer satisfaction levels to all-time highs and delivered productivity savings of nearly $200 million.
Looking forward, the company believes that its key businesses other than coal will outpace the slow, steady growth that is expected in the economy in 2013, Ward said, and there is little reason the economy cannot gain momentum if Congress is able to pass more meaningful legislation to improve the long-term fiscal outlook and restore confidence.
“Our customers across many industries believe that America is primed for real recovery, and so do we,” Ward said.
