CSX launches campaign to draw manufacturers to rail service

CSX Transportation (CSXT), one of the nation’s largest freight railroads, announced plans to begin an aggressive receiver-based marketing program, dubbed, “Taste The Savings,” to attract food manufacturers to use rail service for shipments of their basic food ingredients. The direct mail campaign to more than 1,200 manufacturers will begin in late September and continue through early November. “Food Manufacturers are receiving their sugar, flour, vegetable oil and corn syrup by truck to their manufacturing facilities and adding a lot of fat to the expense side of their ledgers,” said Kathy Halper, manager-agricultural merchandise marketing. “Our rail service offers a diet of excellent service, quality equipment and low-calorie costs that can save manufacturers as much as 60% while still meeting their manufacturing requirements.”Since dramatic improvements were realized in CSX rail service in 2001-2002, the company has been aggressively targeting receivers of inbound bulk food items who are not rail-served and educating them about CSX’s cost savings as well as its transloading, warehousing and industrial development services. For example, a major agricultural producer in California recently employed CSX rail to move honeydew melons from the West Coast to New York -– the first such move on CSX in a dozen years. “We can provide shippers an excellent service product and save them money, a lot of money,” said David Hemphill, assistant vice president-industrial and economic development. “If they taste the service and taste the savings, we think we will have satisfied customers who will come back for seconds time and again.” To sweeten the marketing campaign, CSX will be offering a weekend at the company’s world famous Greenbrier resort in West Virginia for a winner selected from those who respond to the direct mail campaign.CSXT and its 35,000 employees provide rail transportation and distribution services over a 23,000 route-mile network in 23 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces.