International Business Groups
As globalization of the world's economies continues, more and more businesses are involved in international trade and the use of intermodal containers has become the predominant means of transporting goods from one country to another.
International shipments can include everything from raw materials such as waste paper, logs, and cotton, to finished consumer goods including furniture, electronics, auto parts, and clothing. In general, international containers are 20', 40', or 45', standardized to allow containers easy movement overseas by ship, over the road by truck, and stacked on an intermodal rail car for rail transport.
Norfolk Southern operates an extensive double-stack rail network, serving more major eastern US markets than any other rail carrier. In addition, NS offers connections to carriers in the western US and Canada, through a variety of interchange locations. Trans-continental moves are interchanged between the two railroads at major gateways, including Chicago, Kansas City, Memphis, and Dallas. NS offers superior steel wheel interchange services with BNSF and/or UP at all of these locations, reducing potential delays in transit.
In addition to our land bridge services, NS offers a strong portfolio of rail services from East Coast ports, which serve vessels sailing to and from Europe, the Far East and South America. On-dock rail is offered at the ports of Savannah, Norfolk, New York, and Jacksonville. On-dock facilities offer the incentives of reduced drayage cost and more efficient transportation for intermodal customers. NS also serves near-dock facilities at Baltimore, Charleston, and Miami. Realizing the growing importance over the last several years of Atlantic port services, NS has worked closely with the East Coast ports to further improve the ship to rail transfer process and improve inland rail services.