Packaging Corporation of America vs CSX Corporation
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
Third-largest US containerboard/corrugated producer; $8.1B FY2024 revenue; 96%+ mill utilization; e-commerce packaging tailwind; NYSE: PKG amid industry mega-merger reshaping.
About
Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) is the third-largest producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States, founded in 1959 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company trades on NYSE (PKG) and generated approximately $8.1 billion in net sales for FY2024, operating nine paper mills and 94 corrugated products manufacturing plants across North America. PCA produces containerboard—linerboard and medium—that it converts into corrugated boxes and displays serving e-commerce, food and beverage, retail, and industrial customers. CEO Mark Kowlzan, who has led the company since 2010, has emphasized operational excellence and vertical integration as core strategic pillars.
Jacksonville Class I eastern US railroad (NASDAQ: CSX) ~$14.5B 2024 revenue; PSR operating model, new CEO Steve Angel (Sept 2025, ex-Linde), 20,000 route miles competing with Norfolk Southern for eastern freight.
About
CSX Corporation is a Jacksonville, Florida-based Class I freight railroad — publicly traded on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: CSX) as an S&P 500 Industrials component — operating approximately 20,000 route miles across 26 states in the eastern United States and two Canadian provinces, connecting industrial facilities, ports, agricultural markets, intermodal terminals, and power plants through approximately 22,000 employees. CSX transports merchandise freight (chemicals, automotive, agricultural products, metals, food), intermodal containers and trailers, and coal (utility coal to power plants and export coal to terminals) across the densest rail network in the eastern US, including critical connections to the Port of Baltimore, Port of Savannah, and Port of Norfolk. In fiscal year 2024, CSX reported revenue of approximately $14.5 billion, with the Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) operating model maintaining operating ratio efficiency while managing volume volatility from coal headwinds and intermodal competition. A defining leadership development is the September 28, 2025 appointment of Steve Angel as President and CEO, succeeding Joe Hinrichs — Angel brings two decades of operational experience from Linde plc (where he served as CEO from 2018 to 2022 and oversaw the $90B Linde-Praxair merger) and 22 years at General Electric working directly with locomotive and rail operations, bringing a manufacturing and industrial operations discipline to CSX's continued operational improvement agenda.
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