Trade associations representing various industries issued a letter Tuesday expressing “serious concerns” about a proposed merger between major rail companies Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific.
“We write to express our serious concerns and reservations about the proposed merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern,” said the letter, which came from trade associations representing manufacturing, chemical, energy and agriculture firms.
“Past rail mergers have shown what happens when consolidation goes unchecked: service suffers, costs increase, and jobs disappear,” the trade groups wrote to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.
Chris Jahn, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, a group that represents the chemical industry, raised concerns about the potential for higher costs, warning the merger could have broad impacts on the economy.
“As you go along the supply chain here, American energy starts before us. [It] comes to us. We take American energy, turn it into a product, which is then used to make another product. So it goes through the entire manufactured supply chain,” Jahn told The Hill.
“It will impact Americans in their everyday lives,” he added.
The railroad companies, however, have argued that the merger will be a benefit to the country, improving efficiency and allowing for more routes.
“A single coast-to-coast network will deliver faster, more competitive service by eliminating car touches and interchange delays, opening new routes, expanding intermodal services, and ensuring faster transit times on key rail corridors. We will take even more trucks off highways, decreasing congestion, and reducing wear-and-tear on taxpayer-funded roads,” said Jim Vena, Union Pacific CEO, in a statement earlier this year.
In addition to the American Chemistry Council, signatories of the letter include the American Petroleum Institute, International Dairy Foods Association and the American Forest and Paper Association.
