CSX and Norfolk Southern ready themselves for Dorian

Eastern Class I railroads CSX (NYSE: CSX) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) say customers should expect service delays this week as Hurricane Dorian brings heavy rains and strong winds to the southeastern coast of the U.S. 

CSX expects Dorian to impact portions of CSX’s network over the next three days, including Florida on September 3 and 4 and Georgia and the Carolinas on September 4 and 5. The company said customers could experience delays or rerouting during this time. 

Meanwhile, NS intermodal shipments are barred from entering the gates of intermodal origin facilities in Savannah, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and destinations along eastern Florida. 

FreightWaves reported earlier today that a number of ports have closed in advance of the hurricane’s arrival.

NS has staged equipment and materials in key areas, and the railroad will begin recovery efforts as soon as it is safe to do so, the company said. Customers that have shipments that originate or are destined for the southeastern U.S. should expect traffic delays, NS said.

Dorian, currently a Category 2 hurricane, has been slow moving, and so its path has been hard to predict. However, forecasts are now calling for Dorian to move northwest, potentially avoiding landfall in the U.S. except for potentially North Carolina (see video: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/hurricane-dorian-inching-closer-to-us-forecast-video).