News Headlines: The Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Combination
Download PDFCoverage highlights how a unified, coast-to-coast rail network could deliver more reliable service for shippers, lower costs, ease supply chain pressure and better compete with trucking. Analysts also note broader benefits—from strengthening the U.S. economy and industrial base, to boosting military readiness, to giving manufacturers and consumers price relief.
“[The merger] could help most businesses that ship and receive freight, which should be the key issue for antitrust consideration. The combined carrier would be better able to compete with transportation by truck, which now exceeds rail in annual ton-miles of cargo.”
Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal
“I’d be very confident that the service would be better after a transcontinental than it was before. A transcontinental system would improve the U.S. rail network and its ability to boost the economy and support an industrial renaissance.”
David Goode, Retired Norfolk Southern CEO, Trains PRO
“Their integration will ultimately increase competition by allowing the railroad to become cost-competitive with crosscountry trucking … and create a stronger American railroad to go head-to-head with large Canadian carriers that have been aggressively expanding into U.S. markets. For American manufacturers and exporters seeking to bring home much of that capacity, this merger is a strategic win.”
Ike Brannon, Jack Kemp Foundation, RealClear Markets
“We would consider a tie-up to be strategically favorable because it would create the first U.S. transcontinental railroad marked by nascent, seamless service corridors (avoiding interchange) that are more truck competitive, especially for intermodal.”
Matthew Young, CFA, Senior Equity Analyst, MorningStar
“The ability to provide consistent, reliable service across a single integrated network is expected to attract shippers seeking to streamline operations and cut costs.”
John Paul Hampstead, Ph.D., multimodal freight markets researcher, FreightWaves
“For the first time in U.S. history, a single freight railroad with a unified organizational structure enhancing situational awareness and speed of decision making, will connect the Pacific and Atlantic coasts with uninterrupted service, linking dozens of key military facilities, defense manufacturers and ports along the way. That means faster, more reliable logistics—and a more agile, responsive military force.”
Spider Marks, Retired Major General, Stars and Stripes
“The UP-NS deal is more than a business transaction—it’s a step toward building a smarter, more integrated logistics network that reflects the needs of modern industry… The petrochemical industry—and the broader U.S. economy—could use a win like this.”
David Blackmon, Public policy analyst/consultant, Forbes
“The Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern transcontinental railroad is not just about laying down track; it is about building a faster, stronger, resilient American supply chain and fulfilling a vision more than 160 years in the making.”
Danielle Zanzalari, Assistant Professor of Economics at Seton Hall University, Supply Chain Dive
“By linking networks, the merged company could offer direct cross-country service without costly handoffs… Shippers would have more options, rates would reflect increased competition and consumers would ultimately pay less.”
Ashley Baker, Ashley Baker, Director of Public Policy at the Committee for Justice, The National Law Review