The U.S. freight network is broken by design. One merger could start fixing it | Fortune

Freight movement across America depends on dedicated infrastructure along specific corridors, including tracks, bridges, and causeways, operated under defined rules by carriers. When the system functions well, consumers rarely notice; when it fails or underperforms, costs spread through higher prices, longer lead times, and supply chains that cannot meet unexpected demand. Evaluating a proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger centers on whether the freight network serves the national interest. The Surface Transportation Board received a revised merger application after finding the earlier filing incomplete and is expected to rule on completeness by the end of May. The core challenge is the organizational structure shaped by historical rivalries, where long-haul shipments cross multiple railroads, adding time, cost, and uncertainty that propagate through shippers, retailers, and consumers. Highway congestion alone adds over $108 billion to trucking costs annually, and those costs flow through the supply chain. Rail is presented as a more efficient option for long-haul freight, moving one ton nearly 500 miles per gallon of fuel, several times more efficiently than trucking.

"We often take freight moving across America for granted. Yet, without dedicated infrastructure along specific corridors - tracks, bridges, and causeways - handled by individual carriers under specific rules, we could not get the goods we need daily. When that system works well, consumers rarely notice. When it breaks down or operates below potential, the costs appear everywhere: in higher prices, longer lead times, and strained supply chains that cannot meet unexpected demand."

"This is the context for evaluating the proposed Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern merger - not as a Wall Street transaction or referendum on consolidation, but as a question of whether the freight network truly serves the national interest. The Surface Transportation Board received a revised merger application from Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern on April 30 after finding the original December 2025 filing incomplete. The Board is expected to rule on completeness by the end of May. That process appears to be moving carefully, as it should for a transaction of this scale. The policy conversation should not wait for the lawyers."

"The fundamental challenge facing American freight is its organizational structure. It is a system shaped by competing rail barons and the territorial rivalries of a bygone era. Long-haul shipments often cross multiple railroads before reaching their destination. Each interchange point adds time, cost, and uncertainty. Shippers absorb those costs. Retailers do as well. And consumers absorb them too, usually without knowing it."

"The American Transportation Research Institute calculated that highway congestion alone added more than $108 billion to trucking industry costs in a single year. These costs do not stay on the loading dock. They flow through every layer of the supply chain. Rail offers a demonstrably more efficient alternative for long-haul freight. Freight railroads move one ton of cargo nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of fuel, three to four times as efficie"

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