CPKC: Further rail consolidation not necessary

Rhea-AI Summary

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE: CP) has firmly stated it will not participate in immediate rail industry consolidation, despite external suggestions. The company's CEO, Keith Creel, emphasized that a transcontinental merger could trigger unnecessary industry restructuring and create more problems than solutions.

CPKC believes the existing six major U.S. railways can provide high-quality transportation services through partnerships and cooperation, citing examples like their recent Southeast Mexico Express service collaboration with CSX. The company maintains that the current rail network has sufficient capacity for service improvement and volume growth without requiring additional consolidation.

Positive

• None.

Negative

• Potential missed opportunities from industry consolidation
• Risk of being left behind if competitors pursue major mergers
• Possible competitive disadvantage if other railways consolidate

Insights

Railroad Industry Strategist

CPKC rejects industry consolidation, favoring partnerships and service improvement over transcontinental mergers that could trigger industry-wide restructuring.

CPKC's firm stance against further rail consolidation represents a significant strategic position in the North American freight rail landscape. CEO Keith Creel's explicit rejection of transcontinental mergers highlights the company's belief that such combinations would trigger an unnecessary industry restructuring cascade that could destabilize the existing competitive equilibrium.

The company's perspective is particularly noteworthy given their recent completion of the CP-KCS merger that created the first single-line rail network connecting Canada, the US, and Mexico. This gives CPKC unique credibility in assessing merger implications, having just navigated regulatory scrutiny themselves.

Rather than pursuing additional consolidation, CPKC advocates for an alternative growth strategy centered on railway alliances and partnerships. They point to their successful collaboration with CSX on the Southeast Mexico Express service as evidence that operational benefits can be achieved without full consolidation. This approach preserves shipper optionality while still enabling service improvements.

The underlying logic aligns with current industry dynamics: North America's six major railways already provide comprehensive coverage, and CPKC believes the existing network has sufficient capacity and operational fluidity to drive service improvements and volume growth. Their position suggests that the disruption and integration challenges of further consolidation could outweigh potential benefits, particularly as railways are already heavily consolidated.

This announcement effectively positions CPKC as a defender of the status quo in railway industry structure, prioritizing operational excellence and network partnerships over transformative consolidation that could trigger regulatory concerns and implementation risks.

CALGARY, AB, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian Pacific Kansas City (TSX: CP) (NYSE: CP) (CPKC) said today that the company is not interested in participating in immediate rail industry consolidation, despite the suggestions by some that it take part. CPKC does not believe that further rail consolidation is necessary for the industry as currently structured. The company remains focused on delivering more of the benefits and unique value-creating opportunities of its three-nation network, which connects shippers in all parts of North America via effective interline service options.

CPKC strongly feels, given what the existing competitive landscape has shown it can deliver, any major rail merger poses unique and unprecedented risks to customers, rail employees and the broader supply chain. Those risks would be exacerbated by the inevitable follow-on consolidation.

"We believe that a transcontinental merger would trigger permanent restructuring of the industry and result in a disproportionately large railway whose size and scope would require others to take action," said Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO. "This will likely result in an unnecessary wave of railway mergers that today is not the best way to support American businesses nor the public interest, and has the potential to create more issues than it solves."

The existing six major railways in the United States are capable of offering their customers high quality and near-seamless transportation services across the continent. As evidenced by previous rail network alliances by CPKC and CSX in the Southeast U.S., as well as the recent alliance announced by BNSF and CSX, there remain opportunities for further cooperation between "willing" railways to improve service while preserving optionality for shippers.

Many of the kinds of benefits asserted in support of transcontinental mergers can be achieved through new and expanded industry partnerships, customer service innovations and additional cooperation among railways. CPKC continues to pursue these opportunities, such as its recently announced collaboration with CSX on the Southeast Mexico Express service linking the U.S Southeast to Mexico. 

Today, the rail network in the United States has the necessary capacity and operational fluidity to safely drive many years of service improvement, volume growth, truck conversion, and resulting value creation for the nation's rail shippers in support of the national economy. The public's interest is best served by the nation's railroads focused on delivering reliable, "truck-like" service while investing in their networks to increase U.S. rail network capacity required for sustainable growth, rather than pursuing additional rail consolidation in an industry already greatly consolidated.

Forward-looking information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws in both the U.S. and Canada. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements concerning expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives, assumptions and statements about possible future events, conditions, and results of operations or performance. Forward-looking information may contain statements with words or headings such as "financial expectations", "key assumptions", "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "will", "outlook", "guidance", "should" or similar words suggesting future outcomes. This news release contains forward-looking information relating, but not limited, to statements about CPKC's beliefs around rail industry consolidation, our focus on integrating our operations and delivering on the benefits of value-creating opportunities and the impact of rail industry consolidation on the public interest.

The forward-looking information in this news release is based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, having regard to CPKC's experience and its perception of historical trends, and includes, but is not limited to, expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions relating to: changes in business strategies, North American and global economic growth and conditions; commodity demand growth; sustainable industrial and agricultural production; commodity prices and interest rates; performance of our assets and equipment; sufficiency of our budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out our business plan; geopolitical conditions, applicable laws, regulations and government policies, including, without limitation, those relating to regulation of rates, tariffs, import/export, trade, taxes, wages, labour and immigration; the availability and cost of labour, services and infrastructure; labour disruptions; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations to CPKC; and carbon markets, evolving sustainability strategies, and scientific or technological developments. Although CPKC believes the expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking information presented herein are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Current conditions, economic and otherwise, render assumptions, although reasonable when made, subject to greater uncertainty.

Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information. By its nature, CPKC's forward-looking information involves inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, the following factors: changes in business strategies and strategic opportunities; general Canadian, U.S., Mexican and global social, economic, political, credit and business conditions; risks associated with agricultural production such as weather conditions and insect populations; the availability and price of energy commodities; the effects of competition and pricing pressures, including competition from other rail carriers, trucking companies and maritime shippers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; North American and global economic growth and conditions; industry capacity; shifts in market demand; changes in commodity prices and commodity demand; uncertainty surrounding timing and volumes of commodities being shipped via CPKC; inflation; geopolitical instability; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, including, without limitation, those relating to regulation of rates, tariffs, import/export, trade, wages, labour and immigration; changes in taxes and tax rates; potential increases in maintenance and operating costs; changes in fuel prices; disruption in fuel supplies; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; compliance with environmental regulations; labour disputes; changes in labour costs and labour difficulties; risks and liabilities arising from derailments; transportation of dangerous goods; timing of completion of capital and maintenance projects; sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out business plans; services and infrastructure; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations; currency and interest rate fluctuations; exchange rates; effects of changes in market conditions and discount rates on the financial position of pension plans and investments; trade restrictions or other changes to international trade arrangements; the effects of current and future multinational trade agreements on the level of trade among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; climate change and the market and regulatory responses to climate change; anticipated in-service dates; success of hedging activities; operational performance and reliability; customer, regulatory and other stakeholder approvals and support; regulatory and legislative decisions and actions; the adverse impact of any termination or revocation by the Mexican government of Kansas City Southern de México, S.A. de C.V.'s Concession; public opinion; various events that could disrupt operations, including severe weather, such as droughts, floods, avalanches and earthquakes, and cybersecurity attacks, as well as security threats and governmental response to them, and technological changes; acts of terrorism, war or other acts of violence or crime or risk of such activities; insurance coverage limitations; material adverse changes in economic and industry conditions, including the availability of short and long-term financing; the demand environment for logistics requirements and energy prices, restrictions imposed by public health authorities or governments, fiscal and monetary policy responses by governments and financial institutions, and disruptions to global supply chains; the realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the CP-KCS transaction and the timing thereof; the satisfaction of the conditions imposed by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in its March 15, 2023 final decision; the success of integration plans for KCS; other disruptions arising from the CP-KCS integration; estimated future dividends; financial strength and flexibility; debt and equity market conditions, including the ability to access capital markets on favourable terms or at all; cost of debt and equity capital; improvement in data collection and measuring systems; industry-driven changes to methodologies; and the ability of the management of CPKC to execute key priorities, including those in connection with the CP-KCS transaction. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. These and other factors are detailed from time to time in reports filed by CPKC with securities regulators in Canada and the United States. Reference should be made to "Item 1A – Risk Factors" and "Item 7 – Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Forward-Looking Statements" in CPKC's annual and interim reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.

Any forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, CPKC undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information, or the foregoing assumptions and risks affecting such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About CPKC
With its global headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Canada, CPKC is the first and only single-line transnational railway linking Canada, the United States and México, with unrivaled access to major ports from Vancouver to Atlantic Canada to the Gulf Coast to Lázaro Cárdenas, México. Stretching approximately 20,000 route miles and employing 20,000 railroaders, CPKC provides North American customers unparalleled rail service and network reach to key markets across the continent. CPKC is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpkcr.com to learn more about the rail advantages of CPKC. CP-IR

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SOURCE CPKC

FAQ

Why is CPKC (NYSE: CP) opposing further rail industry consolidation in 2025?

CPKC believes further consolidation is unnecessary and could create unprecedented risks to customers, employees, and the supply chain. They argue that a transcontinental merger would trigger industry restructuring and create a disproportionately large railway.

What alternatives does CPKC suggest instead of rail industry mergers?

CPKC advocates for industry partnerships, customer service innovations, and railway cooperation, citing their Southeast Mexico Express service with CSX as an example of successful collaboration without merger.

How many major railways currently operate in the United States according to CPKC?

According to CPKC, there are currently six major railways in the United States capable of offering high-quality and near-seamless transportation services across the continent.

What is CPKC's current business focus instead of mergers?

CPKC is focusing on delivering benefits and value-creating opportunities through its existing three-nation network, while pursuing partnerships and service improvements with other railways.

What risks does CPKC identify in potential rail industry consolidation?

CPKC identifies risks including disruption to customers, impact on rail employees, supply chain issues, and the likelihood of follow-on consolidation that could destabilize the industry.