Received the following via email.
Intermodal Investment Strategy Continues to Drive Growth for
CSX
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - November 6, 2013 - Fredrik Eliasson, CSX (NYSE:
CSX) executive vice president and chief financial officer, discussed the
company's recent financial performance today at the Baird Industrials Conference
in Chicago, Ill. Eliasson reiterated expectations for 2013 earnings per share
growth that will be slightly up from last year despite continued headwinds in
both the export and domestic coal markets.
"The CSX team continues to
overcome significant headwinds as the energy markets evolve in favor of natural
gas and away from coal," said Eliasson said. "During this transition, we have
still been able to generate earnings per share growth and value for shareholders
as we quickly adapt to market changes and carefully manage the things we can
control the most. We are confident that CSX will emerge an even stronger, more
vibrant company as the operating environment stabilizes and the economy
improves."
Eliasson highlighted the sustained growth in CSX's merchandise
and intermodal businesses, which now comprises more than 80 percent of the
company's volume. The company expects that business to continue growing at a
rate above the general economy. Intermodal, a key driver of growth, now
represents 40 percent of overall volume and is expected to increase further,
reflecting the attractive economic value of converting freight from highway to
rail.
CSX employs a dual intermodal strategy that includes both
high-density corridors and a hub-and-spoke philosophy that also creates service
density to open new small and medium-sized markets - a strategy the company
believes is a differentiator in the intermodal marketplace. CSX also recently
completed the first phase of double-stack clearances in its National Gateway
initiative, which will create a more efficient rail route to link Mid-Atlantic
ports with Midwestern markets. When the National Gateway is complete in 2015,
the percentage of the company's intermodal traffic moving in double-stack lanes
will be in the mid-90s.
To prepare for long-term growth, the company is
building new terminals to expand its reach in markets such as central Florida,
Pittsburgh and Montreal. In addition, the company continues to invest in
existing terminals to further increase efficiency throughout its network, such
as an expansion of its state-of-the-art Northwest Ohio hub, which opened in 2011
and has helped alleviate historic congestion in Chicago while opening up
connectivity to markets in the Midwest.
Underscoring expectations for
growth, Eliasson reaffirmed the company's long-term guidance for earnings per
share, which are expected to grow over a two year period at an average rate of
10 to 15 percent through 2015 off the 2013 base, although that is more
challenging in the near term given the coal environment. The company remains
focused on sustaining an operating ratio in the high-60s by 2015, and the
mid-60s longer-term.
About CSX
CSX, based in Jacksonville, Florida, is
a premier transportation company. It provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck
transload services and solutions to customers across a broad array of markets,
including energy, industrial, construction, agricultural, and consumer products.
For more than 185 years, CSX has played a critical role in the nation's economic
expansion and industrial development. Its network connects every major
metropolitan area in the eastern United States, where nearly two-thirds of the
nation's population resides. It also links more than 240 short-line railroads
and more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports with major population centers and
small farming towns alike. More information about CSX Corporation and its
subsidiaries is available at www.csx.com. Like
us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/OfficialCSX)
and follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/CSX).
Contacts:
David
Baggs, Investor Relations
904-359-4812
Melanie Cost, Corporate
Communications
904-359-1702