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NGFA asks STB to reject Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger
NGFA says the applicants updated filings on July 27 still do not meet the STB’s 2001 Major Rail Consolidation Procedures, which require improved competition for customers and the public interest.
The National Grain and Feed Association has asked the US Surface Transportation Board to reject the proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, following a vote by its board of directors, according to a filing submitted Aug. 13, World Grain reported.
NGFA said the updated merger application dated July 27 does not satisfy the standards in the STB’s Major Rail Consolidation Procedures from 2001. Those procedures, as outlined by NGFA, require that a railroad merger do more than preserve competition, it must increase and improve competition for rail customers, it said.
The group said it reviewed the proposal over the past year, including gathering feedback and perspectives from its member companies, and maintained that any agreement must deliver tangible benefits for rail customers and the agricultural supply chain. NGFA also said its board concluded the application does not clear the bar required under the 2001 procedures and voted to oppose the merger.
If approved by the STB, the deal would create the nation’s first transcontinental freight rail line, spanning more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states and connecting about 100 North American ports, with no need to transfer between rail companies for coast to coast moves. World Grain also noted initial merger proceedings began July 28, 2025, and that Norfolk Southern accepted acquisition terms including a promise of $85 billion in stock and cash options from UP if the merger is approved.