CSX Recognizes 55 Customers for Excellence in Chemical Transportation Safety
CSX Corp. has announced the recipients of its 32nd annual Chemical Safety Excellence Awards, recognizing 55 customers for demonstrating outstanding performance in the safe transportation of hazardous materials across the CSX rail network.
The annual awards program highlights customers that have demonstrated a strong commitment to safety while transporting potentially hazardous products by rail. To qualify for the 2026 recognition, customers were required to have shipped at least 600 carloads of hazardous materials across the CSX network during 2025 without experiencing a controllable hazardous materials release.
The recognition reflects the importance of collaboration between freight railroads and their customers in maintaining high safety standards throughout the transportation supply chain. Hazardous materials can include chemicals and other products that require specialized handling, secure packaging, careful loading and unloading procedures, and rigorous transportation controls.
For CSX, the awards provide an opportunity to recognize customers whose safety performance contributes to the protection of railroad employees, communities, customers and the environment.
Recognizing a Shared Commitment to Safety
Safety is a fundamental component of hazardous materials transportation. While railroads operate under extensive safety procedures and regulatory requirements, the safe movement of hazardous materials depends on cooperation among multiple participants throughout the supply chain.
Shippers play an important role in this process by ensuring that hazardous materials are properly prepared, packaged, documented and handled before they enter the rail network.
CSX’s Chemical Safety Excellence Awards recognize customers that have demonstrated their ability to maintain a high level of safety while moving significant volumes of hazardous materials.
Maryclare Kenney, senior vice president and chief commercial officer at CSX, emphasized the importance of customer partnerships in supporting the railroad’s role in the broader economy.
She said customers are essential partners in keeping the economy moving and that the companies receiving the awards earned the recognition through exceptional safety performance.
According to Kenney, their achievements reflect a shared commitment to protecting employees and communities throughout the CSX network.
The recognition therefore extends beyond individual companies. It demonstrates how consistent safety practices across the supply chain can contribute to a more reliable and secure freight transportation system.
32 Years of Chemical Safety Recognition
The 2026 awards mark the 32nd annual Chemical Safety Excellence Awards, highlighting more than three decades of CSX’s efforts to recognize customers that demonstrate strong hazardous materials safety performance.
The longevity of the program reflects the continued importance of hazardous materials transportation to the North American economy.
Chemical products are essential to numerous industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, water treatment, construction, energy, automotive production and consumer goods.
Moving these materials safely and efficiently is therefore essential to keeping industrial supply chains operating.
Rail plays an important role because it can transport large quantities of materials over long distances in a single movement.
However, the transportation of hazardous materials requires strict adherence to safety procedures.
CSX’s annual awards program encourages customers to maintain high standards and recognize employees and organizations that contribute to safe transportation.
High-Volume Shipments and Safety Performance
One of the key requirements for the Chemical Safety Excellence Awards is the transportation of at least 600 carloads of hazardous materials during 2025 without a controllable hazardous materials release.
The threshold ensures that recognized customers have demonstrated strong safety performance while handling a substantial volume of potentially hazardous freight.
Moving hundreds or thousands of railcars requires effective coordination between shippers, railroad personnel and other supply chain participants.
Customers must ensure that railcars are properly loaded, secured and documented before shipments begin.
Once the freight enters the CSX network, safe transportation depends on coordination across terminals, rail yards, mainline routes and customer facilities.
The award criteria therefore recognize sustained performance rather than isolated achievements.
Long-Term Safety Milestones
In addition to recognizing customers that met the annual criteria, CSX also highlighted companies that achieved significant long-term milestones without a controllable hazardous materials release.
These milestones demonstrate the importance of maintaining safety practices consistently over many years.
Kemira Water Solutions was recognized for achieving 25 years without a controllable hazardous materials release.
CHS Inc. reached a 15-year milestone.
Olin ChlorAlkali and Evonik Degussa Corporation each achieved five years without a controllable hazardous materials release.
These long-term achievements are particularly significant because they demonstrate sustained commitment rather than short-term compliance.
Maintaining safe operations over multiple years requires ongoing employee training, equipment inspections, process improvements, communication and management attention.
The Role of Rail in Hazardous Materials Transportation
Freight rail is an important component of the North American transportation system and plays a major role in moving chemicals and other industrial products.
Railroads can transport large quantities of freight efficiently over long distances, reducing the need for numerous individual truck movements.
For chemical manufacturers and industrial customers, rail can provide an efficient connection between production facilities, distribution centers, ports and end users.
The safe transportation of hazardous materials is consequently critical to numerous supply chains.
CSX operates a large freight rail network serving major industrial and population centers across the eastern United States.
Its network connects manufacturers and other businesses with domestic and international markets, supporting the movement of raw materials and finished products.
The company’s chemical transportation business is therefore closely connected to the broader industrial economy.
Safety Begins Before a Shipment Moves
Hazardous materials safety begins before a railcar enters the railroad network.
Customers are responsible for ensuring that materials are properly classified and prepared for transportation. Appropriate packaging, labeling and documentation are essential components of safe shipping.
Loading procedures also play an important role.
Railcars carrying hazardous materials must be loaded according to applicable requirements, with appropriate measures taken to prevent leaks, spills or other incidents.
Employees involved in the process require appropriate training and must understand the characteristics of the materials being handled.
By recognizing customers with strong safety records, CSX encourages the continuation of these practices throughout the supply chain.
Collaboration Between Railroads and Customers
The Chemical Safety Excellence Awards also highlight the importance of collaboration between CSX and its customers.
Rail transportation does not operate as an isolated process. Freight moves through a network involving manufacturers, terminals, railroads, warehouses, ports and other logistics providers.
When hazardous materials are involved, communication becomes even more important.
Customers and railroads need to coordinate shipment information, routing, handling requirements and emergency response procedures.
Strong communication can help identify potential risks and ensure that appropriate measures are in place before freight moves.
CSX’s recognition program reinforces the idea that safety is a shared responsibility.
Supporting Communities Along the Rail Network
Railroads operate through numerous communities, making safety particularly important for people living and working near rail infrastructure.
A strong hazardous materials safety record can contribute to public confidence in rail transportation.
Preventing releases protects not only employees and customers but also local communities and the environment.
CSX’s recognition of customers with strong safety performance therefore has significance beyond the immediate transportation transaction.
Every safely completed shipment contributes to the broader objective of maintaining secure and dependable freight transportation.
Operational Reliability and Safety
Safety and operational reliability are closely connected.
Railroads need to move freight efficiently while maintaining strict safety standards.
Incidents involving hazardous materials can disrupt operations, affect customers and communities, and create environmental and economic consequences.
Preventing such incidents helps railroads maintain reliable service.
Mike Cory, executive vice president and chief operating officer at CSX, emphasized that safety is fundamental to the company’s operations.
He said the recognized customers exemplify that commitment and help make the overall network more reliable and efficient.
This connection between safety and reliability is particularly important for industrial customers that depend on consistent transportation services.
Chemical Transportation Supports Multiple Industries
The customers recognized by CSX represent an important part of the industrial supply chain.
Chemical products are used in the production of countless goods and services.
Water treatment, agriculture, manufacturing and other industrial activities depend on the availability of chemical products.
Companies such as Kemira Water Solutions, CHS, Olin ChlorAlkali and Evonik Degussa participate in industries where reliable transportation is essential.
The safe movement of their products by rail helps connect production facilities with customers and downstream industries.
This highlights the broader economic role played by freight railroads.
Encouraging Continuous Improvement
Recognition programs can also encourage companies to continue improving their safety performance.
Safety is not a one-time achievement. Procedures must evolve as technology, equipment, regulations and operating conditions change.
Companies must continuously train employees, review processes and identify opportunities to reduce risk.
For railroads and shippers, advances in technology can provide additional tools for improving safety.
Data analytics, monitoring systems, improved communication technologies and equipment innovations can help identify potential problems before they result in incidents.
As transportation networks become increasingly connected, these tools can support more proactive approaches to hazardous materials safety.
The Importance of Employee Training
Behind every strong safety record are employees who understand their responsibilities and follow established procedures.
Training is especially important when employees work with hazardous materials.
Workers need to understand how materials should be handled, how railcars should be loaded and secured, and what actions should be taken if an unusual condition occurs.
Ongoing training helps employees maintain awareness and respond appropriately to changing circumstances.
The long-term safety records recognized by CSX demonstrate the importance of embedding safety practices into daily operations.
A Stronger Rail Supply Chain
The Chemical Safety Excellence Awards contribute to CSX’s broader objective of strengthening its freight transportation network.
A safe rail network benefits customers by providing reliable transportation for critical industrial materials.
It also benefits communities by reducing the likelihood of incidents involving hazardous products.
For CSX, maintaining a strong safety culture is therefore both an operational priority and an important component of customer service.
The company relies on customers to uphold high standards at their facilities, while customers rely on CSX to safely transport their products across the railroad network.
This mutual responsibility creates a foundation for long-term supply chain performance.
As global supply chains continue to evolve, the transportation of chemical and hazardous materials will remain an important part of the freight rail industry.
Manufacturing activity, infrastructure development, agriculture, energy production and other industrial sectors will continue to generate demand for chemical transportation.
At the same time, customers and communities will continue to expect railroads and shippers to maintain strong safety standards.
CSX’s Chemical Safety Excellence Awards provide an annual opportunity to recognize organizations that meet these expectations.
The 2026 recipients demonstrated that high-volume hazardous materials transportation can be supported by sustained attention to safety and operational discipline.
The recognition of 55 customers also demonstrates the breadth of CSX’s customer partnerships across the industries it serves.
Celebrating Safety Leadership
The 32nd annual Chemical Safety Excellence Awards ultimately underscore the importance of partnership in freight transportation.
CSX’s customers play a critical role in preparing hazardous materials for shipment, while the railroad provides the infrastructure, operating expertise and network required to move those products across the country.
Together, these efforts support the safe movement of essential materials while helping maintain efficient supply chains.
The long-term milestones achieved by Kemira Water Solutions, CHS Inc., Olin ChlorAlkali and Evonik Degussa Corporation further demonstrate what can be achieved through consistent commitment to safety.
By recognizing these companies, CSX is highlighting the people, procedures and organizational cultures that help prevent hazardous materials incidents.
The awards also reinforce a central principle of the rail freight industry: safety is not separate from operational excellence. Instead, it is one of the foundations on which reliable transportation depends.
As CSX continues to work with customers across its network, the company’s annual Chemical Safety Excellence Awards will remain an important platform for celebrating strong performance and encouraging continued improvement.
The recognition of 55 customers in 2026 reflects a shared commitment to protecting employees, communities and the environment while supporting the movement of essential products throughout the economy.
For CSX and its customers, the message is clear: maintaining rigorous safety standards is essential to building a dependable freight network and strengthening the role of rail as a safe and efficient mode of hazardous materials transportation.
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