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News Wire: Acting CEO says CSX can thrive in Harrison’s absence

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Posted by Brian Schmidt on Friday, December 15, 2017 3:37 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation can continue to make operational and service improvements in the absence of CEO E. Hunter Harrison, acting CEO James Foote told Wall Street analysts on Friday morning. Foote would not answer a question a...

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/12/15-acting-ceo-says-csx-can-thrive-in-harrisons-absence

Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, December 15, 2017 8:30 PM

Official smoke is cheap.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Friday, December 15, 2017 9:25 PM

     The article mentions '150 mid-level managers'. What positions are they in?

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by Electroliner 1935 on Saturday, December 16, 2017 5:02 PM

My sympathy goes to his family. Sad that he passes at this time of year. And that he was driven to work when he could have enjoyed his retirement and accomplishments. But they have the consolation of having his 84 million to sooth his loss. 

I wonder what Mantle Ridge will do now and what if any corrections Mr Foote will make to the path the railroad was on. I remember the culture at the B&O, C&O, & L&N were family with a lot of care for their employees. Today, there is little loyality for employees, they are tools to be used as needed and discarded if no longer required. I find that discuraging. I wonder how many employees that were terminated got any severance. Companies like to say that employees are their best assesset but don't mean it. Good companies respect and care for them. 

Foote has marketing in his experience and may improve the customer service. Hopefully, he will heed the complaints and figure how to improve service before the TSB comes down on the company.

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Posted by CMStPnP on Saturday, December 16, 2017 5:09 PM

Sure they can survive without Harrison every quarterly investors call it's going to be back to "unexpected headwinds caused us to miss our goals, we expect to do better next quarter" followed by a stagnant operating ratio and deteriorating revenue picture.............and they will go on and on like that quarter to quarter with no sanction at the Executive level.    Hell I think they were going on year 5 or 6 with that strategy when I finally dumped my stock. 

I would hope CSX could improve on it's own, there just isn't much of an established track record in that area.    So my thoughts are over Niagra Falls they go with the Executive Ship of Fools telling investors..."Nothing to be concerned about, we'll fix it next quarter".     The next Penn Central of the Northeast.

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Posted by BaltACD on Saturday, December 16, 2017 5:50 PM

CMStPnP
Sure they can survive without Harrison every quarterly investors call it's going to be back to "unexpected headwinds caused us to miss our goals, we expect to do better next quarter" followed by a stagnant operating ratio and deteriorating revenue picture.............and they will go on and on like that quarter to quarter with no sanction at the Executive level.    Hell I think they were going on year 5 or 6 with that strategy when I finally dumped my stock. 

I would hope CSX could improve on it's own, there just isn't much of an established track record in that area.    So my thoughts are over Niagra Falls they go with the Executive Ship of Fools telling investors..."Nothing to be concerned about, we'll fix it next quarter".     The next Penn Central of the Northeast.

Caused EXCLUSIVELY by EHH and Mantle Ridge!  Just like W did in Iraq in defeating Saadam - EHH effectively destroyed all command and control features of CSX as well as the tools and strategy that were used to run the company.  Will 'The Childrens Fund' or some other hedge fund pirate swoop in to claim the wreckage that Mantle Ridge has caused at fire sale values?

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

BC2
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Posted by BC2 on Saturday, December 16, 2017 9:16 PM

BaltACD

 

 
CMStPnP
Sure they can survive without Harrison every quarterly investors call it's going to be back to "unexpected headwinds caused us to miss our goals, we expect to do better next quarter" followed by a stagnant operating ratio and deteriorating revenue picture.............and they will go on and on like that quarter to quarter with no sanction at the Executive level.    Hell I think they were going on year 5 or 6 with that strategy when I finally dumped my stock. 

I would hope CSX could improve on it's own, there just isn't much of an established track record in that area.    So my thoughts are over Niagra Falls they go with the Executive Ship of Fools telling investors..."Nothing to be concerned about, we'll fix it next quarter".     The next Penn Central of the Northeast.

 

Caused EXCLUSIVELY by EHH and Mantle Ridge!  Just like W did in Iraq in defeating Saadam - EHH effectively destroyed all command and control features of CSX as well as the tools and strategy that were used to run the company.  Will 'The Childrens Fund' or some other hedge fund pirate swoop in to claim the wreckage that Mantle Ridge has caused at fire sale values?

 

Now the stock takes a pretty good dip. Investors were already getting nervous. This sets a very nice stage for a takeover. Especially since the institutional leadership is already in a state of chaos which, for anyone that studies change dynamics, will help any buyer to instill their corporate culture.

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Posted by CMStPnP on Sunday, December 17, 2017 8:12 AM

BC2
Now the stock takes a pretty good dip. Investors were already getting nervous. This sets a very nice stage for a takeover. Especially since the institutional leadership is already in a state of chaos which, for anyone that studies change dynamics, will help any buyer to instill their corporate culture.

And the advice from yahoo finance is to buy........Union Pacific?    I don't get that whole strategy UP isn't going to buy CSX.

Anyhow, I think CSX management can turn the ship around, the question is will they or will they return to the comfortable rut they were in before.    I fear the latter is the case given my past experience with the stock and EHH appointments will all abandon ship.    Time will tell though.   CSX became too dependent on Coal and largely did not pay attention to other markets for too long.   NS didn't follow the same path and hence it is doing much better relative to CSX.   There are signs CSX might be changing long-term but will have to wait and see.    Though I have to say I was shocked to say the least at the surplus numbers in locomotives and frieght cars that EHH was turning up as he moved through CSX, that now are probably stored because the railroad was not as fluid as it should have been.   C'mon what were the previous managers of CSX really doing?  

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Posted by Ulrich on Sunday, December 17, 2017 8:38 AM

My own guess is that Keith Creel will be packing his bags for Jacksonville very shortly.. Apart from being EHH's protege, he is widely regarded as one of the best operations people in the biz.. This would be a near perfect fit.  

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Posted by Uncle_Bob on Sunday, December 17, 2017 12:00 PM

BaltACD

 

 
CMStPnP
Sure they can survive without Harrison every quarterly investors call it's going to be back to "unexpected headwinds caused us to miss our goals, we expect to do better next quarter" followed by a stagnant operating ratio and deteriorating revenue picture.............and they will go on and on like that quarter to quarter with no sanction at the Executive level.    Hell I think they were going on year 5 or 6 with that strategy when I finally dumped my stock. 

I would hope CSX could improve on it's own, there just isn't much of an established track record in that area.    So my thoughts are over Niagra Falls they go with the Executive Ship of Fools telling investors..."Nothing to be concerned about, we'll fix it next quarter".     The next Penn Central of the Northeast.

 

Caused EXCLUSIVELY by EHH and Mantle Ridge!  Just like W did in Iraq in defeating Saadam - EHH effectively destroyed all command and control features of CSX as well as the tools and strategy that were used to run the company.  Will 'The Childrens Fund' or some other hedge fund pirate swoop in to claim the wreckage that Mantle Ridge has caused at fire sale values?

 

Maybe Warren Buffett will buy CSX to add to BNSF, thus setting us up for UP+NS.  Or maybe Buffett won't buy a railroad without first being told by a friendly president that he plans to stop a pipeline from opening, as happened just before the Oracle bought BNSF?  

I couldn't figure out why Harrison ditched the management people who actually ran the railroad, unless he either wanted to ruin CSX or was so intent upon cutting costs (and probably getting more bonuses to boot) that he didn't consider the damage he was doing. 

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Posted by BaltACD on Sunday, December 17, 2017 9:11 PM

Uncle_Bob
I couldn't figure out why Harrison ditched the management people who actually ran the railroad, unless he either wanted to ruin CSX or was so intent upon cutting costs (and probably getting more bonuses to boot) that he didn't consider the damage he was doing. 

EHH was a ego maniac.  In his mind he knew more about operating the properties he destroyed than any of the people that kept them running.  This same kind of thinking is what caused UP's meltdowns when taking over CNW and SP.  The personnel of those properties knew what it took to keep them fluid, however 'that was not the UP way' - so UP enforced their way and watched the properties melt down into gridlock - gridlock that ultimately forced UP to reconsider some of their ego driven ways to get the properties fluid again - along the way several UP Senior Managers got to walk the plank.  

Ego maniacs are convinced they are NEVER wrong, so they continue to F up by their own numbers.

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Posted by Shadow the Cats owner on Monday, December 18, 2017 9:19 AM

My company had their Christmas party this weekend and my husband and I were in attendence.  There we celebrated the retirement of our founder and the rise of the son as the new CEO of the company.  My husband a classmate of the new CEO took him off to the side and reminded him do not let all his power go to his head now.  He went when I drove I was at a carrier that had a dispatcher that was being given the reigns to the company.  The owner had driven out his 2 other partners by buying them out and had installed his daughters boyfriend as their replacement.  My husband had said boytoy as dispatcher at the time.  

Well here is the story that can happen when someone forgets about the little people under them.  My husband had just done the morning relays down to the now gone Bandag plant in Muscatine from the yard with the weekly run of rubber the company he was with took 5 loads a week down there.  He was short on hours for the day and had run out doing the run.  That day the FMCSA decided to pay his boss a visit seems they had crossed the threshold for logbook issues and other OOS problems and they wanted to talk to him.  Well it was supposed to have been just a warning visit at the time.  However as my husband was sitting there out of hours but helping with the new Orientation class with showing them a typical truck and such the boytoy comes out of the office screams at him get this load to Joilet IL now.  My husband being at 70 hours could not legally move his truck so he said no I am out of hours.  A FMCSA employee hearing my husband getting screamed at starts to listen to what boytoy is saying.  He went I don't give a rats ass if your logbook is reading 100 hours in 8 days fix it so you have hours and run.  Now either run this load or I will never give you any miles ever again.  FMCSA employee comes over to said boytoy and goes that will be 25 grand out of your pocket sir and we do not take comcheks also instead of being a warning visit we are now doing a full on audit for the last 6 months.  By the time they were done this carrier had almost been parked due to losing ratings.  

 

This boytoy is still at the helm of this carrier and can not figure out why they have the worst rep in the nation.  My bosses son goes I know the person he is talking about and yes I will never forget where I came from.  

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, December 18, 2017 9:32 AM

Shadow the Cats owner
... when I drove I was at a carrier that had a dispatcher that was being given the reins to the company. The owner had driven out his 2 other partners by buying them out and had installed his daughters boyfriend as their replacement.

Wasn't this the same loon who said it was practical to get from the Midwest to southern California (or was it vice versa) in about 10 hours?

Stakhanovite tactics sometimes do have their place ... in expediency.  Better be sure your Pavel Batitskys have plenty of ammo, though.

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Posted by Randy Stahl on Monday, December 18, 2017 10:08 AM

Shadow the Cats owner

My company had their Christmas party this weekend and my husband and I were in attendence.  There we celebrated the retirement of our founder and the rise of the son as the new CEO of the company.  My husband a classmate of the new CEO took him off to the side and reminded him do not let all his power go to his head now.  He went when I drove I was at a carrier that had a dispatcher that was being given the reigns to the company.  The owner had driven out his 2 other partners by buying them out and had installed his daughters boyfriend as their replacement.  My husband had said boytoy as dispatcher at the time.  

Well here is the story that can happen when someone forgets about the little people under them.  My husband had just done the morning relays down to the now gone Bandag plant in Muscatine from the yard with the weekly run of rubber the company he was with took 5 loads a week down there.  He was short on hours for the day and had run out doing the run.  That day the FMCSA decided to pay his boss a visit seems they had crossed the threshold for logbook issues and other OOS problems and they wanted to talk to him.  Well it was supposed to have been just a warning visit at the time.  However as my husband was sitting there out of hours but helping with the new Orientation class with showing them a typical truck and such the boytoy comes out of the office screams at him get this load to Joilet IL now.  My husband being at 70 hours could not legally move his truck so he said no I am out of hours.  A FMCSA employee hearing my husband getting screamed at starts to listen to what boytoy is saying.  He went I don't give a rats ass if your logbook is reading 100 hours in 8 days fix it so you have hours and run.  Now either run this load or I will never give you any miles ever again.  FMCSA employee comes over to said boytoy and goes that will be 25 grand out of your pocket sir and we do not take comcheks also instead of being a warning visit we are now doing a full on audit for the last 6 months.  By the time they were done this carrier had almost been parked due to losing ratings.  

 

This boytoy is still at the helm of this carrier and can not figure out why they have the worst rep in the nation.  My bosses son goes I know the person he is talking about and yes I will never forget where I came from.  

 



Thats a very negative stereotype of us boy toys, we are not all like that.

 

R

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Posted by Shadow the Cats owner on Monday, December 18, 2017 10:53 AM

Yep very same idiot according to hubby.  EHH and him have to be related in some way.  They only think of how to punish the worker never reward them for their efforts.  EHH was famous for firing anyone for a minor rules breaking.  The idiot loved to run out those that opposed him like EHH did with anyone that refused to swallow his ideas.  Both of them took companies that for the most part where well run CSX yes had the worst OR in the industry when EHH took it over but the customers where happy and for the most part the employees where also.  The Idiot managed to run off 2 of his larger customers in time and made it so drivers hate his guts so bad the doors to dispatch are now locked and the DOT nationwide sees his trucks as a free for all buffet of tickets to hand out to their drivers.

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Posted by Los Angeles Rams Guy on Monday, December 18, 2017 9:06 PM
Ulrich, Keith Creel isn't going anywhere. He's staying at CPRS.
"Beating 'SC is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that." Former UCLA Head Football Coach Red Sanders

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