Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Norfolk Southern Corporation's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Luke Nichols, Senior Director of Investor Relations. Thank you, Mr. Nichols, you may now begin.

您好，歡迎參加諾福克南方公司 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興向大家介紹投資者關係高級總監 Luke Nichols。謝謝你，尼科爾斯先生，你現在可以開始了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Please note that during today's call, we will make certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events or future performance of Norfolk Southern Corporation, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from actual results. Please refer to our annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC for a full discussion of those risks and uncertainties we view as most important.

謝謝大家，大家早安。請注意，在今天的電話會議中，我們將根據1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款做出某些前瞻性陳述。陳述受到風險和不確定性，可能與實際結果有重大差異。請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的年度和季度報告，以全面討論我們認為最重要的風險和不確定性。

Our presentation slides are available at norfolksouthern.com in the Investors section, along with our reconciliation of any non-GAAP measures used today to the comparable GAAP measures, including adjusted or non-GAAP operating ratio. Please note that all references to our prospective operating ratio during today's call are being provided on an adjusted basis as referenced in our earnings release. Turning to Slide 3. It's now my pleasure to introduce Norfolk Southern's President and Chief Executive Officer, Alan Shaw.

我們的簡報投影片可在norfolksouthern.com 的投資者部分中找到，以及我們今天使用的任何非公認會計準則衡量指標與可比公認會計準則衡量指標的對賬，包括調整後或非公認會計準則營運比率。請注意，今天電話會議期間對我們預期營運比率的所有引用都是在我們的收益發布中引用的調整後的基礎上提供的。轉向幻燈片 3。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Norfolk Southern's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. Here with me today are Mark George, our Chief Financial Officer; Ed Elkins, our Chief Marketing Officer; and our new Chief Operating Officer, John Orr. I am excited to have John on the Norfolk Southern team. John is a 40-year railroad industry veteran and a proven PSR expert who has worked with Hunter Harrison, Claude Mongeau and Keith Creel to implement PSR railroads across 3 countries.

大家早安，感謝您參加諾福克南方航空 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的是我們的財務長馬克喬治 (Mark George)； Ed Elkins，我們的行銷長；以及我們的新任營運長約翰·奧爾 (John Orr)。我很高興約翰加入諾福克南方隊。 John 是一位擁有 40 年鐵路行業經驗的資深人士，也是一位久經考驗的 PSR 專家，他曾與 Hunter Harrison、Claude Mongeau 和 Keith Creel 合作，在 3 個國家/地區實施 PSR 鐵路。

I promised you that we would focus on productivity in 2024, and we're taking action to do just that. Bringing in someone of John's caliber was another step to accelerate our operational improvement. John is going to share the progress in our operating metrics that he and his team are already driving and his plans for furthering productivity in our merchandise network to deliver immediate margin enhancement. Our strategy is about balancing service, productivity and growth with safety at its core.

我向你們承諾，我們將在 2024 年專注於生產力，並且我們正在採取行動來實現這一目標。引進約翰這樣的人才是加速我們營運改善的又一步。約翰將分享他和他的團隊已經在推動的營運指標方面的進展，以及他提高商品網絡生產力以立即提高利潤率的計劃。我們的策略是以安全為核心，平衡服務、生產力和成長。

This strategy is anchored on a PSR-driven operating plan and designed to deliver top-tier earnings and revenue growth with industry competitive margins. When we say industry competitive margins, it has to be within 100 to 200 basis points of the industry average.

該策略以 PSR 驅動的營運計劃為基礎，旨在以具有行業競爭力的利潤率實現頂級收益和收入成長。當我們說產業競爭利潤時，它必須在產業平均的 100 到 200 個基點之內。

Let's recall where we've been and discuss our path forward. Last year, in response to East Palestine, we prioritized investments in safety and service to protect our franchise and our shareholders, and we delivered on both fronts. We are operating one of the safest networks in North America and are producing service levels better than anything we've seen since 2019.

讓我們回顧一下我們已經走過的路，並討論我們前進的道路。去年，為了因應東巴勒斯坦議題，我們優先投資安全和服務，以保護我們的特許經營權和股東，我們在這兩方面都取得了成效。我們正在運作北美最安全的網路之一，並且提供的服務水準比 2019 年以來的任何水準都要好。

Despite that progress, more work remains to be done to get us back to industry competitive margins. We were not delivering the productivity, and we were not running fast enough or efficiently enough. I needed to make changes to accelerate our progress and to introduce greater operational discipline into our culture. To that end, we started making organizational and process changes last fall, culminating with the recent hiring of John Orr.

儘管取得了這些進展，但要讓我們恢復產業競爭優勢，仍有更多工作要做。我們沒有提供生產力，我們運作得不夠快或不夠有效率。我需要做出改變來加速我們的進步，並將更嚴格的營運紀律引入我們的文化中。為此，我們從去年秋天開始進行組織和流程變革，最終以最近聘用了約翰·奧爾 (John Orr) 告終。

Now we have safely built the foundation to drive substantial gains in productivity, and we've committed to a 400 to [450] basis point OR improvement in the second half of this year. We will close that margin gap with peers. We will deliver a sub-60 operating ratio in the next 3 to 4 years, and we will do it at a safe, sustainable manner that recognizes our current operating environment and brings key constituents, including our shareholders, customers, employees and regulators along with us on our mission.

現在，我們已經安全地奠定了推動生產力大幅提高的基礎，並且我們承諾在今年下半年將 OR 提高 400 到 [450] 個基點。我們將縮小與同行的利潤差距。我們將在未來3 到4 年內實現低於60 的營運比率，並且我們將以安全、可持續的方式實現這一目標，這種方式認識到我們當前的營運環境，並讓包括我們的股東、客戶、員工和監管機構在內的關鍵組成部分我們的使命。

We will urgently deliver productivity through disciplined operational excellence that continues to safely serve our customers, positions us to grow by meeting markets as they evolve and allows us to generate outsized returns for our shareholders. I'll now turn it over to Mark to review our first quarter financial results.

我們將透過嚴格的卓越營運來緊急提高生產力，繼續安全地服務我們的客戶，使我們能夠透過滿足市場的發展來實現成長，並使我們能夠為股東創造豐厚的回報。現在我將把它交給馬克來審查我們第一季的財務表現。

Thanks, Alan. As seen on Slide 5, our GAAP results in Q1 were impacted by 4 items that we've called out for you. Earlier in the month, we announced the $600 million agreement in principle to resolve a consolidated class action lawsuit relating to the East Palestine derailment. That addresses the most significant remaining legal exposures for our shareholders.

謝謝，艾倫。如投影片 5 所示，我們第一季的 GAAP 結果受到我們為您指出的 4 個項目的影響。本月早些時候，我們原則上宣布達成 6 億美元協議，以解決與東巴勒斯坦脫軌有關的綜合集體訴訟。這解決了我們股東面臨的最重要的剩餘法律風險。

Including other cleanup costs and insurance recoveries in the quarter, our operating income was adversely impacted by $592 million. You'll note at the bottom, another $108 million of insurance recoveries in the quarter. That brings our recoveries to date in excess of $200 million toward our $1.1 billion insurance coverage tower.

包括本季的其他清理成本和保險賠償在內，我們的營業收入受到了 5.92 億美元的不利影響。您會在底部注意到，本季另外有 1.08 億美元的保險賠償。迄今為止，我們已為 11 億美元的保險保障塔收回了超過 2 億美元的賠償。

Moving to the right. We told you last quarter about our initiative to drive a 7% reduction in non-agreement headcount, for which savings will begin to materialize in Q2. That initiative, along with our operations leadership change resulted in a $99 million charge. Next, our advisory costs associated with our now very public shareholder matter recorded in nonoperating. Finally, we also called out here a favorable deferred tax adjustment affecting our income tax expense. For the remaining slides, I'll speak to our adjusted results, excluding these items, as shown here on the far right.

向右移動。我們上個季度告訴您，我們計劃推動非協議員工人數減少 7%，這項措施將在第二季開始實現。這項舉措以及我們的營運領導層變動導致了 9,900 萬美元的費用。接下來，我們與現在非常公開的股東事務相關的諮詢成本記錄在非經營性項目中。最後，我們也正在此呼籲進行有利的遞延稅調整，影響我們的所得稅費用。對於其餘的幻燈片，我將討論我們的調整結果，排除這些項目，如最右側所示。

Moving to Slide 6, let's focus on the adjusted variances compared to Q1 of 2023 in the year-over-year columns. Those results were impacted by 4% lower revenues driven by meaningfully lower fuel surcharge as well as headwinds in Intermodal that Ed will detail later. Operating expenses were up 3% from inflation and the increased workforce. You'll see an OpEx year-over-year waterfall in the appendix that provides more detail.

轉向投影片 6，讓我們專注於同比列中與 2023 年第一季相比的調整後差異。這些結果受到燃油附加費大幅降低以及多式聯運不利因素的影響，收入下降了 4%，艾德稍後將對此進行詳細說明。由於通貨膨脹和勞動力增加，營運費用增加了 3%。您將在附錄中看到營運支出逐年瀑布圖，其中提供了更多詳細資訊。

Not on this page is nonoperating income, which was down $17 million from lower gains on our company-owned life insurance. That decline, coupled with the lower operating income drove the net income and EPS reductions you see here on a year-over-year basis.

本頁未列出非營業收入，該收入因我們公司擁有的人壽保險收益下降而減少了 1,700 萬美元。這種下降，加上營業收入的下降，導致淨利和每股盈餘較去年同期下降。

Let's talk on the right side about the sequential variance from Q4 2023, where we guided to a 100 to 200 basis point deterioration in our OR, which is in line with normal seasonality. That's exactly where we landed right at the lower end of that range. On the next couple of charts, we'll detail the sequential revenue and OpEx walks from Q4.

讓我們在右側討論 2023 年第四季度的連續方差，我們指導 OR 惡化 100 到 200 個基點，這與正常的季節性相符。這正是我們落在該範圍下端的地方。在接下來的幾個圖表中，我們將詳細介紹第四季以來的連續收入和營運支出變化。

So revenue here on Slide 7 moved down sequentially driven by fuel surcharge headwinds and overall lower volumes driven by coal and Intermodal. Coal pricing was weaker and Intermodal faced difficult conditions with volumes down 3% and continued adverse mix from softness in our higher-yield premium business.

因此，受燃油附加費不利因素以及煤炭和多式聯運推動的整體銷售下降的影響，幻燈片 7 中的收入連續下降。煤炭價格走軟，多式聯運面臨困難，銷售量下降 3%，高收益溢價業務的疲軟持續帶來不利影響。

Slide 8, turning to our operating expenses. They were down 1% as compared to Q4. We faced typical sequential headwinds associated with the reset of payroll taxes, and we had meaningful headwinds from returning to normal incentive compensation accrual levels as well as no property sales in the first quarter. We offset those headwinds by lower spend in purchased services, efficiency gains in comp embedded as well as favorable fuel prices.

投影片 8，轉向我們的營運費用。與第四季相比下降了 1%。我們面臨著與工資稅重置相關的典型連續逆風，並且由於恢復到正常的激勵薪酬應計水平以及第一季沒有房地產銷售，我們也遇到了重大逆風。我們透過購買服務支出的減少、嵌入補償的效率提高以及有利的燃料價格來抵消這些不利因素。

While fuel expense was down 6% sequentially, recall that surcharge revenue was down 17% sequentially, and that drives a 40 basis point OR headwind on a sequential basis. As we turn to the balance of the year, we will see our margins improve materially from here. We are finally starting to see excess service costs unwind and they will accelerate downward in Q2. That trajectory, along with the reduction in non-agreement headcount as well as other productivity initiatives leave us confident in a strong productivity story for Q2.

雖然燃油費用較上季下降 6%，但附加費收入較上季下降 17%，這導致季減 40 個基點或逆風。當我們轉向今年的剩餘時間時，我們將看到我們的利潤率將大幅改善。我們終於開始看到過剩的服務成本消退，並將在第二季加速下降。這一軌跡，加上非協議員工人數的減少以及其他生產力舉措，讓我們對第二季強勁的生產力故事充滿信心。

We anticipate a modest seasonal volume lift sequentially, although there is some pressure to our Coal business from the Baltimore Bridge disruption. Despite the port closure, we still believe we will be within the first half 67% to 68% OR guidance range, assuming that the channel reopens at the beginning of June. The revenue impact from the channel closure is in the $25 million to $35 million per month range. More productivity momentum builds in the back half as well as stronger volumes, and that provides us with confidence in the 400 to 450 basis points of OR improvement. John will talk more about the productivity runway in front of us. But first, I'll hand over to Ed to discuss revenues.

儘管巴爾的摩大橋的中斷給我們的煤炭業務帶來了一些壓力，但我們預計季節性銷售將連續適度成長。儘管港口關閉，但假設該通道在 6 月初重新開放，我們仍然相信上半年 OR 指導範圍將在 67% 至 68% 之內。通路關閉對收入的影響為每月 2500 萬至 3500 萬美元。下半年生產力成長動力增強，銷售量增加，這讓我們對 OR 改善 400 至 450 個基點充滿信心。約翰將更多地談論我們面前的生產力跑道。但首先，我將請艾德討論收入問題。

Thank you, Mark, and good morning to everyone on the call. Starting on Slide 11, I'll go over our commercial results for the quarter. Overall, volume grew by 4% versus last year, driven by Intermodal. Revenue for the first quarter came in just above $3 billion, down 4% year-over-year as total RPU fell 8%.

謝謝你，馬克，祝所有參加電話會議的人早安。從投影片 11 開始，我將回顧本季的商業表現。總體而言，在多式聯運的推動下，貨運量比去年增長了 4%。第一季營收略高於 30 億美元，年減 4%，總 RPU 下降 8%。

Starting with merchandise, volume was flat versus last year, while revenue ticked down 1% driven by lower fuel surcharge revenue. RPU less fuel increased by 3% year-over-year setting an all-time quarterly record, which also led to a new all-time quarterly record for revenue less fuel. This marks the 35th out of the prior 36 quarters that merchandise RPU grew year-over-year, and once again, reaffirms our commitment to price and the increasing value of our service.

從商品開始，銷售量與去年持平，而由於燃油附加費收入下降，收入下降了 1%。 RPU（扣除燃油）年增 3%，創下歷史季度記錄，這也導致收入（扣除燃油）創下新的歷史季度記錄。這標誌著過去 36 個季度中商品 RPU 同比增長的第 35 個季度，並再次重申了我們對價格和不斷增加的服務價值的承諾。

Turning to Intermodal. Volume grew 8% year-over-year, primarily on strength in International. However, revenue decreased 8% as RPU excluding fuel and storage and fees declined by 6% overall. Revenue was also impacted by the lane rationalization across Intermodal that simplified our network. This decision demonstrates how marketing, operations and finance are aligned to increase productivity and drive smart and sustainable growth.

轉向聯運。銷量較去年同期成長 8%，主要得益於國際業務的強勁成長。然而，收入下降了 8%，因為不包括燃料和儲存費用的 RPU 總體下降了 6%。多式聯運的車道合理化也簡化了我們的網絡，這也影響了收入。這項決定展示了行銷、營運和財務如何協調一致，以提高生產力並推動明智和可持續的成長。

Digging into coal, volumes for the quarter declined by 4% as weakness in the utility market was only partially offset by export strength driven by a historically strong export quarter as our cross-functional efforts to boost throughput at our Lamberts Point terminal yielded positive results. These results are a great example of NS pulling together to deliver strong value for our shareholders and for our customers.

煤炭方面，本季的交易量下降了4%，因為公用事業市場的疲軟僅被歷史上強勁的出口季度推動的出口強勁所部分抵消，因為我們為提高蘭伯特角碼頭吞吐量所做的跨職能努力取得了積極成果。這些結果是 NS 齊心協力為我們的股東和客戶創造強大價值的一個很好的例子。

Let's move to Slide 12, where I'm introducing a new view of our results that helps frame the main first quarter drivers of revenue and revenue per unit. Overall, fuel surcharge revenue was the single largest headwind in the quarter, declining by $115 million.

讓我們轉到投影片 12，我在其中介紹了我們結果的新視圖，有助於確定第一季收入和單位收入的主要驅動因素。總體而言，燃油附加費收入是本季最大的單一阻力，下降了 1.15 億美元。

The first quarter was also the last one where Intermodal storage and fees are a substantial year-over-year headwind with revenues declining by $35 million. In Coal, we experienced positive mix from higher export volumes and higher utility shipments in the South. This positive mix was more than offset by lower realized price and export shipments as seaborne coal prices weakened significantly throughout the quarter.

第一季也是聯運倉儲和費用年減的最後一個季度，營收下降了 3,500 萬美元。在煤炭方面，我們經歷了南方出口量增加和公用事業運輸增加的積極組合。由於整個季度海運煤炭價格顯著走弱，實際價格和出口出貨量的下降抵消了這種積極的組合。

Merchandise revenue, excluding fuel, was driven higher by pricing gains across the entire book. Overall pricing and volume increases in our metals franchise were boosted by improved network fluidity from increased car velocity. That same velocity and fluidity helped volumes in automotive remained flat despite manufacturing headwinds at several of the plants that we serve.

整個帳簿的定價收益推動商品收入（不包括燃料）走高。我們的金屬特許經營權的整體定價和銷售成長得益於汽車速度提高所帶來的網路流動性的改善。儘管我們服務的幾家工廠面臨製造逆風，但同樣的速度和流動性幫助汽車銷售保持平穩。

Intermodal revenue, excluding fuel and storage and fees increased as higher volumes more than offset adverse mix and continued slight capacity in the domestic truck market created headwinds to RPU. Higher international shipments and lower domestic premium shipments were the main drivers of adverse mix. Additionally, RPU was impacted from higher international empty shipments as these grew 57% year-over-year in the quarter. We believe elongated ocean transit times are a driving factor pushing ocean carriers to deploy their capacity back on the water as soon as possible, which increases the need to reposition empty containers back to the ports.

多式聯運收入（不包括燃料、倉儲和費用）有所增加，因為運量增加足以抵消不利的組合，而且國內卡車市場運力持續疲軟對 RPU 造成不利影響。國際出貨量增加和國內保費出貨量下降是不利組合的主要驅動因素。此外，RPU 也受到國際空運量增加的影響，本季空運量年增 57%。我們認為，海運時間延長是推動海運承運人盡快將其運力部署回水面的一個驅動因素，這增加了將空貨櫃重新運回港口的需要。

Turning to Slide 13. Let's go over our market outlook for the remainder of '24. The macro landscape presents a mixed bag with uncertainty regarding inflation and future Fed rate actions overshadowing the recent recovery in manufacturing. However, our improving service product places us in an excellent position to capitalize on growth opportunities.

轉向幻燈片 13。宏觀情勢好壞參半，通膨和未來聯準會利率行動的不確定性給近期製造業的復甦蒙上了陰影。然而，我們不斷改進的服務產品使我們處於充分利用成長機會的有利地位。

Starting with our view on the widely varying merchandise markets, we generally see support from volume from the normalization of auto production and the continued strength in infrastructure projects across our network. A positive price environment will continue, which is supported by the increase in network fluidity. Improved cycle times, equipment availability and network velocity will be a broad positive tailwind across our portfolio and merchandise. And we also expect to drive incremental volumes through project development, such as our recently announced Great Lakes reload acquisition, the merger of TDIS into Triple Crown Services and continued industrial development wins.

從我們對千差萬別的商品市場的看法開始，我們通常看到汽車生產正常化帶來的銷售支持以及整個網路基礎設施項目的持續強勁。積極的價格環境將持續，這受到網路流動性增加的支持。改進的周期時間、設備可用性和網路速度將為我們的產品組合和產品帶來廣泛的積極推動力。我們還希望透過專案開發來推動增量，例如我們最近宣布的 Great Lakes reload 收購、將 TDIS 合併到 Triple Crown Services 以及持續的工業發展勝利。

Intermodal volumes are increase as international trade remains robust. We expect continued mix impacts from higher international empty shipments as geopolitical tensions remain elevated, but a weak truck market continues to drive stubbornly low truck rates, which will dampen domestic nonpremium Intermodal pricing. Additionally, we expect volumes in our domestic premium business to fall as challenging LTL market forces reduced freight demand for parcel shipments.

隨著國際貿易保持強勁，多式聯運量不斷增加。我們預計，由於地緣政治緊張局勢持續加劇，國際空運量增加將繼續產生混合影響，但卡車市場疲軟繼續導致卡車運價持續偏低，這將抑制國內非優質多式聯運定價。此外，我們預計，由於零擔市場挑戰減少了包裹運輸的貨運需求，我們的國內優質業務量將會下降。

Finally, coal volumes will be challenged as high stockpiles and low natural gas prices reduce utility shipments. In addition, export shipments will be affected by the Baltimore port shutdown. We are diligently working with our customers to provide alternate supply chain solutions, and the increased network fluidity is providing the capacity necessary to execute on those solutions.

最後，由於高庫存和低天然氣價格減少了公用事業運輸量，煤炭產量將受到挑戰。此外，出口發貨將受到巴爾的摩港口關閉的影響。我們正在努力與客戶合作，提供替代供應鏈解決方案，而網路流動性的增加則提供了執行這些解決方案所需的能力。

Finally, seaborne coal prices have weakened as supply has outstripped global demand and this headwind is expected to continue throughout the remainder of the year. Before I turn it over to John, I'd like to close by making our customers for trusting Norfolk Southern to move their freight.

最後，由於供應超過全球需求，海運煤炭價格走軟，預計這種不利因素將在今年剩餘時間內持續存在。在我把它交給約翰之前，我想最後讓我們的客戶相信諾福克南方航空運送他們的貨物。

Thank you, Ed. I arrived at NS in late March and immediately got to work immersing myself in the operations and connecting with our people. I've had boots on the ground assessing terminals and engaging craft colleagues and frontline supervisors. I've also met with our stakeholders from labor, regulatory and community leadership. What I've seen confirms that NS is a robust franchise with a talented team and the resources to deliver impressive results when properly executed. Our safety performance as shown on Slide 15, has trended favorably. I have observed a strong safety commitment, and we are building on that. My first action as COO was a system safety blitz to provide clarity around the value of safety.

謝謝你，艾德。我於三月下旬到達 NS，並立即開始工作，全心投入營運並與我們的員工建立聯繫。我曾實地評估終端並與工藝同事和一線主管進行接觸。我還會見了來自勞工、監管和社區領導層的利害關係人。我所看到的情況證實了 NS 是一家強大的特許經營公司，擁有一支才華橫溢的團隊和資源，如果執行得當，可以取得令人印象深刻的成果。如投影片 15 所示，我們的安全績效趨勢良好。我遵守了強而有力的安全承諾，我們正在以此為基礎。身為營運官，我的第一個行動是發動系統安全閃電戰，以明確安全價值。

Turning to Slide 16. It is imperative that we closed the profitability gap with our peers. We are now delivering encouraging trends in productivity. Our strategy is balanced. Our operating efficiency and service excellence are achieved in tandem. Our approach is a flywheel of value creation where people, processes and accountability intersect to drive performance, anchoring our service and profitability proposition. Accountability is key. We're providing our team with the metrics they need to track their performance.

轉向投影片 16。我們現在正在提供令人鼓舞的生產力趨勢。我們的策略是平衡的。我們的營運效率和卓越服務是同步實現的。我們的方法是價值創造的飛輪，人員、流程和責任相互交叉以推動績效，鞏固我們的服務和獲利主張。問責制是關鍵。我們為我們的團隊提供他們追蹤績效所需的指標。

In my first 30 days, we have removed approximately 200 locomotives from the available fleet. Most of these have gone into stored status or driven off-line for (inaudible). Our availability count is now below 2,500 units. As shown on the slide, we will be able to increase locomotive drawdown over the next 6 months. Terminal 12 has improved by 8%. We are driving more waste by fine-tuning workload in our terminals through disciplined planned execution. Near term, we are targeting 20% improvement.

在我的前 30 天裡，我們已經從可用車隊中移除了大約 200 輛機車。其中大多數已進入儲存狀態或已離線（聽不清楚）。我們的可用數量目前低於 2,500 台。如幻燈片所示，我們將能夠在未來 6 個月內增加機車縮減。 12 號航站樓改善了 8%。我們透過嚴格的計畫執行來微調航站樓的工作量，從而減少了更多的浪費。近期，我們的目標是提高 20%。

Car miles have improved by 8%. And this is another productivity measure, we target for double-digit improvement. Recrews are trending down 22% as network and terminal improvements are combining to improve fluidity across the main line. And lastly, we are reviewing the entire train service plan. This will drive core rationalization in the range of 4%, resulting from these initiatives. We are driving out excess cost as we close the gap to our peers.

汽車行駛里程增加了 8%。這是另一個生產力衡量標準，我們的目標是實現兩位數的提升。隨著網路和航站樓的改進相結合，提高了乾線的流動性，船員數量呈下降 22% 的趨勢。最後，我們正在審查整個列車服務計劃。這些措施將推動核心合理化率提高 4%。當我們縮小與同行的差距時，我們正在消除多餘的成本。

Referring to Slide 17, network update. To accelerate improvements and address network underperformance, I have established a network optimization team that identifies areas for immediate improvement. I have deployed 2 task force to drive field productivity and throughput at 2 major terminals.

參考投影片 17，網路更新。為了加速改進並解決網路效能不佳的問題，我成立了一個網路優化團隊，負責確定需要立即改進的領域。我部署了 2 個工作小組來提高 2 個主要碼頭的現場生產力和吞吐量。

The outcomes from these efforts will rapidly go out to scale throughout the network. We are training our operations leaders to think differently to make faster decisions and to eliminate waste more vigorously. My commitment is to develop PSR railroaders to instill the discipline for continuous improvement and to streamline execution by relentlessly managing assets in context to our commercial obligations. The initial results across the entire network have been promising. Our people are driving PSR results.

這些努力的成果將迅速在整個網路中推廣。我們正在培訓我們的營運領導者以不同的方式思考，以更快地做出決策並更有力地消除浪費。我的承諾是培養 PSR 鐵路公司，灌輸持續改進的紀律，並透過根據我們的商業義務不懈地管理資產來簡化執行。整個網路的初步結果是有希望的。我們的員工正在推動 PSR 成果。

To create accountability and to track progress, we're introducing a comprehensive set of metrics. I've laid out challenging and urgent near-term targets, and I'm taking an aggressive disciplined approach to achieve our long-term financial glide path. And I can tell you, now we have a significant runway on cost reduction. As our fleet becomes more efficient, we benefit in rents and materials by shedding assets and from improving the fleet composition and getting out more costly cars.

為了建立問責制並追蹤進度，我們引入了一套全面的指標。我已經制定了具有挑戰性和緊迫性的近期目標，我正在採取積極、嚴格的方法來實現我們的長期財務下滑之路。我可以告訴你，現在我們在降低成本方面有了重要的進展。隨著我們的車隊變得更加高效，我們透過剝離資產、改善車隊組成和淘汰更昂貴的汽車，在租金和材料方面受益。

Our locomotive fleet now has significant capacity. I believe we will be able to scale down discretionary capital spending on the fleet. And we have a robust terminal footprint, covering a rich array of industrial activity. And as we optimize our terminals, we are challenging the historic use to create value through consolidation and efficiencies. I am proud and excited to have the opportunity to lead the operations team at NS. I look forward to your questions, and I will turn the call back to Alan.

我們的機車車隊現在擁有巨大的運力。我相信我們將能夠減少機隊的可自由支配資本支出。我們擁有強大的碼頭足跡，涵蓋廣泛的工業活動。當我們優化碼頭時，我們正在挑戰歷史用途，透過整合和效率創造價值。我很自豪也很興奮有機會領導 NS 的營運團隊。我期待您的提問，我會將電話轉回給艾倫。

Our strategy is designed to mirror the great success stories of the Canadian railroads who have recognized that PSR is about more than tearing a railroad down to its studs at slashing costs regardless of the fallout. As our Board member, Claude Mongeau, demonstrated when he was CEO of Canadian National, a PSR operating model, when part of a customer-focused balanced strategy, can deliver top-tier revenue growth and a sub-60 operating ratio. John Orr was an integral part of Claude's leadership team at CN and thus, a perfect fit from Norfolk Southern as we turbocharge productivity in pursuit of industry competitive margins and top-tier earnings growth.

我們的策略旨在反映加拿大鐵路的巨大成功故事，他們認識到 PSR 不僅僅是以削減成本而不管後果如何將鐵路拆毀。正如我們的董事會成員 Claude Mongeau 在擔任 Canadian National 執行長時所證明的那樣，PSR 營運模式作為以客戶為中心的平衡策略的一部分，可以實現頂級收入增長和低於 60 的營運比率。約翰·奧爾(John Orr) 是克勞德(Claude) 在CN 領導團隊中不可或缺的一部分，因此，他是諾福克南方航空的完美人選，因為我們正在提高生產力，追求行業競爭性利潤和頂級獲利成長。

Core to this are the men and women of Norfolk Southern. I'm incredibly proud of all they've done to progress the execution of our differentiated strategy. So my colleagues, thank you for everything you do for Norfolk Southern, our shareholders, our customers and your fellow team members. Together, we are on a transformational journey to a safer more profitable railroad, poised for growth with strong execution from an experienced leadership team.

其中的核心是諾福克南方大學的男男女女。我對他們為推進我們差異化策略的執行所做的一切感到無比自豪。所以我的同事們，感謝你們為諾福克南方航空、我們的股東、我們的客戶以及你們的團隊成員所做的一切。我們共同踏上了通往更安全、更有利可圖的鐵路的轉型之旅，並透過經驗豐富的領導團隊的強大執行力實現成長。

We will now open the call to questions. Operator?

我們現在開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first question comes from Brian Ossenbeck with JPMorgan.

我們的第一個問題來自摩根大通的布萊恩·奧森貝克。

Just wanted to understand, going back to the Meridian Speedway concession. Does that actually have an impact? Or does that cover anything related to traffic originating or terminating out of Mexico? And then secondarily, maybe something for John or the team. Can you just give us some sense behind the underlying assumptions as you're benchmarking these productivity savings going down to 60 OR in the next 2, 3 years? And why can't you go there faster? What's holding you back from that? Maybe you can help with walking through some of the assumptions under your numbers versus what else we see out there?

只是想了解一下，回到 Meridian Speedway 特許權。這實際上有影響嗎？或者這是否涵蓋與源自或終止於墨西哥的流量相關的任何內容？其次，也許是為約翰或團隊做點什麼。當您對未來 2、3 年內將這些生產力節省降至 60 或 60 進行基準測試時，您能否給我們一些基本假設背後的意義？為什麼你不能更快去那裡？是什麼阻礙了你？也許您可以幫助我們了解您的數字下的一些假設以及我們看到的其他內容？

Thanks for the question, Brian. Let me be really clear. The agreement related to the Meridian Speedway is by no means a consequential concession, and it does not impact Mexico. We said it impacts the Dallas business, which is largely defined by abundant truck capacity. John, do you want to handle the second part of his one question.

謝謝你的提問，布萊恩。讓我說得非常清楚。與子午線高速公路相關的協議絕不是一個相應的讓步，它不會影響墨西哥。我們說這會影響達拉斯的業務，而達拉斯的業務主要是由充足的卡車運力決定的。約翰，你想回答他的一個問題的第二部分嗎？

Sure. Brian, nice to talk to you. And I'll tell you, I've been out assessing the network, and I'm really confident with the plans that I've got underway today that we're on track for the 400 to 500 basis points by year-end. And I'll tell you, our operating costs are a direct reflection of our asset management. And speed and accuracy are really essential to that. And our ability to rapidly cycle assets reduces our need for them, which is why we're focused on accelerating all of our operations simultaneously while taking out costs.

當然。布萊恩，很高興和你說話。我會告訴你，我一直在評估網絡，我對今天正在進行的計劃非常有信心，我們將在年底前實現 400 到 500 個基點的目標。我告訴你，我們的營運成本是我們資產管理的直接反映。速度和準確性對此至關重要。我們快速循環資產的能力減少了對資產的需求，這就是為什麼我們專注於同時加速所有運營，同時降低成本。

And I'm very confident with our dwell, our over-the-road performance, the discipline we put on our locomotive fleets and the crew productivity and some of the smart investments that we're making to unlock the value, we're well underway.

我對我們的駐留、我們的公路性能、我們對機車車隊的紀律和機組人員的生產力以及我們為釋放價值而進行的一些明智投資非常有信心，我們很好進行。

Next question is from the line of Scott Group with Wolfe Research.

下一個問題來自 Scott Group 和 Wolfe Research。

So Mark, you're guiding 400 to 500 basis points of sequential improvement into Q2. Just help us think about the drivers there? How much volume? How should we think about cost ex fuel? And there's a lot going on with the proxy. So I do want to ask also, Alan. A, what's -- any expectation in terms of timing for ISS and then there is a lot of focus on this Meridian Speedway thing. It looks like there was another a second amendment that you guys filed yesterday. Any color on what that second amendment is?

馬克，您正在指導第二季度連續改進 400 到 500 個基點。請幫我們想想那裡的司機？體積是多少？我們該如何考慮燃料成本？代理發生了很多事情。所以我也想問，艾倫。答，什麼是——對國際太空站時間的任何期望，然後人們對子午線高速公路的事情有很多關注。看起來你們昨天還提交了另一個第二修正案。第二修正案是什麼？

Yes, I'll start. First, I think the amendment was just really formalizing with the SEB who had requested that things get filed, the whole exchange that we want -- that we had the 8-K and some of the other stuff. They just wanted to see it formally filed. So we did exactly that. That's all it is, nothing new than what's already been communicated. ISS, we don't control it. We would imagine that comes out likely at the end of this week, early next week, but we don't know.

是的，我會開始。首先，我認為該修正案只是與 SEB 真正正式化，SEB 要求將事情歸檔，我們想要的整個交換 - 我們擁有 8-K 和其他一些東西。他們只是想看到它正式提交。所以我們就是這麼做的。僅此而已，與已經傳達的內容相比，沒有什麼新內容。國際太空站，我們無法控制它。我們預計這可能會在本週末或下週初出現，但我們不知道。

And with regard to the Q1 to Q2 walk, Scott, really, what we would expect here is kind of the modest seasonal volume increase that you typically would see going into the second quarter, call it 1 point or 2 of increased costs. But then I think you're going to really start to see the cost lines start to show relief here, especially in comp and ben. We've started to actually experience the unwinding of service costs in March, and that's going to really accelerate into the second quarter. And I think most of those will be gone by the end of the second quarter going into the third quarter. So we've made tremendous progress there.

關於從第一季度到第二季度的增長，斯科特，實際上，我們在這裡期望的是您通常會在第二季度看到的適度的季節性銷量增長，稱之為1 或2 點的成本增加。但我認為你會真正開始看到成本線開始出現緩解，特別是在補償和成本方面。我們從三月開始真正體驗到服務成本的下降，這種情況將真正加速到第二季。我認為其中大部分將在第二季末進入第三季時消失。所以我們在那裡取得了巨大的進展。

In addition, we've got restructuring benefits, the reduction of the 300-plus non-agreement workers. Most of those have already left here in middle of April and there's a few more that leave at the end of May, but we're going to start really harvesting those benefits. And fuel is another area where we're going to see some benefits with efficiency.

此外，我們還有重組福利，減少了300多名非協議工人。其中大多數人已經在四月中旬離開這裡，還有一些人在五月底離開，但我們將開始真正收穫這些好處。燃料是我們將看到一些效率優勢的另一個領域。

John is very focused on that right now. And then, of course, we've got all of the other productivity stuff that's really starting to build. The productivity related to crew start savings, over time, car rents, things like that. So you're going to see it show up in a lot of the P&L lines, especially in com and ben.

約翰現在非常專注於此。然後，當然，我們已經開始真正開始建立所有其他生產力工具。隨著時間的推移，與船員相關的生產力開始節省汽車租金等。所以你會看到它出現在很多損益表中，特別是在 com 和 ben 中。

And Scott, recall in John's prepared remarks, you had a chart that said about $250 million in productivity over the next 6 months.

史考特，回想一下約翰在準備好的發言中，有一張圖表顯示未來 6 個月的生產力約為 2.5 億美元。

Our next question is from the line of Tom Wadewitz with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的湯姆·瓦德維茨 (Tom Wadewitz)。

Yes. Alan, I wanted to get your thoughts on, I guess, how -- you've had a pretty big change, obviously, the new COO, who is, John stated, been very aggressive. The team has been aggressive with taking locomotives out, changing the schedule. How do you think about the risks of that? Because I think your prior approach was something where you thought it would be better for customers to kind of have the resiliency approach. So I guess how do you think about the change in tack on operations and some of the risks of going that way and I guess also recognizing that before you kind of pointed to a lot of risks of being too aggressive on the -- I guess, on reducing people and assets?

是的。艾倫，我想聽聽你的想法，我猜，你已經發生了相當大的變化，顯然，新任營運長約翰說，他非常積極進取。團隊一直積極拆除機車，改變時間表。您如何看待這樣做的風險？因為我認為您之前的方法是您認為客戶採用彈性方法會更好。因此，我想您如何看待營運策略的變化以及採取這種方式的一些風險，我想您也認識到，在您指出過於激進的許多風險之前，我想，減少人員和資產？

Tom, thanks for the question. Let me be really clear. We we're still focused on that same strategy that we laid out a couple of years ago. And that's that balance between service productivity and growth with safety at its core. And we made a lot of improvements last year in service. We made a safer road even safer, but we weren't delivering the productivity. We weren't running fast enough, and we weren't running efficiently enough.

湯姆，謝謝你的提問。讓我說得非常清楚。我們仍然專注於我們幾年前製定的相同策略。這就是以安全為核心的服務生產力和成長之間的平衡。去年我們在服務方面做了許多改進。我們讓道路變得更加安全，但我們並沒有提供生產力。我們跑得不夠快，我們跑得不夠有效率。

And so I needed to make some changes, and that's what a CEO does. And I needed to accelerate our operational improvements, and we made a number of process changes and personnel changes starting last fall. Most recently, we hired John Orr and what John is doing is he's driving productivity and continued service improvements. And so that -- that's the balance of our strategy. That's what customers want. They want service and they want us to be productive. John, you got some thoughts on that?

所以我需要做出一些改變，這就是執行長要做的事情。我需要加快我們的營運改進，從去年秋天開始，我們進行了一些流程變更和人員變動。最近，我們聘請了約翰·奧爾（John Orr），約翰所做的就是提高生產力並持續改善服務。這就是我們策略的平衡。這就是客戶想要的。他們需要服務並且希望我們能有生產力。約翰，你對此有什麼想法嗎？

Yes. And as I've said in my prepared remarks, they're not mutually exclusive. In fact, they're complementary to each other. And my approach is, as I evaluate the network, and restructuring our yard and local plans, what are basically on-ramps to our corridor that touch our service, touch our customers and creating efficiencies, new standards and accelerating through our current dwell times, making improvements year-over-year, but also making improvements on the individual cars and the handoffs on those cars, it drives performance.

是的。正如我在準備好的演講中所說，它們並不互相排斥。事實上，它們是互補的。我的方法是，當我評估網絡並重組我們的院子和當地計劃時，基本上是通往我們走廊的入口匝道，接觸我們的服務，接觸我們的客戶，創造效率，新標準並加速我們當前的停留時間，逐年改進，而且還對個別賽車和這些賽車的交接進行改進，它推動了性能。

And then the overall speed of the network picks up as there's more reliability. So that's why I talk to not only our craft employees and our frontline supervisors in my first few days, but also union leadership and the regulators to make sure they understood, we're going to go at a quick pace, give them a forecast of what we're doing. And I was very clear, even with our union leadership that I'm going to ask our people to do more, give them the resources, give them the training, give them the skills to do it.

然後，隨著可靠性的提高，網路的整體速度也會加快。因此，這就是為什麼我在最初幾天不僅與我們的工藝員工和一線主管交談，而且還與工會領導層和監管機構交談，以確保他們理解，我們將加快步伐，給他們一個預測我們正在做什麼。我非常清楚，即使有我們的工會領導層，我也會要求我們的員工做更多的事情，為他們提供資源，為他們提供培訓，為他們提供做到這一點的技能。

But they're going to be stretched in ways that they'll be proud of in the coming years, and we're going to do it sustainably. We're going to grow a team of capable PSR-driven leadership and do it in a way that produces amazing results.

但他們將在未來幾年中以令他們感到自豪的方式擴展，而我們將以可持續的方式做到這一點。我們將培養一支由 PSR 驅動的有能力的領導團隊，並以產生驚人成果的方式做到這一點。

Our next question is coming from the line of Jon Chappell with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Jon Chappell。

John, I want to follow up on a couple of things that have been touched on already as it relates to the things that you've done in the last 30 days. The volumes so far this quarter have been relatively strong for Norfolk Southern, on a year-over-year basis, (inaudible) easy comps. But as you go through the next 6 months and you deal with things like laying off 300 more locomotives or reducing merchandise families by 10%, is there a situation where you don't maybe chase volume recovery as quickly as you would otherwise? Or it's more about getting the network where it needs to be and worrying about volume and I guess, the top line beyond that next 6-month period?

約翰，我想跟進一些已經談到的事情，因為它與您在過去 30 天內所做的事情有關。到目前為止，諾福克南方航空本季的銷售量相對強勁，與去年同期相比，（聽不清楚）簡單的比較。但在接下來的6 個月裡，當您處理諸如裁減300 輛以上機車或減少10% 的商品系列之類的事情時，是否會出現一種情況，您可能不會像其他情況那樣盡快追求銷量恢復？或者更多的是讓網路達到所需的位置並擔心數量，我猜，接下來 6 個月之後的收入？

John, why don't you talk about that? And then, Ed, why don't you talk about the market?

約翰，你為什麼不談談這個呢？然後，艾德，你為什麼不談談市場呢？

Yes. I think that the most imperative thing we can do is to close the gap on performance, reliability and drive the value of the network. As far as the capacity, we're unlocking capacity in the existing terminals by being more efficient, more effective and driving those on-ramps to the network more effectively. What are in that pipeline? We have ample capacity to grow more trains or grow longer trains to get yield out of that even a single line capacity.

是的。我認為我們能做的最重要的事情就是縮小效能、可靠性方面的差距並推動網路的價值。就容量而言，我們正在透過提高效率、提高效率並更有效地推動這些入口匝道進入網路來釋放現有航站樓的容量。該管道中有什麼？我們有足夠的能力建造更多列車或更長的列車，以從單線的運力中獲得收益。

So I don't see it as being one or the other. It's both. And whether or not the volume is there, depending on what the economy gives, we're going to drive performance, we're going to close the gap faster than anyone else. So Ed, I'll turn it to you.

所以我不認為這是其中之一。兩者都是。無論銷量是否存在，取決於經濟的情況，我們都將提高業績，我們將比其他任何人更快地縮小差距。那麼艾德，我會把它交給你。

Sure. And you're absolutely right, John. We've seen volume so far this month and we're encouraged by that. Our customers are encouraged by the level of service that we're delivering. And to be clear, in Intermodal, the level of service we're delivering is the best in a generation and it's sustainable and it's going to continue to be that way, and we're earning trust from our customers to do that. We're seeing very good response on the bid front for new volume converting from the highway, which we're very encouraged by in Intermodal.

當然。你是完全正確的，約翰。本月到目前為止，我們已經看到了成交量，我們對此感到鼓舞。我們提供的服務水準令我們的客戶深受鼓舞。需要明確的是，在多式聯運中，我們提供的服務水準是一代人中最好的，並且是可持續的，並且將繼續如此，我們正在贏得客戶的信任來做到這一點。我們看到從高速公路轉換的新運輸量的投標方面得到了非常好的反響，這對多式聯運來說我們感到非常鼓舞。

On the merchandise side, look, we spent the last 6 months building a sales conversion pipeline, which includes technology augmentation as well as institutional rigor and we are going to deliver growth from highway converting freight in the merchandise space that should be moving on Norfolk Southern. The capacity that John is unlocked and we're going to use to go out and get back the freight that should be ours.

在商品方面，我們花了過去6 個月的時間建立了一條銷售轉換管道，其中包括技術增強和製度嚴謹，我們將透過商品領域的公路轉換貨運來實現成長，而這應該在諾福克南方航空上進行。約翰已解鎖容量，我們將使用它出去取回本應屬於我們的貨物。

Our next question is from the line of Justin Long with Stephens.

我們的下一個問題來自賈斯汀·朗和史蒂芬斯。

I guess to follow up on some of the commentary about Intermodal. You've talked about rationalizing some lanes. I wanted to get an update on where you are in that process? Is that now complete? Or is there more to come? And then similarly or along those lines, thinking about these multi-year OR targets, how do you envision the mix of the business changing? Do we need to see a shift to more general merchandise freight? Or is that not necessary to hit these OR objectives?

我想跟進一些關於聯運的評論。您談到了一些車道的合理化。我想了解您在過程中的最新進展？現在完成了嗎？或是還會有更多的事情發生嗎？然後類似地或沿著這些思路，考慮這些多年 OR 目標，您如何看待業務組合的變化？我們是否需要轉向更多的一般商品貨運？或者說這對於實現這些「或」目標是沒有必要的嗎？

I'll talk about the Intermodal piece first. I think that was your first question. Look, we took a very, very disciplined view of our Intermodal network and did a couple of things. Looked at lanes that were very low density, looked at lanes that were not strategic in terms of their capability for our customers, and then thirdly, looked at lanes where we did not believe that there was going to be long-term growth potential that we have line of sight on.

我先談談聯運部分。我認為這是你的第一個問題。看，我們對我們的多式聯運網絡採取了非常非常嚴格的態度，並做了一些事情。研究了密度非常低的車道，研究了對我們的客戶的能力而言不具有戰略意義的車道，然後第三，研究了我們認為不會有長期增長潛力的車道。

Once we pass all those filters, we talked to our partners that were engaged in those lanes that includes our port partners and some others, and we made some tough decisions. It's about 15% of the Intermodal lane portfolio, but only about of the Intermodal revenue portfolio, which should tell you something about the density there.

一旦我們通過了所有這些過濾器，我們就與參與這些航線的合作夥伴進行了交談，其中包括我們的港口合作夥伴和其他一些合作夥伴，我們做出了一些艱難的決定。它約佔多式聯運車道組合的 15%，但僅佔多式聯運收入組合的大約 15%，這應該可以告訴您有關那裡的密度的信息。

Are we done? We're always looking at our network to make sure that we are applying our resources where the greatest growth potential is. And one thing that this exercise taught us is we can redeploy some of that capacity that we're freeing up toward our powerhouse lanes where we're delivering exceptional value for our customers.

我們完了嗎？我們始終關注我們的網絡，以確保我們將資源運用到最具成長潛力的地方。這個練習告訴我們的一件事是，我們可以將我們釋放的一些能力重新部署到我們的強大通道上，在那裡我們為客戶提供卓越的價值。

And I would say with regard to kind of the mix question. Intermodal is going to grow because that's where the growth is. We serve the consumers. But at the same time, merchandise has probably suffered more in the past couple of years from the service challenges we have. So just unlocking the network and doing everything that John is doing, should enable Merchandise to really return to better growth rates as we start to recover, and of course, that will help mix.

我想說的是關於混合問題。多式聯運將會成長，因為這就是成長所在。我們為消費者服務。但同時，在過去幾年中，由於我們面臨的服務挑戰，商品可能遭受了更多損失。因此，只要解鎖網路並完成約翰正在做的一切，就應該能夠使商品在我們開始復甦時真正恢復到更好的成長率，當然，這將有助於混合。

Absolutely. And the -- as I said, the sales pipeline approach that we're taking has a very disciplined view toward conversion from the high labels in the Merchandise as well as the Intermodal space.

絕對地。正如我所說，我們正在採取的銷售通路方法對商品和多式聯運領域的高標籤轉換有著非常嚴格的看法。

And I would say as far as capacity is concerned, we're improving execution and plan compliance, and that facilitates blocking deeper into our network, which ultimately increases car velocity, train speed and really drives performance. That applies to Intermodal, Merchandise and [Boat]. And we're actively engaging and challenging every asset that we've got out there. Just in the last 30 days, I've approved the elimination of over 487 turnouts that were redundant. We're turning over every rock, big or small, to look for improvement and consistency.

我想說，就容量而言，我們正在改進執行和計劃合規性，這有助於更深入地阻止我們的網絡，最終提高汽車速度、火車速度並真正提高性能。這適用於聯運、商品和[船舶]。我們正在積極參與和挑戰我們現有的每一項資產。就在過去 30 天裡，我已經批准取消超過 487 名多餘的投票人數。我們正在翻遍每一塊石頭，無論大小，以尋求改進和一致性。

Our next question is from the line of Jason Seidl with Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jason Seidl 和 Cowen 的對話。

John, I wanted to talk a little bit about the new PTO and sick leave regulations and how much of an impact that you've seen there and sort of what you expect going forward? And I guess a quick follow-up is when you look at sort of the whole network, how are you viewing some of the yards? And is there a chance that you look to close a yard or two down the road?

約翰，我想談談新的 PTO 和病假規定，以及您看到的影響有多大，以及您對未來的期望是什麼？我想一個快速的後續行動是，當您查看整個網路時，您如何看待某些院子？您是否有機會考慮關閉一兩碼的道路？

Yes. Obviously, the sick leave is a national issue. I think no different than any other regulated or introduced crew limitation, we all have to deal with it. What I'm really focused on is crew productivity and yard productivity and increasing the capabilities of each assignment to do more within the time frame they've got to work. And so delivering more, getting accountability to connections, getting yield on our trains, that's the most important piece, and we're balancing that.

是的。顯然，病假是全國性問題。我認為與任何其他受監管或引入的船員限制沒有什麼不同，我們都必須應對它。我真正關注的是船員生產力和堆場生產力，以及提高每項任務的能力，以便在他們必須工作的時間內完成更多工作。因此，提供更多服務、對連接負責、提高列車收益，這是最重要的部分，我們正在平衡這一點。

I'm on the team every day on crew availability to make sure that whatever we've committed to with our labor organizations or through the CBA process that we're living up to that. And on the flip side, making sure that the unions understand that they have an obligation to come to work within the time frames, dressed and ready to deliver for our customers each and every day. So it's both sides of that coin.

我每天都在團隊中負責工作人員的可用性，以確保我們與勞工組織或透過 CBA 流程做出的承諾都能兌現。另一方面，確保工會明白他們有義務在規定的時間內上班，穿著整齊，準備好每天為我們的客戶送貨。所以這是硬幣的兩面。

As far as the terminals are concerned, the reason why I started with hump yards is because they can add a lot of value. They can drive a lot of mechanized performance. But as we all know, they're costly. I want to get the most yield I can get out of them. I've already challenged our yard plan from yard to yard, node to node.

就碼頭而言，我之所以從駝峰堆場開始，是因為它們可以增加很多價值。它們可以驅動很多機械化性能。但眾所周知，它們的成本很高。我想從他們身上獲得最大的利益。我已經從一個院子到另一個院子、從一個節點到另一個節點對我們的院子計畫提出了挑戰。

And we've started to eliminate power imbalances at a place like Chattanooga. We've reduced the bunching in the terminals by reestablishing a terminal clock at all of the major terminals. And we've even decreased a number of assignments that were moving cars and causing multiple handlings between the yards. So I would say everything is open. I'm challenging the historic reason for a yard so that whatever we do is going to meet the operational need of today and tomorrow.

我們已經開始消除查塔努加這樣的地方的權力失衡。我們透過在所有主要航站樓重新建立終端時鐘來減少航站樓的擁擠情況。我們甚至減少了一些移動汽車和在車場之間進行多次搬運的任務。所以我想說一切都是開放的。我正在挑戰院子的歷史原因，以便我們所做的一切都能滿足今天和明天的營運需求。

So everything is on the table. Everything is being scrutinized, and we will be rolling out a redefined yard operating plan and yard operating strategies in the next 30 days. And that will then drive or redesign of most of the operating plan over the next 60 to 90 days.

所以一切都擺在桌面上。一切都在接受審查，我們將在未來 30 天內推出重新定義的堆場營運計畫和堆場營運策略。這將推動或重新設計未來 60 至 90 天內的大部分營運計劃。

Our next question comes from the line of Jeff Kauffman with Vertical Research.

我們的下一個問題來自垂直研究的傑夫·考夫曼（Jeff Kauffman）。

John, just kind of a question on your impression coming in. As you were an outsider, you had a certain view of what Norfolk might not have been able to do. Now you're an insider, you've had a chance to see an operation. I guess my question is twofold. Number one, what's different about when you actually came on board and got a chance to get out there and see what's going on. And then my second aspect of that is, what do you think somebody on the outside might not appreciate about the Norfolk network and what can and can't be done?

約翰，只是問一個關於你進來的印象的問題。現在你是內部人士了，你有機會親眼目睹手術過程。我想我的問題是雙重的。第一，當你真正加入並有機會出去看看發生了什麼時，有什麼不同。然後我的第二個方面是，您認為外部人員可能不欣賞諾福克網路的哪些方面以及可以做什麼和不能做什麼？

Well, that's a great question. I'm glad you asked it. I'll tell you, in my first official act with boots on the ground was to go to East Palestine and really understand the scope of that issue. I'll tell you, I've been a railroader for over 40 years. I've been the incident commander at a number of derailments, some very consequential and some that I've had to make those same decisions that were made here to resolve imminent safety concerns. And understanding the scope and scale of the commitment that NS has made to that community, I've never experienced anything like that.

嗯，這是一個很好的問題。我很高興你問了這個問題。我告訴你，我的第一個正式行動是前往東巴勒斯坦並真正了解問題的範圍。我告訴你，我當鐵路員已經四十多年了。我曾擔任多起脫軌事故的事故指揮官，其中一些事故後果非常嚴重，還有一些事故我必須做出與這裡為解決迫在眉睫的安全問題相同的決定。在了解 NS 對該社區做出的承諾的範圍和規模後，我從未經歷過類似的事情。

And so I came in with a bias and really had to understand the magnitude of that event and how that could have had a more lasting impact across not only NS, but the sector. As I looked at our operations, I always have a bias for yards because I think yards, especially in a merchandise environment where cars and customers kind of coincide. So how we handle them, how do we accelerate or drag is really important to evaluate.

因此，我帶著偏見進來，確實必須了解該事件的嚴重程度，以及它不僅對國家安全局，而且對整個行業產生更持久的影響。當我審視我們的營運時，我總是對堆場有偏見，因為我認為堆場，尤其是在汽車和顧客同時存在的商品環境中。因此，我們如何處理它們，如何加速或拖曳對於評估非常重要。

And so I was pleasantly surprised at the richness of the terminals, but also quickly realized as I got under the hood that that was where a lot of the underperformance was happening. And that's why I set up a task force to kind of look at the data and drive performance through data, but also had a field component to check in a balance to make sure that we were driving was actually going to add performance and not undermined or burn something down that didn't need to be, either intentionally or unintentionally.

因此，我對終端的豐富性感到驚喜，但當我深入了解後，我也很快意識到，這就是許多表現不佳的地方。這就是為什麼我成立了一個工作小組來查看數據並通過數據驅動性能，但也有一個現場組件來檢查平衡，以確保我們正在驅動的實際上會增加性能而不是被削弱或有意或無意地燒掉一些不需要的東西。

So I think having a good perspective of what the network looks like, as an outsider, you have biases. As an insider, you start to get under the hood and realize, okay, here may be a big rock issue, but then you get to know the smaller rocks that need to be moved out of the way to create that momentum. I've made a career out of going across Canada and the United States and Mexico, unclogging drains and creating a lot of momentum and then leveraging that momentum to build very competent, capable service plans; very competent, capable operators of those service plans; and creating sustained improvements. And that's what I'm seeing right now.

所以我認為，作為一個局外人，對網路的樣子有一個很好的了解，你就會有偏見。作為一個內部人士，你開始深入了解並意識到，好吧，這可能是一個大問題，但隨後你就會知道需要移開一些較小的岩石才能創造這種動力。我的職業生涯就是穿越加拿大、美國和墨西哥，疏通下水道，創造大量動力，然後利用這種動力製定非常有能力的服務計劃；這些服務計劃的運營商非常有能力、有能力；並創造持續的改進。這就是我現在所看到的。

I think the architecture of NS is solid and it does come down to execution, and it's a very complex nonlinear network. That's what the east is all about. I've spent 35 of my 40 years in the east, either a craft employee or as a leader, as a senior leader in the United States, a senior leader in Eastern Canada. And I mean I know networks, I know the industrial complex that we're working in. It's very similar to the density that I just converted in Mexico.

我認為 NS 的架構是堅實的，它確實歸結為執行，它是一個非常複雜的非線性網路。這就是東方的全部意義。我 40 年中有 35 年是在東部度過的，要么是一名手藝員工，要么是一名領導者，在美國擔任高級領導者，在加拿大東部擔任高級領導者。我的意思是我了解網絡，我了解我們正在工作的工業園區。

So I think we've got lots of work to do. But as I said in my prepared remarks, it's a robust franchise with a talented team and the resources to deliver impressive results. We just have to properly execute.

所以我認為我們還有很多工作要做。但正如我在準備好的演講中所說，這是一個強大的特許經營權，擁有才華橫溢的團隊和資源，可以取得令人印象深刻的成果。我們只需要正確執行即可。

Our next question is from the line of Stephanie Moore with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自傑弗里斯的史蒂芬妮摩爾。

I appreciate the color, especially from you, John, on just the detailed plans in place around productivity initiatives and creating a PSR mindset across the organization. With this focus as a clear priority, what has been the customer response just given the changes underway. How does this translate into incremental volumes? Is there a natural lag from customers? Does they kind of get convinced of the changes happening? Any color there would be helpful.

我很欣賞你的色彩，特別是約翰，關於圍繞生產力計劃和在整個組織中創建 PSR 思維方式製定的詳細計劃。將此重點作為明確的優先事項，考慮到正在進行的變化，客戶的反應如何。這如何轉化為增量？客戶是否有自然滯後？他們是否確信正在發生的改變？任何顏色都會有幫助。

Ed, why don't you address that?

艾德，你為什麼不解決這個問題呢？

Sure. And thank you, Stephanie, for the question. As I said earlier, our customers are encouraged by a couple of things. Number one, the velocity of change that they see happening in terms of service improvement. And you think about our first quarter, we absorbed double-digit growth in our international book as well as low single-digit growth in our domestic book, held serve on our merchandise freight and improved service throughout that time and into April. So they're encouraged.

當然。謝謝斯蒂芬妮提出的問題。正如我之前所說，我們的客戶受到以下幾件事的鼓舞。第一，他們看到服務改進方面所發生的變化速度。你想想我們的第一季度，我們的國際訂單實現了兩位數的增長，國內訂單實現了低個位數的增長，我們的商品貨運服務一直保持到四月份，並改善了服務。所以他們受到鼓勵。

On the Intermodal front, like I said, it's really the best service in a generation that we're delivering. And I have a lot of confidence that we're going to continue to deliver that same level of service, which is only going to deliver more value for our customers. On the merchandise side, in some cases, our customers are going to have to unwind alternatives that they've got in place.

在多式聯運方面，正如我所說，這確實是我們這一代所提供的最好的服務。我非常有信心，我們將繼續提供同樣水準的服務，這只會為我們的客戶帶來更多價值。在商品方面，在某些情況下，我們的客戶將不得不放棄他們已有的替代品。

But you know what, have an exceptional service that is reliable and really just a conveyor belt, that's what they want. That's what allows them to unwind those alternatives and come back to where the natural value for them is, which is Norfolk Southern.

但你知道嗎，擁有可靠的卓越服務，而且實際上只是一條傳送帶，這就是他們想要的。這就是讓他們能夠擺脫這些替代方案並回到對他們來說具有自然價值的地方，即諾福克南方航空。

You know, I've had a number of customers approach me, Stephanie, over the last month since John was announced, encouraged by our approach, encouraged by our direction and supporting our strategy. Our customers, as John noted, in the east are familiar with John in large part. And they've seen what he's done, wherever he's been to enhance service and enhance safety and enhance productivity, and that's what customers are looking for.

你知道，自從約翰被宣布以來的上個月，史蒂芬妮，有很多客戶來找我，他們對我們的方法感到鼓舞，對我們的方向感到鼓舞，並支持我們的策略。正如約翰所指出的，我們東部的客戶在很大程度上熟悉約翰。無論他走到哪裡，他們都看到了他所做的事情，以增強服務、提高安全性和提高生產力，而這正是客戶所尋求的。

Ed, I don't know if you know it, but just this morning, we got an e-mail from one of our largest customers, thanking us for another excellent week of service.

艾德，我不知道您是否知道，但就在今天早上，我們收到了我們最大的客戶之一的電子郵件，感謝我們又一周的出色服務。

I was just about to close that. Thank you for another week of excellent service. You know who you are out there.

我正要關閉它。感謝您又一週提供的優質服務。你知道你是誰。

And we've had to make hard decisions. Ed and I have had to try to take very decisive decisions on car flows, even on how customers are interacting with some of our service facilities. It is -- but having the work on the front end, engaging with people, helping them understand what we're doing, helping them understand where they fit into that, whether it's union leaders, it's regulatory leaders or our customers, that really, Stephanie, helps them understand what we're doing, why we're doing it and how we're going to work together to create these standards.

我們必須做出艱難的決定。艾德和我必須嘗試對車流做出非常果斷的決定，甚至在客戶如何與我們的一些服務設施互動方面也是如此。確實如此，但在前端開展工作，與人們互動，幫助他們了解我們正在做什麼，幫助他們了解自己在其中的位置，無論是工會領導人、監管領導人還是我們的客戶，這確實是，斯蒂芬妮幫助他們了解我們正在做什麼、為什麼這樣做以及我們將如何共同努力創建這些標準。

And Stephanie, that is our strategy, is making sure that we bring along our customers and our employees and our regulators and our shareholders with us as we transform Norfolk Southern into a more profitable organization with a safe and service product that is poised for growth.

史蒂芬妮，這就是我們的策略，確保我們將我們的客戶、我們的員工、我們的監管機構和我們的股東與我們一起，將諾福克南方航空轉變為一個更有利可圖的組織，提供一個可望成長的安全和服務產品。

Our next question is from the line of Jordan Alliger with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的喬丹·阿利格 (Jordan Alliger)。

Yes, maybe, this is in some ways a follow-up, but I'm just sort of curious. You have a pretty extensive list of things to do over the next 6 months and then 12 to 24 months. As you sort of come in, knowing what Norfolk had done already per you getting there and the gap that's been talked about. How much of this would you say, as what you would call basic blocking and tackling versus real sea changes in operational scope? Basically trying to assess your degree of confidence level in achieving and kicking all these things off and being able to hit the margin expectations in the coming years.

是的，也許，這在某種程度上是後續行動，但我只是有點好奇。你有一份相當廣泛的清單，列出了接下來 6 個月以及 12 到 24 個月要做的事情。當你進來時，知道諾福克在你到達那裡時已經做了什麼以及所討論的差距。您會說多少，即您所謂的基本攔截和攔截與作戰範圍的實際海上變化？基本上是試圖評估您對實現和啟動所有這些事情以及能夠在未來幾年達到利潤預期的信心程度。

Well, I'll tell you this, that all across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, I've been a change agent and an architect of PSR. I haven't had the luxury of looking in the rearview mirror very often. And so I don't spend a lot of time looking at what could have been or what was rather than what the current situation is and how fast can we get to the desired state. Desired state is having -- closing the gap for sure, having an operation that is focused on asset management with speed and accuracy to reduce the cycle times, reduce the dwell times and drive out waste.

好吧，我告訴你，在加拿大、美國和墨西哥，我一直是 PSR 的變革推動者和架構師。我沒有經常看後視鏡。因此，我不會花太多時間關注本來會發生什麼或曾經發生過什麼，而是專注於當前的情況以及我們能多快達到期望的狀態。理想的狀態是——肯定縮小差距，擁有專注於資產管理的快速、準確的運營，以減少週期時間、減少停留時間並消除浪費。

So that's taking on an approach where it has a network overview. So there's a very strategic point of view on how do we create speed, accuracy by reducing dwell, increasing over-the-road performance, looking at long lead resources like locomotives and crews and how do we meet them as productive as we can and then create resiliency and elasticity for network response like we've seen in Baltimore.

因此，我們採取了一種具有網路概覽的方法。因此，我們有一個非常策略性的觀點，即我們如何透過減少停留時間來提高速度和準確性，提高公路性能，著眼於機車和機組人員等長期領先資源，以及我們如何盡可能高效地滿足它們，然後為網路回應創造彈性和彈性，就像我們在巴爾的摩看到的那樣。

And then really look at our smart investments, how do we leverage those things like capitalizing locomotive renewals, refurbishing locomotives that can be pushed off into the future because we're creating our own locomotives by having them more productive. I think this is a natural evolution on some of the linear elements that were started in the past. Now taking a multidimensional point of view on it, not focusing on one particular thing, but elevating the entire suite of operating efficiencies at the same time in tandem with one another. Disciplined railroading, disciplined service, accurate handling of cars and reduction of waste and cost is really the plan.

然後真正看看我們的明智投資，我們如何利用這些東西，例如利用機車更新、翻新機車等可以推遲到未來的東西，因為我們正在透過提高機車的生產力來創造我們自己的機車。我認為這是對過去開始的一些線性元素的自然演變。現在要從多維度的角度來看待它，不是專注於某一特定的事情，而是同時提升整套營運效率。嚴格的鐵路運輸、嚴格的服務、準確的車輛處理以及減少浪費和成本才是真正的計劃。

And that will show in the form of yard operating plans, disciplined operations and terminals, disciplined and progressive ways of moving the train service plan to the meet the commercial needs of today. I am highly confident, highly confident that we'll achieve the targets and we'll do it in a way that's sustainable and we'll do it in a way that fosters growth and we are on the path today. We're well underway. So that increased my confidence.

這將以車場營運計劃、紀律嚴明的營運和航站樓、紀律嚴明且漸進的方式來體現，以推動列車服務計劃滿足當今的商業需求。我非常有信心，非常有信心我們將實現目標，我們將以可持續的方式實現，我們將以促進成長的方式實現，我們今天就走在這條路上。我們進展順利。這增加了我的信心。

Our next question is from the line of Walter Spracklin with RBC Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 RBC Capital 的 Walter Spracklin。

I know you've put a lot of time under this, but I do need to come back to it and that is the -- trying to square up the changes that John is making here. They are substantial with the lack of any customer disruption. It used to be, and maybe I'm dating myself here, but it used to be when I ride, we saw PSR change. It didn't -- if customers weren't disrupted, then it wasn't happening, was kind of the view.

我知道您為此投入了大量時間，但我確實需要回過頭來討論這個問題，那就是——努力協調約翰在這裡所做的改變。由於沒有任何客戶幹擾，它們的數量很大。過去是這樣，也許我在這裡約會自己，但過去是當我騎車時，我們看到 PSR 發生變化。但事實並非如此——如果客戶沒有受到干擾，那麼這種情況就不會發生，這是一種觀點。

And when you take out 200 locomotives, soon to be 500 locomotives, I mean that kind of has to have leave a mark. We know there's been lane reductions, I guess, feedback from those customers must have been quite negative. So I just -- just wondering, are you just refocusing on those other customers and you're getting good service to them, and they're coming back to you with some good feedback and perhaps some of the less or lower-margin customers are going to be shed a little bit?

當你取出 200 台機車時，很快就會變成 500 台機車，我的意思是必須留下痕跡。我猜，我們知道車道有所減少，這些客戶的回饋肯定是非常負面的。所以我只是 - 只是想知道，你是否只是重新關注其他客戶，並且你為他們提供了良好的服務，他們會帶著一些良好的反饋回來給你，也許一些利潤較低或較低的客戶會掉一點嗎？

Just really surprised that we're not hearing more customer blowback from some of these significant and important changes that you're making.

令我們感到非常驚訝的是，我們沒有聽到更多客戶對您所做的一些重大改變的反應。

Walter, that's our strategy. That's what we're committed to doing. We're going to implement and we have been implementing PSR in a responsible and sustainable manner. We saw what happened in our peer in 2017. And we're not tearing this thing down to the studs. John knows how to do it without tearing it down to the studs as the activist COO has said he would have to do.

沃特，這就是我們的策略。這就是我們致力於做的事情。我們將以負責任和可持續的方式實施並且我們一直在實施 PSR。我們看到了 2017 年同行發生的事。約翰知道如何做到這一點，而不需要像這位激進的營運長所說的那樣，將其撕成碎片。

Ed is close to our customers. Our customers appreciate and see the improved service. We're focused on safety, and we're focused on a sustainable plan for Norfolk Southern that drives long-term shareholder value. John, you want to talk about how you're doing this in the right way.

Ed 與我們的客戶關係密切。我們的客戶讚賞並看到改進的服務。我們專注於安全，專注於諾福克南方航空的可持續計劃，以推動長期股東價值。約翰，你想談談你是如何以正確的方式做到這一點的。

And I think Walter, by the way, it's nice to hear from you. I would say, it's what we said at the very onset, that we're taking a balanced approach. I've laid out really challenging and urgent near-term and midterm targets and I'm taking an aggressive disciplined approach to manage it. And I view as the George Foreman Grill example, you don't set and forget operations. You sweat it out and you can't drive this alone.

順便說一下，我認為沃爾特很高興收到你的來信。我想說，我們一開始就說過，我們正在採取平衡的方法。我已經制定了真正具有挑戰性和緊迫性的近期和中期目標，我正在採取積極、嚴格的方法來管理它。我以喬治·福爾曼燒烤店為例，您不會設定並忘記操作。你會出汗，但你無法獨自駕駛它。

So creating a team of capable railroaders focused on the big rocks and small rocks at the same time, delivering the fundamental of safety, creating stability across the network and then challenging every asset that we have, every standard that we have and building compliance and building momentum around those things is really important. So yes, it is sweat equity in a lot of respects, Walter. And it is really the key focus areas of yard time and dwell and you know what that does.

因此，要創建一支由有能力的鐵路人員組成的團隊，同時專注於大石頭和小石頭，提供安全的基礎，創造整個網路的穩定性，然後挑戰我們擁有的每一項資產、我們擁有的每一項標準，並建立合規性和建立圍繞這些事情的動力非常重要。所以，是的，這在很多方面都是汗水資產，沃爾特。這確實是庭院時間和停留時間的關鍵焦點領域，你知道它的作用。

When we drive our current dwell down from mid-'23s to '22, and we'll be taking that down even further. Not only are we handling the cars better in the terminals, but we're getting more cars on trains, getting to the customers sooner. And even the bad order count, taking it down by double digits -- by almost 50%, means those -- the discipline of handling those cars in the terminal and getting them back into the flow of our core service offerings, customers are seeing those cars faster than they would have otherwise seen them.

當我們將目前的停留時間從 23 世紀中期降低到 22 世紀時，我們將進一步降低。我們不僅在航站樓更好地處理汽車，而且我們在火車上增加了更多的汽車，更快地到達客戶手中。即使訂單數量下降了兩位數（幾乎 50%），這意味著在碼頭處理這些汽車並將其重新納入我們核心服務流程的紀律，客戶會看到這些汽車的速度比他們平時看到的要快。

So I would think that they see that as a value and rather than a negative disruption, a positive indication that we're building momentum and commitment to them while at the same time reducing handlings and costs.

因此，我認為他們認為這是一種價值，而不是負面破壞，這是一個積極的跡象，表明我們正在為他們建立動力和承諾，同時減少處理和成本。

And just to close a loop, Walter, on say the locomotive specifically. Remember last year, we actually had to add locomotives back into service. We spent a fair amount of money in materials, trying to get locomotives that have been stored, back up and running so we could dig out of the top hole we were in following the East Palestine derailment.

沃特，為了結束一個循環，具體說一下機車。還記得去年，我們實際上不得不將機車重新投入使用。我們在材料上花了相當多的錢，試圖讓已經儲存、備份和運行的機車能夠從東巴勒斯坦脫軌後所處的頂部洞中挖出來。

It's how we got service really back on the right trajectory. And now we're able to start attacking some of those resiliency costs we've added and remove locomotives and some of the other costs we had to throw at the system. So there's a lot of opportunity here to remove costs that will be nondisruptive to the customers.

這就是我們如何讓服務真正回到正確的軌道上。現在，我們能夠開始解決我們添加的一些彈性成本，並刪除機車和我們必須投入系統的一些其他成本。因此，這裡有很多機會可以在不影響客戶的情況下消除成本。

And to summarize, the service level improvements, the dramatic service level improvements and what the customers are reacting to, and that is across our markets and across our customer base.

總而言之，服務水準的提高、服務水準的顯著提高以及客戶的反應，這是我們整個市場和整個客戶群的反應。

Our next question is from the line of David Vernon with Bernstein.

我們的下一個問題來自大衛·弗農和伯恩斯坦的對話。

So John, you've been at the property a little over a month. I'd love to kind of get your perspective on kind of what the root cause is here that you see as far as kind of what drove the problems? Is it a question of kind of what Norfolk was trying to do or how they were doing it? And kind of any thoughts you have on that would be helpful.

約翰，你在這處房產已經一個多月了。我很想了解您對根本原因的看法，您認為是什麼導致了問題？這是諾福克試圖做什麼或他們如何做的問題嗎？您對此的任何想法都會有所幫助。

And then as you think about kind of taking 200 locomotives out, maybe another 300 locomotives. What is that for headcount? Because I would assume that the sequential headcount number was up a little over 500. Obviously, the non-craft trades -- the non-craft job action coming out, a couple of hundred heads will be down. But what are you thinking about the operating head count as you start to free up assets and run more fluidly?

然後，當您考慮拆除 200 輛機車時，也許還要拆除 300 輛機車。人數是多少？因為我假設連續的員工人數增加了 500 多一點。但是，當您開始釋放資產並更流暢地運作時，您對營運人員數量有何看法？

Actually, I'll handle the headcount question before John talks to you a little bit about his assessment of the challenges. You may recall, we guided last time where we said overall headcount would likely be flat over the course of the year. We were taking 300 non-agreement people out, but we would likely have to add some agreement folks that would offset it. We actually see now with John in the room here, a pathway for total headcount to be down around 2% by the time we end the year. So that's the path on headcount. John?

實際上，在約翰與您談論他對挑戰的評估之前，我將處理人數問題。您可能還記得，我們​​上次指導時表示，全年總人數可能會持平。我們裁掉了 300 名不同意的人，但我們可能需要增加一些同意的人來抵消這種影響。事實上，我們現在看到約翰在場，到年底總人數將減少 2% 左右。這就是人員編制的路徑。約翰？

Yes. And just to add emphasis to that. As we get more productivity out of our yard and locos and more accuracy on our over-the-road transits and performance, we'll see more people virtually come alive, and we'll be able to have more availability and more crew flexibility. And I have frozen all hiring from operations. There may be 1 or 2 critical paths like C&S where -- signals and communications. That's a very specialized scale that we will need to continue to evolve as we bring our OT and IT and that kind of perspective into -- more into our safety plans.

是的。只是為了強調這一點。隨著我們的堆場和機車的生產力提高，公路運輸和性能更加準確，我們將看到更多的人真正活躍起來，我們將能夠擁有更多的可用性和更多的工作人員靈活性。我已經凍結了所有營運部門的招募。可能有 1 或 2 個關鍵路徑，例如 C&S，其中—訊號和通訊。這是一個非常專業的規模，隨著我們將 OT 和 IT 以及這種觀點更多地融入我們的安全計劃中，我們需要繼續發展這一規模。

But I would also say that it gets back to the basics. I'm not going to really be too critical of what I inherited. Rather, I saw a lot of things in flight that I'm able to leverage very quickly on. And at the same time, the basics of railroading, the basics of giving a great service plan at the lowest cost in the safest way possible is the recipe and building out discipline around that, creating visibility, accountability and driving purpose so that we improve these things is part of the challenge that I've laid out. And that's how we're delivering short term and midterm, and that's what we're going to continue to do.

但我也想說，它回到了基礎。我不會對我繼承的東西過於挑剔。相反，我在飛行中看到了很多可以快速利用的東西。同時，鐵路運輸的基礎知識，以盡可能安全的方式以最低的成本提供出色的服務計劃的基礎知識是秘訣，並圍繞它建立紀律，創造可見性、責任感和駕駛目標，以便我們改進這些這是我提出的挑戰的一部分。這就是我們提供短期和中期的方式，這就是我們將繼續做的事情。

At this time, we've reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'll turn the call back over to Luke Nichols for closing comments.

此時，我們的問答環節已經結束。我會將電話轉回盧克·尼科爾斯以徵求結束意見。

Thanks, Rob. Appreciate everyone's time and joining our call this morning. I recognize there's a few folks that didn't get a chance to ask your questions. I want to let you know Investor Relations is here through the rest of the day. Please feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to seeing everybody through the quarter.

謝謝，羅布。感謝大家抽出寶貴的時間加入我們今天早上的電話會議。我知道有些人沒有機會問你的問題。我想讓您知道投資者關係部今天餘下的時間都在這裡。請隨時與我們聯繫。我們期待在本季見到大家。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.

女士們、先生們，感謝您的參與。今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以斷開線路，度過美好的一天。