CSX has announced its customers invested nearly $9.5 billion in 114 new or expanded facilities in 2016. These facilities are to be located on the company’s rail network or connecting short lines and are expected to generate approximately 8,100 new jobs in areas served by CSX.
Derrick Smith, CSX vice president strategic business development, stated, “The substantial capital investments announced by our customers last year included a new automotive plant and an ethane cracker facility to further leverage abundant domestic natural gas supplies.”
“We also saw strong activity that generated other energy projects as well as facility construction or expansion to support agriculture and intermodal markets,” added Smith. “These projects rely heavily on the teamwork among CSX and the local, county and state economic development professionals who ensure these projects are completed successfully. We thank them for that collaboration.”
Once these facilities are fully operational, they are projected to generate more than 136,000 new annual carloads for CSX. More than 100 customer facilities on CSX began operations in 2016.
Since 2000, CSX customers have invested more than $51 billion in rail-served facilities. CSX’s Select Site program supports rail-oriented industrial development by pre-certifying properties that are suitable for manufacturing use.