G&W scored industrial development success in 2025

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. yesterday announced the results of its 2025 industrial development efforts, which generated 44 projects accounting for more than $1 billion in customer investments in 16 states.

The projects are expected to generate more than 700 jobs in communities along G&W’s U.S. railroads and add more than 82,000 carloads, company officials said in a press release.

While the lion’s share of projects were in the agriculture, chemical and minerals/stone sectors, some touched other industries such as auto, food and lumber.

The projects included new facilities for soybean processor and biodiesel manufacturer Incobrasa Industries via a $400 million expansion in Illinois. The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway and Illinois & Midland Railroad played roles in the project.

Other development efforts involved aggregate construction materials company BURNCO and the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad in Texas; grain and feed byproduct merchant Penny Newman Grain and the Georgia Southwestern Railroad in Georgia; and soybean processor Ag Processing Inc., which carried out an expansion with the Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad in Washington.

Several projects — including one along the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad in Oregon — involved the establishment of rail-to-truck transloading sites, a growing way for bulk commodity shippers to take advantage of rail economics for first- and last-mile delivery while using trucks for longer portions of a haul, G&W officials said.

The company provides current and prospective customers a database of over 700 industrial development parks and sites along its railroads.

“Industrial development projects are a key component of our growth strategy,” said G&W CEO Michael Miller. "Whether customers are constructing new plants, expanding existing facilities or even reopening shuttered sites, the recent projects along our footprint demonstrate that they view rail transportation as critical to their success."