ATLANTA, – Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) Tuesday highlighted additional support from key customers and industry associations – including Hub Group, Inc., American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association, CONSOL Energy Inc., and others. Their strong backing underscores the company’s balanced strategy, driven by the decisive leadership of CEO Alan Shaw and guided by the Norfolk Southern board, is the best path to drive long-term value for shareholders and deliver reliable, resilient service.1rnrn”Hub Group continues to value its long-term partnership with Norfolk Southern that allows us collectively to deliver a cost-effective, environmentally sensitive intermodal service offering to shippers throughout the eastern United States. The commitment that you and your management team have made to maintaining consistently strong service levels is critical to our mutual success in converting over-the-road shipments to rail which is leading to significant growth. We appreciate that a sustained dedication to maintaining strong service levels is a key element of your strategic plan…We support you and your management team in the ongoing execution of your strategy.”rnrn- Phillip Yeager, President, CEO, and Vice ChairmanrnHub Group, Inc.rnrn”As a group we are focused on fostering long-term volume and revenue growth for the rail industry. To that end, we support strategies from our Class I partners, including the current Norfolk Southern strategy, dedicated to these same goals. We believe growth is most effectively achieved through a commitment to providing operating resilience and consistent customer service, and to do so over a full business cycle.”rnrn- Chuck Baker, President & CEOrnAmerican Short Line & Regional Railroad Associationrnrn”Arrowhead (now part of Waste Connections) has been [a] customer since 2019. During that time our annual freight volumes have increased thirty-fold, and we are looking to doubling that in the next twelve months. [The Norfolk Southern] team – from the CEO down to the local operating folks – have been extremely helpful and supportive these past five years. A large part of our success has come from their team and our partnership. Although we would never presume to tell your shareholders how to vote, and we will always remain a good NS customer, they should be aware that we would be concerned if the existing operating and marketing support changed.”rnrn- Bill Gay, Division Vice PresidentrnArrowhead Environmental Partners/Waste Connectionsrnrn”As one of the key logistics partners, I want to express my confidence and support for Norfolk Southern’s current management team headed by Alan Shaw. CONSOL has been a beneficiary of some of the operational and safety improvements made by Alan. This has allowed us to grow our export business and benefitted thousands of direct and indirect workers in Southwest PA, WV, and MD.”rnrn- Jimmy Brock, Chairman and CEOrnCONSOL Energy Inc.rnrn”HC Minerals (formerly Hi-Crush) unequivocally supports Alan Shaw and the rest of the NS management team, as well as the NS strategy.”rnrn- Will Barker, General Counsel and Chief Commercial OfficerrnHC Mineralsrnrn”Norfolk Southern has made significant service improvements following the implementation of their new operating strategy. Consistent and rateable manifest service is critical to the success of our processing business. It allows us to meet our customers’ needs and supports our growth initiatives. We support NS’s strategic vision for service improvements while maintaining a customer centric approach.”rnrn- Gordon Russell, Head of Grains & Oilseeds – USrnLouis Dreyfus Companyrnrn”The ‘new’ focus on smart expansion opportunities was truly refreshing and had been lost since 2008-2010. Since Covid – all departments have been focused on ‘the customer’ which is critical to success in any business. While I have never personally dealt with Mr. Shaw, I know that I can see and feel a very positive change that has been evident to me over the last few years. I truly did not think that a CEO or COO could impact the overall organization the size of NS – but the last 3 or so years something has changed. From what my NS contacts tell me, it comes down from the top. So based on this feedback, Mr. Shaw must be having this positive effect on the performance and attitude of the organization. – I have been a witness to it.”rnrn- Von Friesen, PrincipalrnStrategic Transload Services, LLCrnrn”One Earth Energy, LLC has been a customer of Norfolk Southern railroad for 15 years, prior to that, I was General Manager from 1990 to 2007 with Alliance Grain Co…Norfolk Southern’s enhanced service has enabled us at One Earth Energy to expand our rail business and invest in additional track space to accommodate our growth in production capacity along with rail shipments. I have full confidence in Alan Shaw and the entire management team of Norfolk Southern. Our Board of Directors believes Alan and his team have our best interest in mind and their approach will yield positive outcomes for both Norfolk Southern and customers like One Earth Energy. On behalf of my Board and myself we look forward to continuing [this] mutually beneficial relationship into the future.”rnrn- Steven Kelly, President & CEOrnOne Earth Energy, LLCrnrnNorfolk Southern Corporation shared statements from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Surface Transportation Board (STB) expressing support for Norfolk Southern’s leadership and strategy in driving improvements across safety, performance, and service.[1]rnrnIn a May 3rd letter from the DOT to President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Shaw, Allison Dane Camden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy, stated: “Norfolk Southern’s progress toward meeting key safety performance indicators is encouraging and demonstrates your leadership and the commitment of all of NS’s hard-working employees. We recognize the progress NS has made to-date towards attaining your own safety goals, as well as the goals we set for all Class I railroads…”rnrnThe DOT letter additionally acknowledged Norfolk Southern’s progress to enhance reliable service for its customers: “DOT is encouraged by Norfolk Southern’s efforts to improve the timeliness and fluidity of its network, particularly for time-sensitive goods. Your efforts align with the goals of the National Multimodal Freight Policy, including improving the reliability of freight transportation and reducing the adverse environmental impacts of freight movement.”rnrnSimilarly, Martin Oberman, STB Chairman, decried Ancora’s “viciously” waged attack on Norfolk Southern in a speech at the North American Rail Shippers 2024 Annual Meeting on May 1st. In his remarks, Oberman stated: “it is my responsibility to call out serious threats to the national rail network, and everything about Ancora’s campaign should cause serious concerns to all rail stakeholders.”rnrnFurther highlights of Oberman’s speech include:rn”I have read almost everything Ancora has said about its plans for NS. I find almost nothing in their plans about how they will obtain better service or actually grow their number of carloads.”rn”The STB’s oversight…has been to require the railroads to report on their progress in rebuilding their workforces and their service recovery plans. And no one has made more progress in building a resilient railroad than NS, so that it will be able to handle the growth in traffic as the economy returns, which is inevitable in the foreseeable future…”rnrn”To me, the best predictor of what a person will do in the future is what he has done in the past. So I think the fear of an Ancora takeover of the entire or even a majority of the NS board and the installation of Mr. Boychuk to take NS down to its studs is real. At a minimum, based on actual history with Mr. Boychuk’s approach, we at the STB and the industry at large would be foolish to assume there’s nothing to worry about.”rn”[Ancora’s plan] would leave the railroad with just over 13,000 employees, a level below its worst service performance in recent years. A level which would likely be catastrophic for our economy and all the stakeholders—including other railroads—who depend on NS.”rnrnThe clear support from regulators – in addition to an outpouring of support from our customers, unions and other key stakeholders – underscores the fact that Norfolk Southern has dramatically improved network performance, safety, and service. Ancora blatantly ignores these clear gains and wants to install a slate of directors with little to no safety experience, a CEO with no credibility with rail regulators, and a COO with a reputation for extreme cost-cutting measures and safety deterioration. This would unnecessarily risk unwinding the improvements Norfolk Southern has made and sparking further regulatory backlash to the detriment of shareholder value.rnrnNorfolk Southern Corporation shared recent support from multiple key customers, including Lincoln Energy Solutions and Centennial Energy, which underscore that the company’s balanced strategy under the decisive leadership of CEO Alan Shaw is taking hold and delivering a safer, more efficient railroad:1rnrnLincoln Energy Solutions CEO Larry Burgamy, Jr. stated: “As a growing partner, investor and shipper, Lincoln emphatically supports without question Alan Shaw, the Norfolk Southern management team and its strategies. Recent activist statements are disturbing and hold no merit to a disruptive suggestion of management change.”rnrnCentennial Energy President, Elise Maskell, stated: “Centennial Energy wants to reiterate our full support of Alan Shaw and the entire management team at Norfolk Southern. Your balanced strategy is what not only Centennial needs, but what all rail customers, shareholders and the US economy needs…Norfolk Southern needs to stay the course and have time to execute on your long-term vision to produce balanced results which will drive the company and their customers forward.”rnrnAssociated Asphalt Partners Director of Sales and Logistics, Daniel Moran, stated: “We at Associated Asphalt are in support of [Alan], your current management at Norfolk Southern and your strategy.”rnrnSmart Sand CEO and founder, Charles Young, stated: “Smart Sand is 100% behind the NS management team…we feel the NS management team has been excellent in building a sustainable large volume sand business to the Northeast and are looking forward to growing together in the future.”rnThese reactions from multiple key customers underscore a recent rail shipper survey conducted by Wall Street research firm Stephens Inc., which found customers overwhelmingly support Norfolk Southern’s strategy and are concerned about the negative effects of Ancora’s plan. Customer quotes from the survey include:2rnrn”We have seen solid improvement with NS service over the past two years, for both carload and intermodal. After reviewing the plan by the activist, I am convinced it is a short-term attempt to squeeze cash out of the NS network.”rnrn”NS has been doing a really nice job of balancing cost and service. If the activist moves forward, it will be bad for everyone except for a few profiteers.”rnrn”Short term cost cutting by the activists will result in a lower level of service.”rnThe strong support from customers reinforces that Norfolk Southern has the right team, the right strategy, and the right approach to safety and service, all of which is overseen by the right board of directors. Norfolk Southern’s board has been an agent of change and has guided transformational initiatives that are improving safety and operational performance. With positive momentum, Norfolk Southern is executing at full force to drive productivity across its network, close the margin gap with its peers, and deliver sustainable value to shareholders.rnrnIn contrast, Ancora’s demands for a wholesale overhaul of management and the board would impede this momentum, unnecessarily put Norfolk Southern and its stakeholders at risk, and ultimately destroy long-term value.rnrnAbout Norfolk SouthernrnSince 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid approximately 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and Norfolk Southern originates more automotive traffic than any other Class I Railroad. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S. It serves a majority of the country’s population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as major ports in the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com
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