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Norfolk Southern goes on charm offensive with brochure to shareholders
I own a relatively small number of Norfolk Southern shares - and I intend to stick with the NS management team.
Similarly, I have an insignificant stake in NS, but am holding on and willing to give the new team time to work on “the Plan”. Based on all I have read (much of it here), I don’t see the merger as a plus for either railroad. Purely as a rail fan, I would hate to see NS’ flag fall.
I too have a stake in NS and I will wait it out,…I still remember Harrison’s comments about selling off assets of NS post merger to Bloomberg saying … “It’s gravy. It could be a lot. That’s why I’m excited.”…
I would hardly call this document more substantive than the three CPR white papers published so far.
The NS stock was doing good until about 12 months ago. Then it started falling. I think the merger could be good for everybody but I have no way of knowing what CP plans to do the U.S. facilities that NS built up. Too many generalities not enough specifics.
The stockholders are and should be asking WHY is this management team JUST NOW going to implement a strategy to improve NS’s revenues. Why wasn’t this new strategy already in place? Is it being done only because their jobs are at stake now?
The interest payments on merger debt?
Mr. Haws,
Since you seem to have forgotten, I feel a need to remind you that NS has a NEW management team and that it takes quite a bit of time to plan and implement a successful strategy to improve NS’s revenues, especially over the long term.
A lot of BIG changes have taken place in the rail industry fairly recently over a reasonably short period of time, to also refresh your memory !
And NS isn’t the only Railroad to have a rough year.
Andrew Schultz - To get excited about Harrison’s notion to sell off NS assets as “gravy” is being very short-sighted. It’s a mentality which has afflicted too much of this country’s financial world, looking at short-term gain over long-term productivity. The new NS management team obviously is looking long-term, and hopefully enough NS shareholders and stakeholders will take the same view. “Slow and steady wins the race” goes the old adage …
It’s not like NS isn’t already dozens of miles ahead of CP in public relations, how many more times will Hunter Harrison have to be told to GO POUND SAND before he and his cronies get the message, or will they continue to ignore it and run full throttle with their bloated egoes?
Mr. Kippel, New Top Leadership, yes, BUT it all came from in house an existing management team. Everyone just essentially moved up a notch. It was content to just let the railroad plod along with business as usual till the CP came calling. Then they realized their jobs were on the line. They have to produce something or their jobs are toast if the stockholders desire a different management team.
Mr.Perkins,
Thinking I’m a victim of my own cut and paste…
I am in no way excited about a CP/NS merger nor am I excited about Mr.Harrison coming to NS. As a stock holder I too agree that slow and steady is the way I support. What I was referring to was Mr.Harrison’s comments from the Calgaryherald.com about selling off NS real estate as “It’s gravy…It could be a lot. That’s way I’ excited”…Hunter’s words not mine
NS put downtown Pittsburgh and the Monongahela River on the brochure’s cover! Will the Thoroughbred continue to run here? I hope so, but we’ll see.
Mr. Haws, You certainly have the right for your opinion, just as I have the right to TOTALLY disagree with you.
Promoting within makes more sense to me than having a ‘gang’ of strangers move in, who don’t even know the NS or it’s employees who make everything work.
Harrison is good at stealing the headlines, like a certain politician we’ve both heard a lot about. That’s why we didn’t hear much about the new management’s plans, until fairly recently.
Mr. Haws
NS has been closing down yards and lines before EHH came knocking. Remember Buckeye and Triple Crown? NS is still making money, despite the loss in King Coal. They have not been sitting in their offices in the ivory tower smoking cigars, as you would like to imply.
As for promoting from within, wouldn’t you be one of the first to complain about “know-nothings” running the place?
I am a shareholder in the NS, as well as UP and CSX, and feel strongly that CP and Harrison should drop the whole subject. If CP feels so strongly about alleviating congestion in Chicago with NS, then why doesn’t it just open the subject matter with NS, show some proactive action, to prove it can work and reroute some trains. I bet that whatever CP thinks it can take away from the Chicago congestion wouldn’t mean a tinkers dam. I wrote to the NS investors services department recently, letting them know that I support their rebuffing Harrison and his scorched earth approach to railroading. There may well be ways to increase efficiency and reduce costs, but most mergers/acquisitions/take overs/whathave you fail because of a culture clash. Both railroads are well operated, but together it would be hell for the customers and the railroaders. I was with two logistics companies during the UP/CNW, UP/SP and Conrail split and the customers struggled with the horrible service that happened, to say nothing of the culture clashes and employee morale going down the toilet. CP and NS merging would be just more of the same and wouldn’t do anyone any good other than Bill Ackman and Hunter Harrison.
Like they said in The Outlaw Josey Wales…
“General, don’t piss down my neck and tell it’s raining outside”
I got one.NS doesn t need to merge with anyone!