In 2015, the rail transportation carrier CSX worked with its customers to locate 107 new plants or expanded facilities on the company’s rail network or its connecting short line partners. These new projects comprise $2.2 billion in customer investments and are expected to generate approximately 1,500 new jobs in areas served by CSX.

Once these facilities are fully operational, they are projected to generate more than 143,000 new annual carloads of business for CSX. In 2015 more than 75 customer facilities located on CSX began operations.

“Strong customer investment activity in 2015 was driven by downstream energy projects spurred by low oil and gas prices, as well as a significant number of industrial and agricultural projects, which highlights the strength of CSX’s diverse business mix,” said Clark Robertson, assistant vice president, regional development.  “In addition to our own efforts to generate new business, our network touches some of the most competitive economic development areas in the United States, and we are grateful for the pivotal role that state and local economic development agencies play in aggressively competing for new industry.”

Since 2000, CSX customers have invested more than $42 billion in rail-served facilities, creating more than 62,000 jobs across the company’s 23-state network. To support rail-oriented industrial development, CSX’s Select Site program pre-certifies properties that are suitable for manufacturing use. These sites meet rigorous criteria to increase development probability and reduce time and costs for CSX customers.

CSX provides service via an extensive network that connects customers to nearly two-thirds of the nation’s population throughout the major East Coast and Midwestern metropolitan centers, and serves more than 70 ocean, river, and lake ports. CSX can move a ton of freight nearly 450 miles on a single gallon of fuel and one train can carry the load of 280 trucks, reducing carbon emissions and wear and tear on public roads.