Florida East Coast Railway looking to cut 48 positions

[thelakelander]

Florida East Coast Railway is offering a voluntary separation program to selected managers with a goal of cutting up to 48 positions, the company announced Friday.

The company did not provide details of the program other than to say it is part of an ongoing initiative to bring costs in line with current revenues and position the company for the future.

For the past decade, Florida East Coast Railway's increasing volumes, employment and revenues have been driven partly by Florida's rapidly expanding economy, FEC President David Rohal said.

"Since 2006," Rohal said, "FEC's business prospects and revenues have waned under the adverse effect of Florida's economic slowdown and the precipitous decline in the demand for construction materials, which represent a significant percentage of FEC's business base."

http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2008/05/12/daily43.html?jst=b_ln_hl

[Jason]

Hopefully the port expansions will put them back on track in within the next couple of years.

[Ocklawaha]

Read that "construction and new jobs SOUTH of St. Augustine..." FEC picks up huge loads of building material in the form of FLORIDA ROCK from about Titusville Southward. Our port won't have much effect on this. Worse still, we have no vision at JPA with a big enough picture to get universal access to all of our rail carriers to Blount Island. A belt line around the NW side of town or up through Springfield on the old "S" and hence over to the former ACL bridge site at the mouth of the Trout River would get us close, new right of way or a line down the middle More/Less of Hecksher Drive might do the rest. Until then Norfork Southern and Florida East Coast are going to play a very faint role in our "super-port". Better build them freeways, cause the big trucks are headed to a highway between Blount Island/Bowden Yard or Blount Island/Simpson Yard, through a neighborhood near you... AND SOON!

Me also suspects some of these cuts are duplicate jobs as FEC becomes the flagship property of a giant shortline operation, who by the way, is moving their HQ and staff into JACKSONVILLE from Boca Raton... When stuff like this happens, it shouldn't reflect on the industry as "sick" but rather, "how many bean counters do we need and in how many departments?" The industry is alive and VERY well.

Ocklawaha

[thelakelander]

FEC should get a boost from this:

Rock miners plan major expansion in South Florida

South Florida's rock mining industry is lining up approvals for the largest expansion in its history.

Ten quarry companies have applied for federal permits or local zoning approval to excavate up to 17,000 acres in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. A federal lawsuit launched by environmentalists has disrupted some quarry operations in Miami-Dade County, so the expansions could turn into a legal minefield.

The overall outcome could be a major factor for future business in South Florida since limestone is a key ingredient of the concrete used in building materials and highways. The Miami-Dade rock is especially prized for its quality.

http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/05/12/story3.html


As Ock said, the CSX/Port deal will be insignificant in taking trucks off local streets that are headed to FEC's Bowden Yard or Norfolk Southern's Simpson Yard.