NS CEO doubts

Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman says he believes that despite a weaker second-quarter economy, “the causes are not necessarily indicative of larger problems,” and “we certainly don’t see the likelihood of a significant economic slowdown.” Moorman made the comments in an interview posted Monday on the SmartMoney website.

Asked about the prospects of a long-term shift away from the burning of coal, a major contributor to NS revenue, Moorman (pictured at left) said: “This country is going to continue to burn a lot of coal. We have an enormous amount of coal, and it’s very cheap. Changes that may come will be over a long enough cycle that we believe we will be able to adapt. We are also trying to strengthen our franchise so we have good access to major coal supplies of all kinds.”