CSX to Break Up Sea-Land Service

CSX Corp. said it will break up Sea-Land Service, its container shipping subsidiary, into three separate businesses beginning in June.

The move could be a prelude to the sale of Sea-Land’s ocean carriage business, according to industry analysts, who think deregulation will lead to consolidation among ocean freight carriers.

“We believe there is a clear opportunity to unlock more value by running Sea-Land’s three key components as distinct profit centers,” CSX Chairman John W. Snow said in announcing the change March 16.

The separate lines of business will be comprised of global container shipping, international terminal operations and domestic trade. Sea-Land invented container shipping in 1956 and was the first company to launch container shipping services across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It also was instrumental in developing intermodal stack train service in North America.

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