Norfolk Southern Corporation

Greetings and welcome to the Norfolk Southern Corporation first quarter 2021 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It's now my pleasure to introduce your host, Megan Akamasi, Senior Director of Investor Relations for Norfolk Southern Corporation. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you and good morning. Please note that during today's call, we will make certain forward-looking statements 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. Our presentation slides are available at nscorp.com in the Investors section. along with our reconciliation of non-GAAP measures used today to the comparable GAAP measures. Along those lines, recall that in the first quarter of 2020, we launched a rationalization of our locomotive fleet by 703 units, which resulted in a non-cash charge of $385 million. So we will speak to the quarterly results excluding that charge. A full transcript and download will be posted after the call. It is now my pleasure to introduce Norfolk Southern's Chairman, President, and CEO, Jim Squires.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Norfolk Southern's first quarter 2021 earnings call. Joining me today are Cindy Sanborn, Chief Operating Officer, Alan Shaw, Chief Marketing Officer, and Mark George, Chief Financial Officer. Norfolk Southern started strong in 2021. Our successful implementation of precision scheduled railroading translated into solid financial results. Our team delivered all-time records for operating ratio and free cash flow and achieved first quarter records for earnings per share and operating income. Norfolk Southern employees accomplished this despite significant supply chain disruptions brought on by severe weather nationwide in February. For the quarter, revenue increased 1% due primarily to volume growth up 3% year over year. At the same time, expenses declined 3%, or $48 million, compared to our adjusted first quarter 2020. Throughout the quarter, we continued to streamline resources, resulting in impressive gains in workforce asset and fuel productivity. Looking ahead, we remain intent on achieving strong revenue growth and deficiencies to propel the bottom line and create shareholder value. Investments in technology and sustainability will be critical, and I'll provide some recent examples of these after we review the quarter. But first, let me turn the call over to the team to go through the quarterly results in more detail, starting with Cindy.