Norfolk Southern is a railroad service operating in the Eastern US and in parts of Canada.  We tend to forget about railroads, but they do provide us with very important infrastructure for industry and commerce.  Transport of coal primarily from mines to  power plants accounts for about 31% of NSC’s revenue.  Transport of general merchandise (all that crap you and I buy) comprises about 50% of NSC’s revenue.  The general merchandise category also includes chemicals and automobiles.  NSC serves 24 automobile manufacturing plants.  The other 19% of revenues are derived from NSC’s intermodal business, a fancy term for standardized containers. … Read entire article »