Norfolk Southern customers invested $7.7B in development in 2025

Norfolk Southern Railway customers advanced over 60 industrial development projects in 2025, representing $7.7 billion in industry investment for new or expanded rail-served facilities along NS and short-line partner routes.

NS' pipeline attracted long-term private investment aligned to growth corridors and port gateways across the Southeast and Midwest in 2025, even as U.S. manufacturing indictors showed mixed momentum for the year, NS officials said in a press release. They attributed the investment to the reach of the Class I's network footprint.

NS officials noted that industrial signals in 2025 were two speed: The U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) contracted through much of the year, reflecting softer new orders and manufacturing employment; and factory output and industrial production showed late-year stabilization — and pockets of strength in durable goods — as capacity utilization improved from prior months.

NS now has over 500 U.S. manufacturing projects in the site selection phase, representing additional opportunities for growth supported by rail.

“Our customers’ $7.7 billion pipeline underscores rail’s foundational — and increasingly strategic — role in U.S. supply chains,” said NS Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Ed Elkins. “In 2026, we’re focusing on creating turnkey sites and achieving ever-higher service standard so that customers benefit from a range of advantages that come with choosing a Norfolk Southern-served property.”