CSX recognized as industry service leader

CSX was named the recipient of the inaugural W.F. Thompson Award for Class I Operating Performance for 2023, highlighting CSX’s success in driving its growth strategy by leveraging strong operational execution. The award, presented by the analyst firm, Loop Capital, is designed to recognize the Class I railroad with the best operational performance in a calendar year.

“By any measure, CSX had a strong year in 2023,” said Rick Paterson, managing director of Loop Capital, in his final 2023 weekly report on rail operational and service trends. “[CSX] was the first of the four U.S. Class I railroads to recover from the 2022 Service Crisis, by a wide margin, and quickly locked in strong and remarkably consistent operating performance over the course of the year.”

Paterson highlighted that CSX's average network train velocity last year was its highest ever recorded, demonstrating minimal week-to-week volatility. He further noted that CSX reduced terminal dwell in 2023, ending the year with an average dwell that ranks third best in the company’s history.

The high velocity and reduced dwell significantly contributed to the consistent on-time delivery of customers' freight.

CSX has continued to perform at a high level in 2024, recording an average train velocity of 19.3 miles per hour across the system in the first week, a 5% improvement compared to the first week of 2023.

Mike Cory, CSX executive vice president and chief operating officer, attributed the railroad’s consistent service excellence to a robust operating model that strives for excellence in safety, service and efficiency, which can only be truly achieved through the strengthening ONE CSX culture that underpins and enables the company’s performance.

“The CSX railroading model has been pivotal for service improvement, and our ONE CSX transformation of the railroad culture is taking hold and driving us to new levels of performance,” Cory said. "As we navigate past pandemic-induced supply chain challenges, I am confident that our culture of collaboration will help us further improve our performance metrics in 2024."

Cory emphasized that the company's strong service performance is integral to its strategy of business growth, which involves converting shipments from truck to rail and attracting new customer facilities to rail-served properties.