While the U.S. Manufacturing PMI contracted through much of the year, “reflecting softer new orders and manufacturing employment,” NS said, factory output and industrial production showed “late-year stabilization—and pockets of strength in durable goods—as capacity utilization improved from prior months.”
NS in 2025 saw “strong” industrial development activity across such sectors as metals, paper, aggregates, and automotive-related projects. Leading projects included “support for Alabama’s emerging biotech sector [with Eli Lilly’s 1 million-square-foot Huntsville facility to open in 2032 near the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology] and a new automotive manufacturing facility in South Carolina,” according to NS, which currently has more than 500 U.S. manufacturing projects in the site-selection phase.
NSites, the railroad’s site-selection platform, features more than 800 rail-served properties and 340 transload facilities. Over the past year, more than 15 of its industrial development sites received the independent Readiness Evaluation for Development and Investment (REDI Sites) designation, which NS said reflects “rigorous assessments by members of the Site Selectors Guild.”
“Our customers’ $7.7 billion pipeline underscores rail’s foundational—and increasingly strategic—role in U.S. supply chains,” NS Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Ed Elkins said. “In 2026, we’re focusing on creating turnkey sites and achieving an ever-higher service standard so that customers benefit from a range of advantages that come with choosing a Norfolk Southern-served property.”
Added NS AVP Real Estate and Facility Services Cliff Garner: “[S]trategic sales, paired with targeted land acquisitions, [in 2025] reflect a deliberate ‘trade-up’ approach: leveraging non–core assets to secure opportunities that strengthen network capacity, attract rail-served industries, and position Norfolk Southern for sustained economic and industrial development.”
If the railroad’s proposed merger with Union Pacific is approved by the Surface Transportation Board, the combination forming the first U.S. transcontinental railroad would offer nearly 3,000 rail-served industrial development properties, with the ability to connect with more than 100 ports and 10 international gateways to Canada and Mexico, according to NS.
“Backed by $5.6 billion in combined 2025 capital investment and an additional $2.1 billion integration investment, the merger will align infrastructure where American industry is growing—supporting manufacturing clusters, high-density production corridors, and fast-emerging logistics hubs,” NS reported. “Enhanced service reliability, fewer handoffs, reduced car touches, and significant reductions in transit time—like saving up to 252 miles and 20–95 hours in key lanes—will ensure that U.S. shippers gain a competitive advantage in both domestic and global markets.”
Railway Age has named NS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John Orr 2026 Railroader of the Year. Orr will be presented with the award on March 10, following the Railway Age Next-Gen Freight Rail 2026 conference in Chicago.
Further Reading:
- NS: ‘Reliable Service, Measurable Safety Gains’
- NS Issues 2025 Safety Report
- For UP, a ‘Record-Breaking Year’
- Sustainability as a Business Imperative, with Norfolk Southern Chief Sustainability Officer Josh Raglin – RAIL GROUP ON AIR PODCAST
- CPKC, NS Advance Locomotive Modernizations
- For NS, Four ‘Strategic Moves’
