Rail Exec to Detail the “Puts and Takes of Tariffs” at SMU Steel Summit

Rail transport is a critical link in getting steel to market. With domestic mills cranking out steel at more than 80 percent of their capacity, are the railroads struggling to keep up?

“People assume our business should be booming, but it’s not as straightforward as one would think,” said JR (Jim) Schaaf, Group Vice President for Metals & Construction with Norfolk Southern, which operates the largest steel-handling railroad in North America. Schaaf will offer his company’s view of the market and how tariffs have affected the rail transport of commodities as a speaker on the transportation panel at the Steel Market Update Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. “Some would assume the tariffs have made things better from a rail transportation perspective. It has had some puts and takes with respect to the benefits of Section 232,” he said.