Norfolk Southern industrial development efforts boost 62 projects in 2023

ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern partnered with 62 customers to complete industrial development projects worth $3.1 billion last year, the railroad said.

“Norfolk Southern worked with customers and economic development partners to facilitate broad-based industrial development in 2023 and set the stage for growth in 2024,” NS Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins said in a statement today. “Our 2023 project list, and 2024 pipeline, reflect our ability to serve a diverse customer portfolio with our expanding supply chain offerings. We’re making further productivity enhancements — demonstrating to our existing and prospective customers that Norfolk Southern is a safe, reliable, and efficient railroad, and a partner for growth.”

Scout Motors tapped the railroad’s industrial development and automotive logistics expertise in 2023, as the company announced it will invest $2 billion in Richland County, South Carolina, for a new electric vehicle automotive manufacturing facility.

“Scout Motors is planning a state-of-the-art production facility in South Carolina that brings together cutting-edge automotive manufacturing technology and logistics operations,” Cody Thacker, vice president of growth at Scout Motors, said in a statement. “Norfolk Southern is an important link in the supply chain for Scout Motors that served as a valuable early planning partner and collaborator. Incorporating inbound and outbound rail service will allow Scout Motors to sustainably handle rapid production growth, to remain sensitive to the communities surrounding the plant, and to deliver hundreds of thousands of Scout trucks and SUVs to consumers across America.”

Other electric vehicle manufacturing activity located along NS or partner short lines last year:

• General Motors and Samsung SDI will invest more than $3 billion in New Carlisle, Ind., to build a battery cell plant.
• Albemarle will invest $1.3 billion in Chester County, South Carolina, for a lithium hydroxide Mega-Flex facility.
• Ford is investing in a lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Marshall, Mich.

Other new projects include those in metals and construction and agriculture. For example, Anchor Ingredients, announced the company would invest $40 million in Richmond, Ind., for a new pet food ingredient facility in 2023, NS said.

Norfolk Southern also provided industrial development support to the following companies that began or increased their rail service in 2023:

• Pure Cycle, as the company invests $363 million in Lawrence County, Ohio for a new polypropylene recycling plant.
• Idaho Forest Group, LLC., as the company invests $120 million in Lamar County, Mississippi for a new lumber mill.
• International Paper, as the company invests $100 million in Chester County, Pennsylvania for a new corrugated packaging plant.
• Church & Dwight, as the company invests $50 million in Seneca County, Ohio for an expansion to their current cat litter production plant.
• Jasper Forest Products, as the company invests $45 million in Walker County, Alabama, to expand a lumber facility.
• Hollingshead Cement, a materials division of SRM Concrete, as the company invests $9.5 million in Delaware County, Indiana for a new cement distribution terminal.
• Home Depot, as the company invests $8.5 million in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina for a new rail-served lumber distribution facility.

Norfolk Southern also furthered other strategic real estate investments and public-private partnerships in 2023. In Norfolk, Virginia, stakeholders broke ground on Fairwinds Landing in June. With the announcement of Dominion Energy Inc. as a flagship tenant and a $39.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation this year, the lease agreement Norfolk Southern entered into with Fairwinds Landing, LLC will create a world-class maritime operations and logistics center that supports the offshore wind, defense, and transportation industries.

Also in June, NS sold 16.7 acres to Colonial Terminals for the development of breakbulk infrastructure along the Savannah River in Georgia. The new facility will be directly served by Norfolk Southern and will allow more than a million tons of throughput. The facility will also support the development of a new wide-span berth to move steel, paper, and other forest products. And it will be capable of handling any general breakbulk cargo.

In 2023, Norfolk Southern also added 41 new rail-served industrial development sites that are now featured on its customizable search database, NSites.