The Washington Times: Rail merger threatens America’s future
OPINION:
The story of America’s climb to the summit of the global economy is inseparable from the story of railroads. Long before modern highways and air cargo networks, railroads connected distant regions, opened markets and moved the raw materials that powered growth. During the Industrial Revolution — one of the most consequential chapters in U.S. history — freight rail helped transform the nation into an industrial leader, supporting the rise of manufacturing.
That legacy still matters today. America’s economy runs on chemistry — from the medicines we take to the cars we drive, chemical manufacturing powers nearly every aspect of modern life. Rail isn’t just a logistical concern for the chemical industry — it’s a lifeline, carrying the essential inputs and finished products that underpin American agriculture, manufacturing and energy production.
But as with any major sector of the U.S. economy, the benefits of a strong freight rail system depend on an essential ingredient: competition. Right now, access to competitive and reliable freight rail service is being threatened by a merger that would give rise to a coast-to-coast rail monopoly.
The proposed merger between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) would fundamentally reshape the freight rail landscape — and not in a good way. Combined, the two railroads would control nearly half of all U.S. rail traffic, creating an unprecedented concentration of market power in a system that depends on competitive balance to function properly.
Consolidating so much traffic under a single operator sets up a single point of failure at a time when policymakers are focused on strong supply chains, affordability and security.
For America’s future, the implications are straightforward and serious. Less competition in the freight rail industry means higher costs, fewer options for shippers and increased pressure on supply chains. Those impacts would ripple through the broader economy, harming industries and raising prices for goods that rely on affordable and dependable rail service.
Read the full op-ed from American Chemistry Council President and CEO Chris Jahn here.
The Washington Times: American businesses and families can’t afford a freight rail Goliath
OPINION:
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern — already two of the largest railroads in the country — are trying to merge. Wall Street values the deal, first announced last summer, at $85 billion. Together, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would control half of all Class I freight rail in the United States. American businesses and consumers should be nervous.
If approved, this deal would create a behemoth spanning more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states, concentrating pricing power, raising shipping costs and creating a single point of failure for the American supply chain at a time when American manufacturing is back on the rise under President Donald Trump’s leadership. When freight costs rise, so do the prices of everyday goods, electricity, housing and cars. Even though many Americans may not realize it, railroads haul the coal that fuels power plants, the lumber used to frame houses and the steel and parts used to build automobiles, among thousands of other commodities and finished goods. Freight rail is a vital component of American manufacturing and supply chains and allowing this industry to concentrate to the point where a single firm controls half of all rail traffic would be a dire and permanent mistake.
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is the federal agency tasked with reviewing the deal. It rejected Union Pacific’s initial application, filed last December, as insufficient. Union Pacific filed an amended application April 30. In its amended application, Union Pacific claims that the transaction will result in 2.1 million truckloads of cargo shifting from trucks to rail, with annual savings for shippers totaling $3.5 billion.
Read the full op-ed from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier here.