The critical importance of the railroad industry to the U.S. economy was highlighted in September, 2022, when a breakdown in contract negotiations with the rail labor unions prompted intervention from Congress. And that should come as no surprise, given that the railroads move about 40% of U.S. freight U.S. that travels more than 500 miles, says Joseph R. Hinrichs, president & chief executive officer of CSX. In light of this and other developments, including a push toward greener freight, how is the U.S. railroad industry evolving?

“The state of the industry is in flux,” Hinrichs says. “We're working hard to improve our service. But we’re also very focused on safety.” He acknowledges that the train crash in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, 2023 has kept rail safety in the news. Rail remains a great deal safer than road freight, though, with about 94% of hazardous material spills due to trucking, and just 4% to rail, Hinrichs points out. “You don't want a lot of these materials in trucks, next to cars and congested areas around cities,” he adds.

At the same time, he’s careful to note the impact on the East Palestine community of that particular accident, and says CSX is working “very hard” to prevent future such incidents.

Rail is perfectly positioned to offer shippers freight movement with a smaller carbon footprint than road, Hinrichs says. “Railroads are about four to five times more fuel-efficient moving good than trucking. So one of the most important things we can do as a railroad industry to help the environment is have more capacity, and provide better service to our customers, so that more people want to move things via rail versus truck.”