Erik Peinert

Assistant Professor/Senior Fellow

Topics

2026-10-27
Derailed Competition: The $85B Rail Mega-Merger Threatening US Supply Chains
In the latest episode of the Powering America Podcast, host Bryan Hyde speaks with Erik Peinert, an assistant professor at Boston University and senior fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project. They discuss the proposed $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, highlighting concerns about reduced competition, potential negative impacts on labor, and increased shipping costs. The Surface Transportation Board will ultimately decide the merger's fate, with final comments due by November 18.
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“There is going to be a very large and substantial loss in competition in the railroad market.”
“If this merger goes through, it would be the first transcontinental single US railroad.”
“At the end of the day, this is offering the employer side of the equation at the bargaining table substantially more economic power.”
“This merger was exactly the type of thing those guidelines were meant to prohibit.”
“This is something that everybody around this merger knows.”
“I think this merger should be blocked. Full stop.”