History
CSX Corporation was organized on November 14, 1978, as a vehicle for the future merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries. On November 1, 1980, following Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) approval, CSX Corporation officially came into being as the successor of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries.
One of the first issues the new railroad grappled with was the choice of name. Chessie and SCLI leadership agreed that, as a merger of equals, neither of the existing names could be used. A call for suggestions went out to employees of both railroads, who responded with a wide variety of initialisms combining C and S in some form. At the same time, the two companies' lawyers needed a name to use as part of their proceedings with the ICC.[13] "CSC" was chosen but belonged to a trucking company in Virginia. "CSM" (for "Chessie-Seaboard Merger") was also taken. Needing some sort of identifier for the new railroad, the lawyers decided to use "CSX", and the name stuck, despite only being intended as a placeholder.[13] In the public announcement, it was said that "CSX is singularly appropriate. C can stand for Chessie, S for Seaboard and X, the multiplication symbol, means that together we are so much more."[13] However, an August 9, 2016, article on the Railway Age website stated that " ... the 'X' was for 'Consolidated' ".[14] A fourth letter had to be added to CSX when used as a reporting mark because reporting marks that end in X mean that the car is owned by a leasing company or private car owner. Chessie's public relations staff drafted a number of possible logos for the new railroad, but continued to strike out until it was suggested to combine the letters "C" and "S" in the shape of an X.[13]
The company introduced its current slogan, "How Tomorrow Moves", in 2008.[15]
CSX Corporation sold two-thirds of its control of water transport company American Commercial Barge Line in 1998, citing a desire to focus more on rail operations.[16]
The founding chairman of CSX Corporation was Prime F. Osborn III of Seaboard, for whom Jacksonville's Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center is named. The first CEO and second chairman was Hays T. Watkins Jr. of Chessie System. Watkins was succeeded by John W. Snow as CEO in 1989 and as chairman in 1991. When Snow left the company in 2003 to become United States Secretary of the Treasury, Michael J. Ward, who then headed CSX Transportation, was promoted to succeed him. Overall in 2003, Ward took on the positions of chairman, president, and CEO. When president Oscar Munoz left CSX in September 2015 after obtaining the role earlier that year from Ward, the company underwent several management changes, with Clarence Gooden appointed president.
The company went through major leadership changes in 2017 when activist investor Mantle Ridge, a hedge fund that held 4.9% of CSX's stock, demanded a change in the board, that Michael Ward step down as CEO, that the company cut middle management, and that the company hire Hunter Harrison, known for leading the turnaround three other railroads, as CEO.[17] Within months of Harrison's hiring in spring 2017, several members of CSX's executive management team stepped down. Harrison died on December 16, 2017, and shortly thereafter Chief Operating Officer James M. Foote was named president and chief executive officer.[18][19]
In March 2018, Foote, said CSX would follow-through on Harrison's plans to transform the company and move it from a traditional railroad model to a scheduled railroad model in order to reduce costs and improve the quality of service. Part of this effort includes reducing the number of locomotives in service from 3,000 in late 2017 to between 2,370 and 2,420 in 2020. The company also plans to reduce the number of rail cars it owns from 136,000 in late 2017 to between 104,000 and 109,000 in 2020. In 2017, CSX cut its workforce by 3,300 employees. In 2018, roughly 2,200 jobs were cut. A further reduction of 4,000 positions is planned by 2020. CSX estimates that after these cuts it will have a workforce of about 21,000 people.
CSX is also trying to increase profits by monetizing some of its real estate. As of early 2018, the company planned to generate $800 million by 2020 by selling off some railroad lines and other real estate. As of the same date, CSX held real estate in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces.
Officers
Presidents
- Hays T. (Thomas) Watkins Jr. (1980 – April 1989)
- John W. Snow (April 1989 – 2003)
- Michael J. Ward (2000 – 2015)
- Oscar Munoz (February 11, 2015 – )
- Clarence W. Gooden ( – May 31, 2017)
- Fredrik J. Eliasson (February 15, 2017 – )
- E. Hunter Harrison ( – December 16, 2017)
- James M. Foote (Acting: December 16, 2017 – December 22, 2017, Full: December 22, 2017 – September 26, 2022)
- Joseph R. Hinrichs (September 26, 2022[20] – September 2025)
