Canadian National on Monday said it filed a motion with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board that asks the agency to order Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern to disclose more details on their proposed merger.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern submitted a nearly 7,000‑page merger application to the board in December, kicking off a regulatory review of what would be one of the rail industry’s most significant transactions in decades.
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The $85 billion deal (C$117.9 billion), announced in July, is aimed at speeding shipments by reducing handoffs and delays and would create the first U.S. coast-to-coast railroad. The proposal has drawn criticism from labor unions and rival railroads.
CN said the applicants did not fully detail their assessment of the merger’s competitive impact, citing incomplete market analyses, missing required market-share projections and other gaps in the filing.
“Given the scale and stakes of the proposed combination, the applicants must meet the highest standard of transparency and compliance,” Canadian National said.
“Rather than trying to convince everyone that there is ‘nothing to see here’, the applicants should instead be focused on meeting the rigorous and heightened standard called for by the new merger rules,” it added.
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The review is expected to face intense scrutiny from the Surface Transportation Board and could take 12 to 18 months, with the companies targeting an early-2027 close.
“While the application outlines compelling earnings and free cash flow under favorable outcomes, regulatory uncertainty is elevated,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Fadi Chamoun wrote in a note last week.
— Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru
