Sea-Land being
split into three
companies

The move may make
the units easier to sell

From staff and wire reports

One of the two major shipping carriers that serves Hawaii is splitting its business into three units in a move that may make the units easier to sell.

CSX Corp., parent of Sea-Land Service Inc., is restructuring Sea-Land into an international shipper, a domestic shipping company and a terminal company that handles port business, CSX announced today.

Sea-Land handles close to one-fourth of the ocean freight between Hawaii and the mainland, second only to Matson Navigation Co. It was not clear whether the restructuring would affect Sea-Land's Hawaii operations. A spokesman for CSX wasn't immediately available for comment. The three Sea-Land units will begin operating separately in mid-1999, the company said.

The move could make it easier for CSX, which also owns the third-largest U.S. railroad, to sell its ocean-shipping business and concentrate on rail operations. CSX, based in Richmond, Va., is focused on absorbing its purchase of part of Conrail Inc., which it bought with Norfolk Southern Corp. for $10.2 billion.

The three businesses will be located in Charlotte, N.C., where Sea-Land is based. Each unit will report financial results quarterly.

Analysts have said some Sea-Land units might be more valuable on their own.

Sea-Land, the largest U.S. shipping company, had pretax operating income of $133 million on sales of $3.92 billion in 1998.