Railroad News

Kansas City Southern yesterday announced that Brian Hancock has been appointed executive vice president and chief marketing officer. He will report to KCS President Patrick Ottensmeyer.

Most recently, Hancock was senior vice president of supply chain for Family Dollar Stores Inc. His experience also includes roles as vice president-global supply chain for Whirlpool Corp., where he led the development of a multimodal, worldwide logistics strategy for the company’s Mexican manufacturing operation; vice president and general manager for Schneider National; and president-North America for The Martin-Brower Co. LLC, a food and materials supplier to McDonald’s restaurants.

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It's several minutes past 2 p.m. on Oct. 4 at Norfolk Southern Corp.'s headquarters. Mark Manion enters a conference room, takes a seat, sets his Blackberry down on a table and apologizes for being late. He also jokes about not being able to shake hands.

Currently chairman and CEO, Haverty will continue to concentrate on the company’s strategic direction and oversee long-term business decisions. Currently president and chief operating officer, Starling will succeed Haverty as CEO and report to him. Starling will focus on execution of the company’s long-range plan, as well as oversight and management of all facets of operations, including subsidiaries and affiliates.

Starling joined KCS in July 2008 as president and COO “with the thought in mind that he could succeed me as CEO,” said Haverty in a prepared statement. “After two years, we are ready. David is a great team leader, and I truly believe we have the best management team, both north and south of the border, that we have had in the 15 years I have been associated with KCS.”

Currently chairman and CEO, Haverty will continue to concentrate on the company’s strategic direction and oversee long-term business decisions. Currently president and chief operating officer, Starling will succeed Haverty as CEO and report to him. Starling will focus on execution of the company’s long-range plan, as well as oversight and management of all facets of operations, including subsidiaries and affiliates.

Starling joined KCS in July 2008 as president and COO “with the thought in mind that he could succeed me as CEO,” said Haverty in a prepared statement. “After two years, we are ready. David is a great team leader, and I truly believe we have the best management team, both north and south of the border, that we have had in the 15 years I have been associated with KCS.”

In addition to his current responsibilities for federal, state and local government and regulatory affairs, corporate communications and community relations, Erdman now will manage administrative functions, including the legal department, claims, real estate, industrial development, facilities and U.S. railroad police security.

Prior to joining KCS in 1997, he was chief of staff for Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) for 10 years. Erdman also previously served on the staffs of Missouri governors John Ashcroft and Christopher Bond.

In addition to his current responsibilities for federal, state and local government and regulatory affairs, corporate communications and community relations, Erdman now will manage administrative functions, including the legal department, claims, real estate, industrial development, facilities and U.S. railroad police security.

Prior to joining KCS in 1997, he was chief of staff for Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) for 10 years. Erdman also previously served on the staffs of Missouri governors John Ashcroft and Christopher Bond.

Clifford, who retired from NS in 1987, was the railroad’s advertising manager in 1982 when Southern Railway and Norfolk and Western Railway merged and sought a new logo and brand image for the combined organization. He worked with various company officers and advisors to review about 200 logo prototypes before settling on a bold, slanted “NS” followed by five speedlines.

But Clifford believed something was missing. In a recent interview, he recalled that an animal was considered to give the logo an “instant visual.”

For more than a decade, the commonwealth of Virginia has sought to add lanes to Interstate 81 to relieve heavy truck congestion. The 846-mile highway stretches 323 miles in Virginia — the longest I-81 segment in any state.

Virginia most recently considered a plan to add two lanes to the interstate commonwealth-wide. To be funded by tolls, the project would cost about $13 billion over 20 years.

The conditional tense reigned supreme during the reporting of a number of stories in this month's issue — from the cover piece on Norfolk Southern Railway's $2.5 billion Crescent Corridor, which the Class I plans to establish via the public-private partnership route ("If funding falls into place, then the 2,500-mile domestic intermodal corridor will, too.") to our RailTrends summit recap ("If railroads can hold off the D.C. threats while embracing the D.C. opportunities, productivity and earnings growth will be explosive, and marketshare opportunities in medium and short lengths of haul will be dramatic.") to our rail-car repair market update. The latter story's slant: If the economy picks up, so will repair work.

A lot of the "if/then" talk is tied to economic recovery, whenever and however it'll begin its creep, but not all of it. Every railroad seeking a public funding commitment of any kind is having conditional conversations with the governmental powers that be and, increasingly, the communities they serve: "If you fund this project, XYZ benefits will come."

Today, KCS reported revenue of $346 million, down 23 percent compared with first-quarter 2008. The Class I’s traffic volume declined 15 percent primarily because of the weak U.S., Mexican and global economies, reduced fuel surcharge revenues and a weakened Mexican peso. Revenue dropped in four of five business lines, with only coal recording volume and revenue gains.

KCS recorded a net loss of $7.5 million compared with net income of $32.9 million in first-quarter 2008. The railroad reported a negative impact of $5.9 million from debt retirement costs and $5.1 million in a foreign exchange loss associated with the weakened peso.