Key partners voice unwavering support for
Norfolk Southern's management team and balanced strategy
ATLANTA, May 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC)
Tuesday highlighted additional support from key customers and
industry associations – including Hub Group, Inc., American Short
Line & Regional Railroad Association, CONSOL Energy Inc., and
others. Their strong backing underscores the company's balanced
strategy, driven by the decisive leadership of CEO Alan Shaw and guided by the Norfolk Southern
board, is the best path to drive long-term value for shareholders
and deliver reliable, resilient service.1
"Hub Group continues to value its long-term
partnership with Norfolk Southern that allows us collectively to
deliver a cost-effective, environmentally sensitive intermodal
service offering to shippers throughout the eastern United States. The commitment that you and
your management team have made to maintaining consistently strong
service levels is critical to our mutual success in converting
over-the-road shipments to rail which is leading to significant
growth. We appreciate that a sustained dedication to maintaining
strong service levels is a key element of your strategic plan…We
support you and your management team in the ongoing execution of
your strategy."
- Phillip
Yeager, President, CEO, and Vice Chairman
Hub
Group, Inc.
"As a group we are focused on fostering
long-term volume and revenue growth for the rail industry. To that
end, we support strategies from our Class I partners, including the
current Norfolk Southern strategy, dedicated to these same goals.
We believe growth is most effectively achieved through a commitment
to providing operating resilience and consistent customer service,
and to do so over a full business cycle."
- Chuck
Baker, President & CEO
American Short Line
& Regional Railroad Association
"Arrowhead (now part of Waste Connections) has
been [a] customer since 2019. During that time our annual freight
volumes have increased thirty-fold, and we are looking to doubling
that in the next twelve months. [The Norfolk Southern] team – from
the CEO down to the local operating folks – have been extremely
helpful and supportive these past five years. A large part of our
success has come from their team and our partnership. Although we
would never presume to tell your shareholders how to vote, and we
will always remain a good NS customer, they should be aware that we
would be concerned if the existing operating and marketing support
changed."
- Bill
Gay, Division Vice President
Arrowhead
Environmental Partners/Waste Connections
"As one of the key logistics partners, I want to
express my confidence and support for Norfolk Southern's current
management team headed by Alan Shaw.
CONSOL has been a beneficiary of some of the operational and safety
improvements made by Alan. This has allowed us to grow our export
business and benefitted thousands of direct and indirect workers in
Southwest PA, WV, and MD."
- Jimmy
Brock, Chairman and CEO
CONSOL Energy Inc.
"HC Minerals (formerly Hi-Crush) unequivocally
supports Alan Shaw and the rest of
the NS management team, as well as the NS strategy."
- Will
Barker, General Counsel and Chief Commercial
Officer
HC Minerals
"Norfolk Southern has made significant service
improvements following the implementation of their new operating
strategy. Consistent and rateable manifest service is critical to
the success of our processing business. It allows us to meet our
customers' needs and supports our growth initiatives. We support
NS's strategic vision for service improvements while maintaining a
customer centric approach."
- Gordon
Russell, Executive Vice President
Louis Dreyfus
Company
"The 'new' focus on smart expansion
opportunities was truly refreshing and had been lost since
2008-2010. Since Covid – all departments have been focused on 'the
customer' which is critical to success in any business. While
I have never personally dealt with Mr. Shaw, I know that I can
see and feel a very positive change that has been evident to me
over the last few years. I truly did not think that a CEO or
COO could impact the overall organization the size of NS – but the
last 3 or so years something has changed. From what my NS contacts
tell me, it comes down from the top. So based on this feedback, Mr.
Shaw must be having this positive effect on the performance and
attitude of the organization. – I have been a witness to it."
- Von
Friesen, Principal
Strategic Transload Services,
LLC
"One Earth Energy, LLC has been a customer of
Norfolk Southern railroad for 15 years, prior to that, I was
General Manager from 1990 to 2007 with Alliance Grain Co…Norfolk
Southern's enhanced service has enabled us at One Earth Energy to
expand our rail business and invest in additional track space to
accommodate our growth in production capacity along with rail
shipments. I have full confidence in Alan
Shaw and the entire management team of Norfolk Southern. Our
Board of Directors believes Alan and his team have our best
interest in mind and their approach will yield positive outcomes
for both Norfolk Southern and customers like One Earth Energy. On
behalf of my Board and myself we look forward to continuing [this]
mutually beneficial relationship into the future."
- Steven
Kelly, President & CEO
One Earth Energy,
LLC
Your Vote is Important
Norfolk Southern believes all of its 13 nominees are uniquely
qualified to oversee the company's strategy, drive long-term
shareholder value, and hold management accountable. Norfolk
Southern strongly urges shareholders to protect their investment
from Ancora's outdated, destructive agenda by VOTING the WHITE
proxy card FOR ONLY Norfolk Southern's 13 nominees TODAY.
Please simply DISCARD any Blue proxy card you may receive from
Ancora. If you inadvertently voted using a Blue proxy card, you may
cancel that vote simply by voting again TODAY using the company's
WHITE proxy card. Only your latest-dated vote will count!
To learn more, visit VoteNorfolkSouthern.com.
If you have any
questions or require any assistance with respect to voting your
shares,
please contact our proxy solicitor:
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INNISFREE M&A
INCORPORATED Shareholders may call:
1 (877) 750-9496 (toll-free from the U.S. and Canada)
+1 (412) 232-3651 (from other countries)
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About Norfolk Southern
Since 1827, Norfolk Southern
Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely
moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today,
it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight
transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability,
Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid approximately 15 million
tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated
team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from
agriculture to consumer goods, and Norfolk Southern originates more
automotive traffic than any other Class I Railroad. Norfolk
Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the
eastern U.S. It serves a majority of the country's population and
manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port
on the Atlantic coast as well as major ports in the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by
visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com.
Important Additional Information
The Company has filed a definitive proxy statement (the "2024
Proxy Statement") on Schedule 14A and a WHITE proxy card with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with
the solicitation of proxies for its 2024 Annual Meeting of
Shareholders (the "2024 Annual Meeting"). SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY
ADVISED TO READ THE COMPANY'S 2024 PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY
AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO), THE WHITE PROXY CARD AND ANY
OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE
BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Shareholders may
obtain a free copy of the 2024 Proxy Statement, any amendments or
supplements to the 2024 Proxy Statement and other documents that
the Company files with the SEC from the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov or the Company's website at
https://norfolksouthern.investorroom.com as soon as reasonably
practicable after such materials are electronically filed with, or
furnished to, the SEC.
Certain Information Concerning Participants
The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers
and employees may be deemed participants in the solicitation of
proxies from shareholders in connection with the matters to be
considered at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the
direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise,
of the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered
participants in the solicitation of shareholders in connection with
the 2024 Annual Meeting is included in Norfolk Southern's 2024
Proxy Statement, filed with the SEC on March
20, 2024. To the extent holdings by our directors and
executive officers of Norfolk Southern securities reported in the
2024 Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting have changed, such
changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change of
Ownership on Forms 3, 4 or 5 filed with the SEC. These documents
are available free of charge as described above.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this communication are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.
These statements relate to future events or our future financial
performance, including statements relating to our ability to
execute on our strategic plan and our 2024 Annual Meeting and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors
that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance,
or our achievements or those of our industry to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking
statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements may be
identified by the use of words like "may," "will," "could,"
"would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend,"
"believe," "estimate," "project," "consider," "predict,"
"potential," "feel," or other comparable terminology. The Company
has based these forward-looking statements on its current
expectations, assumptions, estimates, beliefs, and projections.
While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions,
estimates, and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking
statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks
and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances
that are beyond the Company's control. These and other important
factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as well as the Company's
subsequent filings with the SEC, may cause actual results,
performance, or achievements to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The
forward-looking statements herein are made only as of the date they
were first issued, and unless otherwise required by applicable
securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
1 Permission to use quotations was neither
sought nor obtained.
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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation