Six state AGs ask DOJ to scrutinize UP-NS merger plan

Six Republican state attorneys general are asking the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division to review the proposed merger between Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway, arguing that combining the two Class Is would harm competition and the economy.

In a Feb. 12 letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi, the attorneys general expressed their concerns that if approved, the merger "would facilitate unprecedented consolidation in the freight-rail industry, inflate transportation costs, and erode service quality in a manner fundamentally at odds with an America-First economy."

The six attorneys general who signed the letter represent the states of Montana, Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas and Tennessee. The attorneys said their states are home to a diverse range of rail-dependent customers, including many members of the American Chemistry Council, the National Grain and Feed Association, and the National Industrial Transportation League. Those entities have vocally opposed the merger.

The attorneys encouraged the DOJ to carefully scrutinize the UP-NS proposal as a supplement to the Surface Transportation Board's review of the transaction.

"By entrenching a single rail behemoth across key East-West corridors, the deal would shackle domestic manufacturers, energy producers and farmers with higher rates and fewer shipping options, thereby blunting their competitive edge against foreign rivals, squeezing household budgets, and weakening the supply chains that underpin our national security," the letter states.