Two nominees to the Surface Transportation Board told senators this week they’ll judge Union Pacific’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern strictly on the record and the law, pushing back on accusations that politics could tilt the outcome of the biggest rail merger in U.S. history. In a Nov. 6 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Richard Kloster, a first-time nominee, and current board member Michelle Schultz each vowed an independent, evidence-based review if confirmed.
The session, expected to be routine, quickly turned combative. Democrats pressed the nominees on whether the White House’s public support for the deal — and the earlier removal of Democratic board member Robert Primus — might contaminate the process. Sen. Tammy Baldwin questioned whether the board could be leaned on to “rubber-stamp” the transaction, citing the president’s favorable comments after meeting with UP’s CEO and alleging ties to a privately funded White House ballroom project. The nominees repeated that their decisions would rest on statute and the evidentiary record, while other testimony clarified that a shutdown-related email attributed to the STB chair was a standard government furlough notice, not political messaging.
Advocates outside the hearing are also raising alarms. The Open Markets Institute urged the Senate on Thursday to pause STB confirmations until litigation over Primus’ dismissal is resolved, arguing that rushing nominees fuels suspicion the merger is being greased through. Separately, Sen. Ben Ray Luján released videos and a transcript highlighting his push for the nominees to affirm the board’s independence under law.
On timing, the railroads are aiming to file their formal application around Dec. 1, setting up a multi-month proceeding that will test the STB’s modern merger framework. Schultz called the case “the most monumental transaction” to come before the board and pledged to apply the post-2001 rules that demand major rail mergers enhance — not merely preserve — competition. Committee action on the nominations could come in December, though Democrats may try to slow a floor vote while Primus’ legal challenge plays out.
Why this matters to trucking: if a transcontinental UP–NS gains approval and integration holds, unified single-line service could siphon some long-haul volume — especially 1,000-plus-mile dry and reefer lanes — from over-the-road into domestic intermodal. That would weaken spot demand on certain corridors, pressure truckload rates during bid season, and shift drayage patterns toward gateways that benefit from the combined network. Conversely, if the merger triggers even temporary service hiccups — a frequent risk during rail integrations — freight tends to spill back to the highway, tightening capacity and firming truck pricing in the near term. In other words, truck carriers should plan for volatility, not a straight line. (Those dynamics are exactly why shippers and lawmakers are fixated on the STB’s “enhance competition” test and service-assurance requirements.)
What to watch next if you run trucks or broker freight:
- Rail application details: conditions the railroads offer on gateways, interchange, and reciprocal switching will signal how much single-line reach they truly seek — and where drayage and IMC competition could intensify or thin out.
- Service baselines: monitor terminal dwell, car velocity and on-time intermodal performance as the case advances. Sustained improvement would bolster rail’s value proposition; slippage is your cue to lean into highway capacity.
- Regulatory calendar risk: the committee could advance the nominees in December, but floor votes and court developments around Primus may drag. A delayed or short-handed board stretches uncertainty into 2026 planning cycles.
Bottom line for trucking: the hearing underscored that the merger will be decided in a courtroom-like process, not on cable news. But it also confirmed the stakes. A smoother, more integrated transcontinental rail could re-rate parts of the long-haul truck market; a bumpy integration could hand truckers a demand tailwind. Either way, prepare your network maps, lane strategies, and bid assumptions now — before the first filings hit the docket in December.
Sources: FreightWaves, Railway Age, Trains, Rail Passengers Association, Open Markets Institute, Office of Sen. Ben Ray Luján
This article was prepared exclusively for TruckStopInsider.com. Republishing is permitted only with proper credit and a link back to the original source.
