WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — The proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern remains on track, but the National Grain and Feed Association is opposing the deal.
Mike Seyfert with NGFA said the group spent much of the past year studying how the merger could affect its members and the broader grain transportation system before taking a position.
“Some folks you mentioned, some came out opposed to it before the press release was even dry, I think, and we cited, at NGFA, that the movement of grain and feed is different, along with the byproducts. We spent the better part of the last year really taking a deep dive, looking at it with our membership, trying to understand what the impact would be on individual members, what the impact would be on the grain trade and the chain as a whole, and also trying to understand what the impact was going to be across the entire system, because you have different Class One railroads in the U.S., but it is one integrated system.”
Seyfert argues the merger would not meet the Surface Transportation Board’s requirements. He expects the board to closely review the proposal before making a decision.
“If you’ve worked with STB Chairman Patrick Fuchs at all, Patrick is someone who’s going to do what he thinks is right, and he’s very detailed, data-oriented, and he’s really going to dive into it and take a deep look, and that’s all the members of the STB. The sense that we’ve gotten all along was that this is not a rubber stamp in that they are looking at and going to take a full review of this and really determine what it looks like.”
Paperwork must be filed by next spring. From there, the Surface Transportation Board will have around three months to make a final decision.
