Tallies, totals and other trend data in the freight transportation realm (9/5/2025)
9/5/2025
0Given the value they believe a merger with Norfolk Southern Railway would offer, no significant concessions needed to be made in the UP-NS merger application filing with the Surface Transportation Board, UP CFO Jennifer Hamann said during a Dec. 19 webcast for analysts announcing the application had been filed.
2, 4 & 6 Instead of enhancing competition, a UP-NS merger would eliminate it, BNSF Railway Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Tom Williams said at Progressive Railroading's RailTrends® conference, held Nov. 20-21 in New York City. "It doesn't pass the common sense test," Williams said. "2 out of 4 trains effectively will be eliminated, so lanes will be eliminated." No rail merger has happened without some service disruptions, he added. "Rail integrations are super hard," Williams said. "There have been many interline service offerings unveiled in the last 6 months. Customers can see benefits without a merger."
3 & 2 If the UP-NS merger is approved by the STB, 3 customer locations out of more than 20,000 would lose access to 2 railroads; all locations would have a second rail option. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts, issued Dec. 19 by UP
4 & 90 & 1 "Today, the U.S. freight rail system is less competitive than ever. Just 4 railroads control more than 90% of U.S. rail traffic and most U.S. chemical production facilities are served by only 1 major railroad. Past mergers have led to severe service disruptions, rising rates, weakened supply chains and a less competitive U.S. industrial base. We have no doubt that combining UP and NS into the nation’s largest railroad will make these problems worse, leaving domestic manufacturers, farmers, and energy producers with fewer choices, higher costs, and less reliable service. And, if approved, this deal will likely spur additional mergers culminating in a nationwide railroad duopoly." Oct. 16, 2025, letter from chief executives of American Chemistry Council member companies to President Trump urging him to "continue challenging anticompetitive regulations and support a strong STB that can help build a rail network that supports the needs of American manufacturers and consumers."
6, 7 & 1.4 million The UP-NS merger would provide 6 new intermodal lanes with 7-days-a-week service and add more than 1.4 million new annual intermodal container loads. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
29 & 2 "Today’s decision invites public comments, which should solely address the completeness of the application—whether the application contains the information required in 49 C.F.R. part 1180. Comments on completeness may be filed by Monday, December 29, 2025, and the Applicants may file a reply to those comments by Friday, January 2, 2026, at noon EST. Comments on the merits of the proposed transaction will be sought at a later stage of the proceeding, should the Board accept the application." — Dec. 19 STB press releases acknowledging receipt of "a major merger application from UP and NS
40"The fact is that this merger would reduce rail transportation options for customers while creating a single entity that controls more than 40% of the U.S. freight rail market. Without real railroad competition, prices go up and consumers lose." — CN statement on the UP-NS STB filing issued Dec. 19
900 The UP-NS merger would create 900 net union jobs by Year 3 of the integration. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
2001 "CPKC has only just obtained the lengthy UP-NS merger application formally filed today and will be thoroughly reviewing it over the coming days. We will be examining the application from at least two perspectives: Whether it complies with the Board’s 2001 Major Merger Rules and provides the STB and interested parties an adequate basis for evaluating the public interest consequences of the UP-NS proposal [and] whether the UP-NS proposal is consistent with the public interest. ... The proposed UP-NS merger, unprecedented in scale and scope, would radically and permanently change the U.S. rail network. If approved, the merger would pose extraordinary and far-reaching risks to customers, rail employees and broader supply chains. We are confident the STB will conduct a vigorous process to assess all of the short- and long-term public interest impacts of the proposed behemoth, including on the competition rail customers have today." — Canadian Pacific Kansas City statement on the UP-NS STB filing issued Dec. 19
7,000 The UP-SP merger application is nearly 7,000 pages. — UP CEO Jim Vena during a Dec. 19 webcast for analysts announcing the application had been filed
10,000 The UP-NS merger would transform 10,000 existing lanes from interline to single-line service. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
84,000 The UP-NS merger would provide 84,000 new county-to-county lanes where shippers would have access to single-line service for the first time. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
425,000 The UP-NS merger would add 425,000 new annual manifest, bulk and auto carloads. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
2 million The UP-NS merger would convert more than 2 million annual truckloads from road to rail. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
1 billion The UP-NS merger would lead to nearly $1 billion in cost synergies by Year 3. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
4.2 billion The UP-NS merger would generate revenue growth of around $4.2 billion by Year 3. — Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Transcontinental Merger Fast Facts issued Dec. 19
0.3The FTR Shippers Conditions Index for October improved to 0.3 from the September reading of -0.5, FTR officials announced on Dec. 11. “Although we still lack comprehensive insights into the state of the U.S. economy, a recent Federal Reserve revision of industrial production estimates implies that freight demand is even weaker than we thought, " said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking.
0.7 The shipments component of the Cass Freight Index® rose 0.7% month over month in November, or 2.7% in seasonally adjusted (SA) terms, reversing the 2.1% SA drop in October, Cass Information Systems Inc. officials said in a Dec. 16 press release. The year-over-year shipment decline of 7.6% in October was below the -5.8 year-to-date trend, putting the index on track for a ~6% decline in 2025, Cass officials said. "Resilient early holiday consumer spending data suggest some pent-up demand could be building, but tariffs are likely to continue to press prices higher and affordability lower in 2026," they added.
10 Terminal operating solutions provider Tideworks Technology Inc. and Adriatic port Luka Koper reached an agreement on a 10-year contract extension, Tideworks officials announced on Dec. 18. Under the new agreement, Luka Koper will implement enhancements to Spinnaker, Traffic Control, Forecast, and Terminal View beginning in January 2026 and upgrade to Tideworks’ Mainsail 10 in Q2 2026.
12 & 2 The Port of Los Angeles processed 782, 249 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in November, a 12% decrease compared to the same month last year, port officials said on Dec. 16. The port still had handled 2% more TEUs through 2025's first 11 months, officials said.
15 & 4 Port Houston handled 4,186,264 short tons in November, down 15% compared to the same month last year, but up 4% in total tonnage year-to-date, with 50,383,531 short tons, port officials announced on Dec. 16. Container activity also slowed: TEUs were down 9% for the month, with 335,275 TEUs. Meanwhile, loaded imports decreased 12% decline and loaded exports dipped 2%. Through November, Port Houston has handled 3,971,643 total TEUs, a 5% year-to-date gain.
20 & 38 Buoyed by increased manufacturing and a "strong push to expand the country's logistics backbone," Vietnam is emerging as the Port of Savannah’s fastest-growing trade partner, Georgia Port Authority officials noted in a Dec. 4 press release. What's also helping: The U.S. and Vietnam recently agreed to reduce reciprocal tariffs to 20% on imports, with some product categories potentially moving to zero tariffs under the new trade framework, the port authority said. Over the past five years, Savannah’s container trade with Vietnam has increased 38%, adding 104,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units to reach 379,000 TEUs in fiscal year 2025.
43 FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index was up slightly in October to 0.89 from the 0.42 reading in September, FTR officials said on Dec. 5. Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking, commented, “Our forecasting model relies heavily on government economic data, so the 43-day shutdown has hampered our analysis as the data flow slowly resumes," said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. "Carriers might need to reduce capacity even more than we previously thought to achieve a reasonable level of utilization, but we still believe that the only true fix for the trucking industry’s doldrums is stronger and sustained freight demand.”
15 million A.P. Moller – Maersk recently opened a $15 million depot in Manzanillo, Mexico, Maersk officials announced on Dec. 17. The 31,000-square-foot facility is located 5 kilometers from Manzanillo Port, which handles nearly half of Mexico’s containerized cargo, Maersk officials said.