Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for Lehigh Railway - Essay Example

The railway is also proud of the quality of its highly-skilled employees. LRWY has weaknesses too which they are currently addressing. This includes their problem with the lease contracts with Norfolk Southern. They are also beset with problems of locomotive power shortages. A key opportunity of LRWY is the presence of Marcellus Shale in its location.

Marcellus Shale formation is considered by some geologists as a major source of natural gas (Geology.com, par 2). People in the natural gas industry believe that the Marcellus can be a major contributor to the supply of natural gas for the United States. This development presents possible new business opportunities for LRWY. The threat being faced by the company is the presence of other railroad companies in the area. However, the main threat that confronts them is the possible cancellation of their lease contract with Norfolk.

As in any infrastructure, they are also aware that their railway may be damaged through Acts of God such as earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes. Presently, LRWY’s advantage over its competitors is its location or geography. Its line encompasses a large area from Athens to Laceyville, Mehoopany, Meshopen, Presswood, Rummerfield, Sayer, Skinners Eddy, Towanda, Ulster, Wyalusing, and Wysox (Lehigh Railway LLC, par 1). The strategic issue that will challenge LRWY is the probability of a high growth rate in its business against its capability to meet the demands of a growing market.

The company must be able to gear up for this future growth in its business if it wants to remain competitive. In the next five years, aside from coping with this expansion, the company will also face the challenge of negotiating for a renewal of its lease contract with Norfolk.