CSX Corp.

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

Rail giant CSX is the product of a 1980 merger between Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line. Since then, the company has expanded its operations into other related industries, such as natural gas communications (rail lines are popular rights-of-way for telecom lines). CSX's major business unit, CSX Transportation, is the third-largest railroad operator in the United States and the largest in the eastern section of the country. In 1998 the company bought 42 percent of Conrail, the East Coast rail giant, giving it control of more than 22,000 miles of track.

Tied the battle, losing the war

CSX fought a hard battle for control of Conrail. While it emerged with a sizeable chunk of the Philadelphia-New York corridor (which Conrail had controlled), it failed to gain a majority of the company's holdings -- 58 percent was acquired by Norfolk Southern. And in 1997, while deep in the fight for Conrail, CSX announced that it had lost money for the first time in four years. Still, the new Conrail routes position CSX as an even stronger player in the transportation industry. CSX already owns the country's largest barge transportation service (American Commercial Lines) and a prominent container-shipping and logistics company (Sea-Land Service). It even operates two resorts: West Virginia's Greenbrier and Wyoming's Teton Lodge.

Why poach 'em when you can buy 'em?

CSX is also hoping the Conrail employees it lured away with promises of top management spots can improve performance; indeed, former Conrail executives now control the daily rail and labor-relations units of CSX. A former Conrail exec also runs CSX's intermodal transport business, which transports truck trailers and marine shipping containers, an industry seen as an important competitive battleground for the future.

A slimmer, healthier CSX

Once one of the largest shippers of coal and other low-speed or bulky cargo, CSX wants to become a high-speed, just-in-time transportation company more akin to trucking companies. In December 1999, its Sea-Land Service sold its international liner and terminal businesses to the Danish shipping giant Maersk for $800 million. That same month it unveiled its new terminal business, CSX World Terminals, which is structured to help the company improve its high-speed intermodal capabilities. And in a further attempt to slough off less relevant holdings, in September 2000 it sold its CTI Logistx, which provided custom logistics solutions, to TNT Post Group for $650 million. Then in May 2001, it announced a deal with Canada Northern to link up their intermodal services, a deal that allows freight to move from Vancouver to New York in just five days. And in April 2002, it began offering Sea-Pay, a system that allows clients to manage their accounts online.

Back on track

Thanks to an increased demand for coal and a decline in truck shipping, analysts see CSX poised for long-term growth. In preparation for a renewed burst in rail shipping, in Early 2002 CSX announced a series of multimillion-dollar rehab efforts on its tracks in 13 states from Florida to Illinois.