Automotive Services Overview

Norfolk Southern is the largest rail shipper of automotive products in North America and 14 of the last 24 assembly plants to locate in the United States have chosen Norfolk Southern to be their serving carrier. NS serves 24 auto assembly plants, 31 auto distribution terminals, 3 Just-In-Time (JIT) Rail Centers, and 4 vehicle mixing centers strategically positioned throughout our network.  NS transports auto parts to assembly plants and after-market distribution centers and delivers finished vehicles to market.

NS offers a suite of modal and supply chain management solutions including:

• Finished Vehicle Distribution
• Traditional Boxcar Services
• Just-In-Time (JIT) Rail Centers
• Triple Crown Services
• Thoroughbred Direct Intermodal Services
• Modalgistics
• TransWorks

At NS, our goal is to provide customers with the best service and value for their transportation needs using our multi-modal supply chain solutions.

Auto Parts Delivery

A dedicated team within the Automotive Group focuses on the development of cost saving initiatives for manufacturers that ship auto parts. NS offers a suite of modal solutions including its network of traditional boxcar services, JIT Rail Centers, Triple Crown Services, and Thoroughbred Direct Intermodal Services. Norfolk Southern is developing additional integrated distribution channels to successfully serve this target market.

Norfolk Southern has experienced consistent growth in the JIT Rail Network for auto parts. This network provides manufacturers with boxcars that are pattern loaded with auto parts for specific day and point-of-use locations within assembly plants. These centers also work as deconsolidation points for automotive suppliers and manufacturers in their geographic markets. Norfolk Southern currently has JIT Rail Centers in Detroit , MI ; Buffalo , NY ; and Dayton, OH. The JIT Rail Centers already in place have successfully increased the efficiency of truck/rail transportation and have enabled Norfolk Southern to focus on assembly plant requirements. Looking into the future, Norfolk Southern sees tremendous growth potential in the expansion of the JIT Rail network, offering significant cost saving opportunities to the automotive industry.

JIT Rail Network Video (18.5 MB)

Triple Crown Services, through use of RoadRailer® technology, provides bi-modal truckload transportation service throughout the eastern two-thirds of the US and to Ontario, Canada.  Over 7,000 RoadRailer® trailers function as road trailers and rail cars with scheduled, secure, efficient, and cost effective service.  Equipped with dual air mode suspension systems, Triple Crown’s RoadRailer® trailer fleet provides over-the-road ride quality with the economics of rail transportation.

Triple Crown was named Number 1 Intermodal Service Provider in 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, and 2001 in Logistics Management magazine’s “Quest for Quality” survey of transportation professionals.  Triple Crown is certified ISO 9001:2000. More about Triple Crown Services

Thoroughbred Direct Intermodal Services provides premium intermodal services and is dedicated to meeting the time-sensitive demands of the automotive industry.  TDIS is uniquely positioned to deliver a spectrum of supply chain services to meet complex distribution challenges by delivering consistency and flexibility that customers need to respond to market changes overnight. More about Thoroughbred Direct Intermodal Services

Vehicle Distribution

Since 1998, Norfolk Southern has managed an innovative vehicle distribution system sourcing from Ford's North American assembly plants through a mixing center network to Ford's retail national dealer network. This network is a hub and spoke distribution system where vehicles are shipped to one of four strategically located centers. The mixing centers are located in Fostoria, OH, to serve vehicle markets in the northeast and eastern Canada; Shelbyville, KY, to serve the southeast; Kansas City, MO, to serve the southwest and west; and Chicago, IL, to serve the northwest and western Canada.

At each mixing center the vehicles are unloaded, sorted and reloaded according to a common destination. This reduces vehicle dwell time at each plant as waiting for a full rail carload for a common destination is eliminated. A dedicated train service network, part of the Thoroughbred Operating Plan (TOP), reduces transit time and improves consistency. Daily service between the plants, mixing centers, and destination ramps allows Norfolk Southern to establish a high velocity network to reduce transit time to delivery.

Norfolk Southern serves 31 auto distribution terminals in 17 states, providing superior delivery of finished vehicles to market. More about Auto Facilities

Information Technology

The Automotive Group is making significant investments in technology to improve the tracking of vehicles enroute to the retail dealer and improve the logistics network of the auto parts supply chain. 

Modalgistics provides supply chain services through three primary service offerings:

• supply chain-based consulting, including rail-based solutions
• industry-leading asset optimizations management technology
• innovative operations planning and management

More about Modalgistics™

TransWorks provides end-to-end transportation management systems, back-office services and process consulting to the transportation industry.  Their integrated modular transportation management, business process, and financial management information systems allow shippers and intermodal providers the ability to fully automate and execute their transportation transaction processes. More about TransWorks

Equipment

In order to meet shipping requirements, Norfolk Southern currently manages one of the largest and most updated fleets of automotive rail equipment in the country. Norfolk Southern is dedicated to providing its customers with the safest, most up to date and efficient fleet of automotive rail equipment in North America. Norfolk Southern is striving to continually improve upon boxcar technology to maintain this efficient fleet, which creates valuable savings for manufacturers as their cargo safely moves from origin to destination on time.