News in transportation


Chinese City of Manzhouli Temporarily Halts Rail Imports After a Sudden Spike in COVID-19 Cases

Starting on Wednesday (12-1-21), authorities said its railway port will “suspend the import of non-containerized goods including timber, coal, mineral powder, chemical fertilizers, and other products that require manual loading and unloading.” The aim is to “strengthen prevention and control” of the outbreak at ports and “effectively block the spread of overseas epidemics through imported goods.”

Canadian Pacific Railways’ Acquisition of the Kansas City Southern Railroad Moves One Step Closer to Reality With Mexican Regulators’ Approval

Canadian Pacific’s (CP) $31 billion plan to acquire the Kanas City Southern Railroad (KCS), creating a railroad that will link Canada, the US, and Mexico, cleared a major hurdle with the approval of Mexican regulators. The CP said on Friday that the US Surface Transportation Board’s (STB) review of the deal is expected to continue into the fourth quarter of next year.

Flood-Damaged Rail Lines in Vancouver and Southern B.C. Expected to Remain Impassable for Days

The rail lines that link Vancouver, B.C. and the southern part of British Columbia with the rest of Canada are flood-damaged and expected to be impassable for days. The rail lines owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and the Canadian National Railway Co. run along the Fraser River, which went over its banks and cut off roads, bridges, and tracks in this week’s heavy rain and flooding.

Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern Railroad Jointly File Railroad Control Application with Surface Transportation Board

On Friday afternoon (10-29-21), the Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (“CP”) and Kansas City Southern (“KCS”) announced they have jointly filed a railroad control application with the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) regarding the proposed transaction to create Canadian Pacific Kansas City (“CPKC”), the only single-line railroad linking the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Port Congestion Continues to Create Major Pinch-Points in the Supply Chain

According to Freightwave.com and American Shipper, as of Tuesday (9-21-21) there were approximately 70 container ships loaded with cargo waiting at anchor or drifting off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. While the numbers fluctuate from day to day, there were 70 container ships in the queue on Monday with total capacity of 432,909 twenty-foot equivalent units.

Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern Lines Officially Announce Merger Plans

With the Canadian National Railway (CN) bid’s withdrawn, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and the Kansas City Southern Lines (KCS) have jointly announced today (9-15-21) that they have entered into a merger agreement. Under the terms, the CP has agreed to acquire KCS in a stock and cash transaction representing an enterprise value of approximately USD$31 billion, which includes the assumption of $3.8 billion of outstanding KCS debt.

U.S. Regulator’s Rejection of Canadian National Railway’s Bid to Purchase Kansas City Southern Railroad Opens Door, Again, for Possible Canadian Pacific Railway Take Over

With U.S. regulators rejecting a key part of the Canadian National Railway Co’s (CN) bid, the Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) has approached the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS) board asking them to reaffirm the CP’s interest in taking over the railway. CP Rail has maintained that its $31-billion offer, while worth less than CN’s $33.6-billion proposal, has less regulatory risk.