Associations representing private railcar owners are rebutting responses to their request that the Surface Transportation Board institute a rulemaking updating the demurrage and accessorial rules governing the railroads’ use and handling of their equipment.
Get used to the acronym “CPKC,” which stands for Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the name of the Class I railroad that will begin operations sometime within the next 18 to 24 months, provided the Surface Transportation Board approves—as many industry observers and analysts believe it will—the merger of the Canadian Pacific and the Kansas City Southern. The two railroads have circled back to pretty much the original merger agreement they announced on March 21, 2021, one month before CN began its attempt to wrest the deal away from CP with a higher bid.
News Item: The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has found that among seven Class I railroads, five—BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Canadian Pacific (CP)-owned Soo Line, and Union Pacific—were revenue adequate for 2020. Norfolk Southern and CN-owned Grand Trunk Western were within a fraction of a percentage point of making the cut.
RAILWAY AGE, FINANCIAL EDGE, SEPTEMBER 2021 ISSUE: For investors, industry watchers and rail consumers, August was either the most interesting or frustrating month to date in the reality dating show, “I Want to Buy a Class I Railroad.”
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has found five of the seven U.S. Class I railroads to be revenue adequate for 2020: BNSF, CSX, Kansas City Southern, Soo Line (the U.S. affiliate of Canadian Pacific) and Union Pacific.
Thirty-nine Members of Congress, all Democrats, have sent a letter to the Surface Transportation Board urging it to “not take any action that would undermine the ability of railroads to make … investments now and into the future.”
The Association of American Railroads, plus CSX and Union Pacific, are calling on the Surface Transportation Board to deny a Petition for Rulemaking that would update the demurrage and accessorial rules governing the railroads’ use and handling of privately owned freight cars.
There’s an 800-pound British gorilla pounding on the door of CN’s boardroom. He’s pissed, beating his chest, and licking his chops. He’s not going away until he cleans house. He’s Sir Chris Hohn, and the activist hedge fund he leads, TCI Fund Management Ltd., on Aug. 30 became a “beneficial owner” of CN, grabbing 5.2% of the railroad’s shares, putting Hohn and his business partner, Ben Walker, in a position to make CN an offer it probably can’t refuse.
UPDATED SEPT. 3, 2021: The United States Surface Transportation Board—as expected by many industry observers and financial analysts—on Aug. 31, 2021, by unanimous vote, rejected the CN-Kansas City Southern voting trust, effectively killing the merger, and opening the door for Canadian Pacific to re-engage with KCS on the CPKC (“Canadian Pacific Kansas City”) deal it struck with KCS on March 21, albeit with a sweetened offer. KCS postponed its Sept. 3 shareholder meeting to vote on the CN offer until 9 a.m. (CT) on Sept. 24. It is now “evaluating its options,” which includes considering CP’s offer.
On Aug. 30, 2021—the day before the Surface Transportation Board rejected the voting trust for the proposed CN/Kansas City Southern merger—TCI Fund Management Ltd. filed a Schedule 13D form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to report that it had increased its stake in CN to 5.2%. TCI already is CN merger rival Canadian Pacific’s second-largest shareholder. Some industry observers found TCI’s move “interesting” and “critical” as the activist hedge fund has strongly objected to CN’s merger attempt with KCS.