Proposed rail merger would slash 2.1 billion long-distance truck miles from the highway annually, report finds

A proposed coast-to-coast rail merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern could pull 2.1 million truckloads off American highways annually, creating a major shift for the commercial trucking industry while generating up to $5.8 billion in annual economic, climate, and public-health benefits, according to a new study by economist, impact investing specialist, and founder of Creative Investment Research William Michael Cunningham

The transaction, currently under review by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), would fuse Union Pacific’s western footprint with Norfolk Southern’s eastern network. Proponents argue the resulting single-line service across 88,000 new county-to-county lanes will eliminate costly interline handoffs, alter long-haul logistics, and reshape freight competition nationwide.

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern last December, in their merger filing with the STB, projected the combined UP/NS "will convert more than 2 million truckloads of traffic from long-haul trucking to rail... One freight train can replace several hundred trucks... We want to increase rail’s share of traffic and remove trucks from our highways."

The proposed $85 billion deal has the support of some of trucking's largest players, among them Knight-Swift Transportation, C.R. England, Hub Group, MODE Global, Knichel Logistics, and Schneider National.

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